How do I get my 5-month-old puppy to bark when he needs to potty?

So you hit on a few important topics. Firstly, Ziggy is young. I usually tell owners that a puppy can hold their urine 1 hour for every month until around 8-10 months old. In other words, Ziggy should probably only be able to hold it for about 5 hours at a time. This means he will need to go to the bathroom between 3-4am if he last gets let outside at 9pm. By 5am he probably REALLY has to go. You can try taking him outside a little later in the evening and see if that helps him hold it a little later in the morning. Secondly, it is likely that as the days get shorter Ziggy will be woken up a little later since the sun won't rise as early. I hope this helps!

It's very normal for a 16 week old puppy to still be having accidents in the house - most puppies are not reliably housetrained until 8-10 months of age, or older. It sounds like you're on the right track by taking your puppy out frequently, and praising and rewarding him when he goes - but if he's still having accidents in between potty breaks, I would recommend taking him even more often. I take my puppies out every 20-30 minutes while they are being housetrained, unless they are sleeping. There is no need to cage him after he has an accident, or use any other type of punishment, as this won't help - focus on getting him out more often to prevent accidents in the future, if this is happening. Don't wait for some type of signal that he needs to go - just take him every 20-30 minutes. Once he's gone a full 14 days with no accidents at all, you can start to give him a bit more freedom and space out his potty breaks a bit more. Just be patient and consistent, and give it time - he's still just a baby. He will get the hang of things as he gets older :)

Small breed dogs can be very stubborn with house training. If you haven't tried the method of crate training it may be time to switch methods and try this. Crate training is where she is in a crate when y'all aren't at home and during the night the crate only needs to be big enough for her to stand up and turn around. MOST dogs do not want to pee or poop where they sleep so this teaches them to hold it. I usually do not put puppy pads in there unless you will be gone for several hours and unable to let her out. I also do not put water in there because they tend to drink then they inevitably have to urinate. You will likely need to get up once in the middle of the night to let her out as she is too small to hold it all night. When you get up or get home you will immediately pick her up and take her outside to the designated potty area. If she doesn't pee put her back in the crate for 5 minutes and try again. If you ever catch her peeing in the house in an unwanted area, you can tell her a firm no and then take her to the designated potty area outside to help her with the association. If crate training isn't something you want to do they yes, you may have to be more patient. Pee pads can take longer to house train and sometimes they never become 100% potty trained a lot of people recommend to move the pads closer to the door. You can also try to train her to use a bell to signal that she wants to go outside. You place a small bell hanging from the door and every time you go outside you ring the door bell. Be patient with this little munchkin. She will eventually become more potty trained. The key is consistency.

I see that Murphy is still very young, only about 3-4 months old - this is much too young to expect him to be reliably housetrained. Most small-breed puppies like Shih Tzus are not reliable until at least 6-8 months of age or even older, so it's very normal and expected that he is still having accidents. You will need to be patient with him while he learns. Take Murphy outside frequently (every 20-30 minutes while he's awake and active) - go out with him so that you can watch, and reward with a treat as soon as he pees or poops. Inside, he needs to be supervised at all times to prevent accidents. If you aren't able to watch him, or when you're not home, he should be confined to a crate or a puppy-proofed room where accidents will be easy to clean up. If you see him start to have an accident, just hurry him outside to finish up there - then praise and reward as usual. It's actually not recommended to use any type of punishment for accidents in the house, as it usually doesn't help and just makes your puppy afraid of you. If he has an accident, clean it up without comment and focus on supervising him better next time.

What about training Max to ring a bell to go outside? This is a simple training technique that can be very useful for house training young dogs and tends to work very well. I prefer it to having dogs bark to go outside. I have included a link below with more information. http://www.petexpertise.com/dog-housetraining-bell.html Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I'm sorry that you're having this problem with your pup! I don't think he's stubborn at all - he just doesn't understand what you want. If Zatar is only about 8 weeks old, he's too young to be able to have much control over his bowels or bladder yet - so it's normal for him to "go" wherever he happens to be when he gets the urge. Most pups naturally want to use the bathroom on absorbent surfaces, so I would recommend covering the bathroom floor in potty pads for now if that's the area you eventually want him to use. Every 20-30 minutes or so, and after every meal, take him into the bathroom with you and close the door. Sit with him and be patient - if he uses the bathroom, praise and reward him right away with a treat. If he doesn't, then put him in a crate or keep him with you on a leash so that you can watch him closely - then bring him back to the bathroom right away if you see him starting to squat. Then praise and reward when he finishes up there. It's very important not to punish him for accidents, as this will only make him afraid to potty in front of you - which will make it much harder to teach him what you want! Please don't make him smell his urine or stool and scold him, as he won't understand this at all - it will only confuse and scare him. Potty training usually takes several weeks or even months before your puppy will be reliable, so be patient and understand that you will need to watch him closely and be very consistent for a long time in order for him to "get it." Good luck - I hope that helps a bit! :)

That is very impressive for a puppy Bailey's age! Training her to bark may be difficult. Many people will hang a bell (bells) from the door knob and teach the pet to ring the bell. Basically, gently touch it to her muzzle to make it jingle and then open up the door. Most dogs pick up on this quickly. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!