You are using pads when you leave, but then expect her to go outside when you are home? That doesn't make sense to a dog. She isn't bad - she is confused. It's either OK to pee on the floor or it's not. We left Loki in his crate when he was a puppy but we made sure not to be gone longer than he could hold it - even if that was 30 mins. Even now, he is capable of staying alone in his crate for 5 or 6 hours but we try to make sure someone is home with him, or we take him with. He goes to daycare if my husband is not able to let him out during the day. He has bladder issues but after a lot of hard work we were still able to 100% housetrain him - it just took a while and a lot of effort on our part. If Loki rings his bells - one of us lets him out. It doesn't matter if it's 3am and snowing. We rarely argue over who's "turn" it is because ignoring him will mean arguing over who gets to clean up the mess - so luckily it doesn't come to that.
Having a puppy is A LOT of work. Yes they pee every 30 minutes. Some of them develop iron bladders and can go all day. Others, like Loki, will probably never be able to hold it 8 hours.
Try bells so she can let you know when she needs to go out. I would still expect between 1 accident a day to 1 accident a week for a 5 month old.
When you are gone I bet she is sleeping. I bet you can hold it 9 hours while you sleep - but not 9 hours while you are at work. At least I can't. Loki and I both have bladder issues though so I guess I can sympathize with him when he has to pee at 3am. |