I agree 100% with the previous posts. Also, make sure you are taking your pup out frequenlty. When I first go my pups they were 4 months old (shelter pups). I was taking them out to pee every hour. My male learned very quickly. I didn't even need to shorten his crate. However, my female took a lot longer. She needed to have her crate shorten and once "I thought" she had learned- I started to make it bigger little by little. If she messed in the crate I put it back to the size it was when she wasn't messing. It will take time. Be patient, your pup will get it.