5 month old husky

Question
i have a 5 month old male siberian husky generally well behaved but there is one problem i cant solve! we read up on the breed before buying and got all the books and training has not been too bad the only problem is he still has accidents in the house even though he knows to do it outside! we take him for 4 long walks, some days he will do his business outside other days he will be stubbern and wait until he gets home and then does it inside! we give him tratrs and praise when he goes outside! is this just a phase he is giong through or are doing something wrong! can you help?

Answer
Chances are, you are doing something (often very small and seemingly inconsequential) wrong, and this has developed into this behavior.  Without seeing the daily routine, it's tough to say, but there are a few things to keep in mind:

1) Make sure that any messes in the house are cleaned with an enzyme-based cleaner.
2) Make sure that the dog does not witness the clean-up

Any time people have difficulty with house training, I always recommend the same thing - go back to the beginning.  By retraining your dog (and yourself) you can often correct any inadvertent mistakes in the training.  I recommend crate training, and the process is pretty simple - if you can't watch the dog, it is in the crate.  If the dog is out of the crate, you are watching it.  You may catch the dog in the act a few times - and in that case, pick the dog up and usher him outside to the correct spot.  Usually a strong "NO!" when you notice the behavior is enough to make the dog pause so you can get him outside where he can be praised for using the right spot.  If you can't watch the dog, and he goes somewhere in the house, roll up the newspaper and whack yourself in the head (you weren't watch the dog, were you?).  In all seriousness, what you are doing is never giving the dog a chance to make a mistake.  After a few weeks of this, the behavior of going in the house is replaced.  However, if you let him eliminate in the house, he begins to think it's ok.

Hope that helps some, but if, as you are reading this, you think that this doesn't cover it, or there is something else going on - write back and I'll be happy to help!  As I mentioned earlier, this is usually a very specific problem that's tough to diagnose over email, but usually the "start at the beginning" method works out pretty well.