Housebreaking your new Puppy
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Housebreaking your new puppy will take patience. You should begin to housebreak as soon as you bring your new puppy home. Puppies need to relieve themselves approximately six times a day. A puppy should be taken out immediately after each meal since a full stomach puts pressure on the bladder. We recommend taking your baby out once every hour if you are able in the daytime hours. After he is a little older of course you can increase the time, as you will know your puppy and his behavior better.
A puppy is not physically able to control the muscle that allows him to "hold it" until he is about 12 weeks of age. Before this time, good housebreaking routines should be practiced to avoid having your puppy urinate and defecate all over your house. Watch for signs of urination or defecation, such as turning in circles. Take your puppy out often. Using a crate or confining your puppy to a small part of the house that has easy clean up floors are some ways to ensure your puppy does not urinate all over your house. It is much harder to housebreak a puppy if he smells is urine in places you do not wish him to relief himself.
There are many different methods in which you can housebreak your new baby. Whichever way you choose, it is important to understand your puppy. Maltese want to please their owner; the trick is to make them understand what it is you want from them.
Dogs do not think the way humans do. When you are unhappy with your puppy, it assumes that whatever it is doing at the exact moment you show disapproval - is the thing that is upsetting you. For example:
If your puppy relieves himself on your floor and you show your disapproval five minutes later, the puppy will think that the mess on the floor is bad. He will not relate to the fact that it was the act of relieving himself on your floor that you disapprove of. The dog will eliminate, see the mess and get worried; you are now going to be unhappy. This is the reason so many dogs will relieve themselves in inappropriate places and look really guilty about it, yet they continue to do it.
Some owners start to think that their puppy is being sneaky when really it does not fully understand what it is doing wrong. It knows the mess upsets you but does not understand that it should stop making the mess. The trick is to catch your dog in the act and make him understand. You do not need to hit your dog. The tone of your voice is enough to make the dog see you are unhappy. A firm "No! You are not allowed to go in the house. No! No!" is all that is needed. Immediately take your puppy outside to the appropriate place. Wait for your dog to go again and when and if he does, praise him. Important: Always praise your baby after he eliminates in the appropriate place.
Paper Training:
Since the Maltese is a breed that stays small and it is going to be an indoor pet, many people prefer paper training. Place puppy pads or layered newspaper in the corner away from the feeding and water dishes. After meals take the puppy to the pads. Each time the puppy eliminates, change the top layer of newspaper and leave the bottom layer. Puppies like to go where they smell urine and feces and will start to prefer the pad, or newspaper over any other spot. Just as any other method of training, be sure to give your baby lots of praise each time he uses the pads...
Many people like to use the paper training method while they are away at work. If you have a bathroom, or laundry room with adequate space and can put up a baby gate this works wonderful. This way the puppy has plenty of room to run and play while you are away and then can assume his outside training when you arrive home. We always suggest leaving a radio or TV turned down low so that the puppy doesn't feel scared and all alone. He can hear the noise and assume that someone is in the room next to him.
Crate Training:
Should you decide to crate train, please be aware: a dog that is left in a crate all day long, gets let out in the evening after work for a few hours and put back in the crate for the night can become, sad, lonely, destructive, and noisy. If you work all day, it is recommend that you find someone who can take your dog out for a walk sometime in the middle of the day. If this is not possible only use the crate at night. If you must leave your dog all day long every day and you have nobody to let the dog out during the day, you should find a room without a rug, put down Housebreaking Pads, food, water and toys. Set the room up so that the pee pads are at one end and the food and wateris at the other. Spread toys in the center of the room because your puppy needs something to occupy his mind, while you are away.
You must be willing to invest time and energy fora couple of weeks during the housetraining process. Remember that effort you put forth will last for the rest of your pet's life.
For the crate training the first 3 to 4 weeks keep your puppy in it when you are not with him. Make sure the crate is not too big. It should be large enough for the puppy's bed, but no larger. Dogs do not want topee or poop where they sleep, so the use of a crate teaches them to control the urge to eliminate. You must watch them constantly, and when you see him pacing, sniffing around, and turning in circles, immediately take him outside.
After you have taken the puppy outside, be patient and do not rush him. He may have to go several times in one "pit stop." Give him about 10 minutes before taking him back inside. Do not play with him during this time..... Be sure to give him Lots of praise when he is finished.
Make sure you take him out after every meal and play session BEFORE you put him back in his crate. Be consistent, pay close attention to your puppy's behavior so you can develop a schedule that works for you and the pup. When does your puppy normally defecate? In the morning? 10 minutes after eating? Around bedtime? You may have to make some compromises.
Be fair to your puppy. He cannot be expected to stay alone in his crate for endless hours and not relieve himself. During your work days, you will need to or have someone help you at least once during the day (lunch time is good) to let the puppy out. Take him for a long walk, or let him run freely in your fenced yard....... Your puppy needs to know that he is loved and not left alone ...
Everyone in the family should take the puppy to the same place in your yard and use the same word for going outside everytime.. The odor from the previous visits will cause the puppy to go in that spot again. Use a simple word like "outside" when taking your puppy out. Be sure to use this word consistently. When you notice him going toward the door and you say "outside" he will know exactly what you are talking about.
The key to housebreaking is most of all remain consistent. Do not allow your puppy to do something one day and not the next. This will confuse him. Never leave your untrained puppy with free reign in the house. Make sure your puppy knows what you expected of him. Maltese want to please you, and will try very hard to do just that, always praise your puppy for their good behavior. No form of physical punishment is as effective as praise and encouragement.
Please feel free to call or e-mail anytime
Murna Scott
Lavaca, AR
479-965-6656
Dogs need to sniff the ground; it's how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard.
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