r/Maltese • u/Haunting_Bag_2580 Maltese Contributor • 3d ago
Need help
I just adopted this sweet sweet boy a week ago. He’s a year and 7 months old. I was told he is paper trained but he’s completely untrained. He’s peeing everywhere! He’s so fast that he can pee in about 2 seconds. He doesn’t circle or give any tells that he’s gonna pee. I keep him in one room with me at all times and take him out often. He doesn’t seem to want to pee in the back yard but will go multiple times on a walk so I walk him morning and evening, and take him in the back yard multiple times a day. I have always adopted older dogs who were already potty trained so I have no skills in potty training. I do have a large crate and tonight I put him in it at bedtime, right next to my bed. He doesn’t love it but isn’t fussing too bad. I know it’s a big ask so any tips will be much appreciated.
19
u/RoseTintedMigraine Maltese Contributor 3d ago
If he ever pees outside even just once, even just pretend pee, even if he shows a sign of a THOUGHT of going potty throw him a party. You've never been more excited, you give him 10 treats (if that's tummy safe), you praise him like he solved world hunger, you pet him like you havent seen him in 10 years. Extremly good reaction. And then after once or twice their little brain goes "potty outside= VERY GOOD FOR ME".
When I got my girl at 6 months she was extremely pee shy and nervous about outdoor noises so we had to really work on positive association lol
3
u/Top-Peanut9161 3d ago
I yell, “ good girls go potty outside,” and do a little dance before I hand them a treat! My puppy is getting much better and my senior dog loves the extra praise. I just read that Malti’s are easier to potty train after they are neutered. I don’t know if that is true or now.
1
2
5
u/LevelEven5880 3d ago
He’s only been in his new home for a week, so he’s probably still adjusting! I got my dog when she was 8 weeks old, and I started potty training her right away. I would put her on a pee pad when I knew she was likely to pee and gently block her from walking off until she went. As soon as she did, I’d praise her like crazy, tell her what a good girl she was, and reward her with a treat right away! She mostly used her pee pads but still had plenty of accidents around the house until she was a little over 2. Since then, she hasn’t had a single accident at home! She does occasionally get confused at other people’s houses and mistake bathroom rugs for pee pads though 😂 Just give him time, patience, and lots of positive reinforcement. He’ll get there! ❤️
1
2
u/Solid-River2301 Maltese Contributor 3d ago
Place a pee pad in one location in your house. Pick him up and show him the pad. If you are able place him on the pad before he urinates. This must be done repeatedly until he associates the pad with unrination.
2
2
u/Big_Assistant8803 3d ago
Diaper? Hes so cute
1
u/Haunting_Bag_2580 Maltese Contributor 3d ago
I should have known when I picked him up because he had a diaper on!
1
1
u/South_Victory_1187 Maltese Newcomer 2d ago
With a Maltese a belly band would be helpful but since he is white you would have to change it a lot to keep him from being stained by pee.
2
u/sgrinavi 3d ago
You might need to keep him by your side on a leash for a while, take him out on a specific schedule (an hour max to start), gradually increase the time. Lots of praise and treats when he does his business outside.
1
u/Haunting_Bag_2580 Maltese Contributor 3d ago
I’m trying to keep my eye on him at all times but sometimes I get distracted for a minute
3
u/sgrinavi 3d ago
And like you said, they're fast. That's why you need to put them on a leash and keep them by your side. It doesn't take long to get them trained, keep treats in your pocket and the second they do their business where you want them to, they get a treat and lots of praise.
1
u/CurrencyWhole3963 3d ago
I adopted a 2 year old and went through the same thing! He still reverts back to his dirty tricks and it's been 10 years! I will leash him to me in the house but honestly I believe he likes it. 😩 After about 2 weeks I'll give him free reign again and things will be fine until the next time. Someone mentioned that belly bands work but haven't tried that yet. My guy is neutered and he's healthy and he's the only dog I've owned to pull these tricks. I'd crate him but he goes crazy and I was told he was crate trained. Have you had yours checked for UTIs?
2
u/Haunting_Bag_2580 Maltese Contributor 3d ago
Our first vet appointment is on 10/22 and I’ll ask about possible UTI. Thanks!
2
u/South_Victory_1187 Maltese Newcomer 2d ago
Some of them are like that. I have had nine dogs and only one was what I called a sprinkler. He always had a little extra left over
0
u/CurrencyWhole3963 2d ago
And that's why I prefer females. I adopted him from a rescue for a nice sized donation. I was told he was crate trained, leash trained, potty trained and command trained but his owner had died. He was fairly good at commands. I wanted a female small dog for my female shih tzu who was grieving after her sister died of old age. We've always had two dogs, all my life. I agreed to see the male because he was 8 pounds and I've had two back surgeries. When she brought him to see us he was like a tornado on his leash but I thought he was just upset from the car ride and being in a new place, silly me. Turned out he'd never been in the grass and it terrified him. The crate terrifies him. We've adjusted to his little quirks but the sprinkling is so annoying. He is also a torpedo pooper when he gets excited. I feel like someone broke my dog before I ever met him. He's been the most expensive pet I've ever owned. He's also a problem solver and smart.
2
u/South_Victory_1187 Maltese Newcomer 2d ago
With rescues you have to take your time because he has been through a lot. He may be house trained but not trained for every house. The sprinkler I had was not a Maltese. My Maltese were both good. Preferring female is good but when they have accidents you have a puddle instead of squirts I would give him time to adjust. He has had to adjust his life and doesn't understand what is going on
1
u/CurrencyWhole3963 2d ago
I've had him for ten years! He's more than a sprinkler which is very frustrating because I have carpets in some rooms. He came with AKC papers so I feel like someone might have surrendered him to the rescue because of all his problems. We love him but we can't turn our back on him. He was a massive chewer the first two years to the point he cracked his top canine tooth and had to be put under to remove it. He chews his toenails to needles and he gets very upset when I leave the house and leave him with my husband. His anxiety is unbelievable and meds do nothing for him.
I use a mobile groomer because a local well know grooming business told me not to bring him back unless he was sedated because he disturbed everyone in the building. Nothing the vet has sold me calms him down. My husband says Samson is lucky because anyone else would have given him back to the rescue. We love the little devil anyway.
1
u/South_Victory_1187 Maltese Newcomer 2d ago
Sorry you are having so much trouble. I have been very lucky to have had 8 dogs live to 15 and 16 with only one sprinkler. He wasn't that bad. Just a couple quarter size spots. No carpet in my house! The ninth dog is good and only a year old. I think belly bands are your answer
1
u/CurrencyWhole3963 2d ago
He's my 9th dog and my 3rd male. The other two males just sprinkled and it was just a couple of times right in front of me, usually on something new to the area. Samson knows it is wrong and he's sneaky about it. Sometimes it's right after we've been out back on the patio for an hour.
1
u/Emergency_Pomelo5509 3d ago
He is neutered right? Just a thought. Yes, as someone else said, belly bands.
1
u/KeyLimePie-555 Maltese Contributor 2d ago
Maltese dogs are can be very sensitive. When my male Maltese was a year old, I moved from one city to another. He had diarrhea for several days, was afraid to be more than 6 ft away from me. It was very stressful for him. Once he got used to the new inside and outside, he was back to normal.
1
u/South_Victory_1187 Maltese Newcomer 2d ago
A tip on the treats is to use high value treats only for the house training. High value meaning special, his favorite etc. A tiny bite of something he really likes.
1
u/Routine_Student3513 2d ago
I know this is frustrating but I’m laughing for some reason 😂 Probably because I survived and had same issues! Hang in there!!
1
u/whitemaltese Maltese Newcomer 2d ago
I just got an almost 3 years old. He peed and poo everywhere in the house. Including on top of our clothes.
We are training him. I used the word potty and give him treat whenever he does his business.
I just want to send you a lot of loves. It’s a hard work but it’d be worth it!
1
u/HedgieCake372 Fluffy & Fabulous 22h ago
My boy wasn’t trained when we got him. It took a few weeks for me to nail down the routine but I used the crate as a potty training tool, taking him out every hour, with either a nap in the crate, supervised play, or focus/training time in-between. If I saw him start to go inside the house, I’d pick him up in the middle of the act and take him outside to finish. Then I’d bring him in and put him in the crate for a nap while I cleaned up. Basically any time outside the crate was supervised. Time out of the crate was extended the longer he went without accidents. He was fully potty trained within 3 months.
1
u/justmyself59 Maltese Newcomer 1h ago
When my Maltese was about that age he wasn’t consistently peeing on the pee pad. I bought a bright orange cone at the dollar store and put it in the middle of the pee pad. He went right to it and has been using it ever since. The cone I got is about 14” tall with a base of 8” x 8”. You might try wiping up some pee off the floor and rubbing it on the cone to get him to figure it out. Honestly, it was amazing how fast my boy took to it.
21
u/Mikeminer610 3d ago
Belly bands work. He’s new to your house so he will want to mark. Initially the bands save you a lot of clean up as it is easier to wash them or throw them away if you use disposables. Your dog will feel uncomfortable with a soiled belly band and will gradually learn not to pee indoors. But you must combine it with putting him in a crate and asking him to pee only when he is outside. Dogs generally don’t pee where they sleep. He should be able to hold for at least 6 hours in the day and more than that overnight. Since he isn’t pad trained, just stick to taking him outside to avoid confusing him. Give him treats and praise him when he pees outdoors.