# First days - what to expect?



## philips2 (Jan 4, 2009)

My wife and I bought a 12 week, male, Maltese puppy from a breeder in LI and brought him home this morning. He's incredibly small and very hesitant (to be expected since we just separated him from his mother and family). He's not wee wee pad or house-trained. His breeder kept him in a crate with wire flooring so it looks like he usually just went to the bathroom while in his crate, and it would fall to the bottom. We tried taking him on regular walks today, but it was more like dragging him down the hall and onto the street. He wouldn't step foot out of our apartment, wouldn't walk down the hall/elevator, and wouldn't walk around outside. He also hasn't gone to the bathroom all day, except for peeing once.

My question is: Should we just let him "do his thing" to get used to his new environment for the first few days and wait for his behavior patterns to normalize (readily go for walks, regular bowel movements), before we start training and housebreaking him? At this point, he hasn't learned any commands and seems to have little to no attention span. We're ready to be patient, but want to make sure he's ready to respond when we start giving him training. Are the first 3-5 days just an adjustment period for the puppy (and us)? Any advice would be appreciated.


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## tamizami (May 1, 2007)

Not that this addresses your question, just curious, where is LI?

Anyway....I like to give them the first week to get adjusted to our home, the smells, a potty routine and our eating, sleeping and playing routines. I would advise crate training him for potty, search the training thread for many discussions about how to do this.

As for walks....12 weeks is a little young to expect to go outside on a walk, IMHO. Next week I would put a harness (not a collar) on him and let him walk around (supervised) for awhile in it and treat him. In a few days I would put a leash on it and let him drag it around, supervised, and praise and treat him when he walks. Then walk with him and the leash around your home and treat him. Be careful of stairs. Then maybe out the front door into the hallway and treat...etc. continuing gradually until eventually you will build up to a walk outdoors. Some dogs aren't too crazy about walking outdoors and this is a good way to introduce it slowly and make it pleasant. Remember, lots of praise and healthy treats. Of course, your dog may never like to walk outdoors, they all have their own personalities. 

FYI, the maltese trachea is sensitive and some can have collapsing tracheas. Therefore, its safest to use a step in harness.

There is also a pinned topic on systemic socialization of puppies that JMM wrote, its an excellent reference for you. Welcome and congratulations on your new little one!


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## DickLaw (Feb 2, 2008)

It is my belief of training all dogs, it comes in two steps: 
1. establish a patern of what you want him/her to do. With potty training the initial goal is to make him realize that he should do his business in one designated place ( in this case, where ever he seems to want to go regularily). May take lots of instantious praise. Anywhere he picks to begin with so long as you can put up with it temporarily. 
2 sfter establishing the routine, now take him to where ever you want to be his potty place, watch him carefully and praise any atempts to use your designated place for permanant elimination. Praise, prase when appropriate. 
*You seem to have a good start here - our Pearl was also reised (first several weeks) in the carrying case. She picked this as the place to retire to for the nigh - or anytime she felt insecure. We used that for certain rewards. 
[email protected]


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## wolfieinthehouse (Dec 14, 2007)

I would let him make sense of the whole new house for now.

I also don't take my dogs out for walks until they have had all their vacinations and the vet gives the all clear to go statement.

Meanwhile, you can get him used to a leash by using a harness and letting him figure out how a leash feels and works around the house.

Congratulations on the new dog!


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

Congrats on your Malt! A couple things...

At 12 weeks he hasn't had all his shots. He shouldn't be outside and certainly not walking in any public areas until about two weeks after his last shot. Also be sure the vet gives the rabies shot about 2-3 weeks after the other shots. Most vets are not used to small dogs and seem to want to give all the shots at once which is a lot for our tiny Malts to handle.

He's a baby so he won't have much attention span. Just start training him using pads. I'll try to find you some posts here about training. Basically get some pads. And put him on the pads after a nap, before and after meals and basically about every couple hours. As you see him start to go say a word. I use "hurry" or "hurry up". Eventually he will associate the word with going. Catcher will pretty much go on command now. Kallie is more stubborn, unfortunately. If he has an accident, it is considered the fault of the owner. He needs to be in your sight at all times, unless confined, so you can make sure he gets to his potty pads and is successful at potty training. 

Do you have a puppy play pen for him?

My point of view is to not stress out a puppy. He will likely be scared and cry tonight. With both Kallie and Catcher I slept with them in a chair when they were puppies for a few nights. They each snuggled at my neck and there was no crying at all. It bonded us and they didn't have the stress of crying. Stress is not good for the immune system and I see no reason to make them cry all night, even though some still do it.

There's a lot to learn about Malts... You've come to the right place ... lots of info here!


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

JMM one of our members is a long-time vet tech and very knowledgable about dog behavior. I have saved some of her posts ....

POTTY TRAINING TIPS FROM JMM:


FROM JMM: SM Thread - Examples or Tips on How To Potty Train 

I find the easiest thing is an x-pen collapsed down to about 2x4 ft. I cover the entire bottom with papers (wee wee pads). I put the pup in at potty time just like I would take them outdoors. As soon as they go, I open the pen and let them out and give them a treat. I put the pup in after eating, playing, waking up, etc. until I get a good sense of their schedule. I keep my pen in the kitchen and all playing is done in the kitchen next to the open pen. Once they start going in on their own while we're playing, I start offering a little more freedom. It takes time and confinement. When left alone I either extend the pen so papers are on one end and food/bed on the other or crate the puppy. 

Basically, you should use the same guidelines as you would for training a puppy to go outdoors. In my experience, I have found getting a consistent and reliably paper trained dog takes more time and work than training them to go outdoors.


FROM JMM: SM Thread - 4 Months Today

He is not having accidents, he has no idea that he has to go outdoors. 

1. Every accident is really your fault for not getting him outside in time. 

2. Playing puppies may need to go every 10-15 minutes. Sleeping puppies can usually go for 1 hour more than their age in months during the day, but for toy breeds with little bladders it can be a bit less. 

3. If your dog has the opportunity to have an accident, you gave it too much freedom. Crate time when you can't watching and leashing your puppy to you are the ideal ways to ensure supervision. Crate time is especially important so that dogs learn how to hold it for brief periods of time. 

4. Motivate your dog to go in the right place. Give good treats and praise when he goes outside every time. Go out with him on a leash each time and praise him. Ignore accidents in the house. Do not punish him. 

5. Set a schedule, especially for feeding and play time. This will help him to need to potty on a schedule. Wake up, outside, eat, outside, play, outside, nap, outside. Eating on a schedule will tend to have him defecating on a schedule which can help aid in housetraining. 


FROM JMM: SM Thread - Potty Training Frustrations

1. Not all dogs have the obvious signs. This pup I have now is the same way...she'll just walk along and go if you don't take her out. So, when she's playing, she can go 20-30 minutes. I set a timer and take her out every 25 minutes and tada, no accidents (and we have an elevator ride to get outside!). I carry her from her crate to outside when she gets released from the crate. Depending on his age, it may be every 15 minutes for him now. 

2. Let's make is impossible for him not to succeed. Take a small x-pen (2x4ft) or bathroom w/baby gate and cover the whole bottom with pads. Put him in there at potty time and wait. If he doesn't go within a few minutes, CRATE him for 10 and try again. Be stubborn! Repeat, repeat, repeat. Don't forget a really great treat when he goes in the right spot and, let him out as soon as he goes. Using this method most pups figure out fast that they get out if they go and it speeds things up. I used this method with my poop smearer. 

3. Set a schedule for crate time, play time, etc. This will help him learn to go at certain times and hold it. 

The rule in my house is don't give the pup a chance for an accident. It means we go potty a whole lot so she succeeds a whole lot. It also means if I'm not standing their watching and she's peed within the last 25 minutes, she has to be in her crate. It takes a lot of discipline (and a timer LOL) on my part, but the only time she has accidents is if I slack off.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

QUOTE (K/C Mom @ Jan 3 2009, 10:13 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=698678


> JMM one of our members is a long-time vet tech and very knowledgable about dog behavior. I have saved some of her posts ....
> 
> POTTY TRAINING TIPS FROM JMM:
> 
> ...



Anyway we can pin that in the Training section?


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

QUOTE (LadysMom @ Jan 3 2009, 10:33 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=698698


> QUOTE (K/C Mom @ Jan 3 2009, 10:13 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=698678





> JMM one of our members is a long-time vet tech and very knowledgable about dog behavior. I have saved some of her posts ....
> 
> POTTY TRAINING TIPS FROM JMM:[/B]



Anyway we can pin that in the Training section?
[/B][/QUOTE]

Good idea! Done! :thumbsup:


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## philips2 (Jan 4, 2009)

Thank you, everyone, for your great responses. I’m so glad to have found this forum because I can genuinely tell everyone cares.

LI = Long Island. My wife and I live in Manhattan, New York in a 1 bedroom apartment. It’s medium-sized for Manhattan but probably considered small anywhere else (approx 600 sq ft). 

We live on the 12th floor, so we take him outside (20-30 feet in front of the apartment building) for his “walks” to try to coax him to go to the bathroom. He’s not outside for a long (5-10 minutes max). And we have him in a full body harness and have never put him in a collar (we’re aware of the small trachea). 

Questions: 
Should we even take him outside? He has all his 4 puppy shots (except rabies and Bordatella). He came from a VERY good breeder so I don’t think his healthcare was compromised in any way. But it’s cold outside and maybe puppies this young shouldn’t be outside much at all? 

We’re able to take him outside regularly (in the morning, after meals, every 2-3 hours). Since we’re able to do that, should we forego wee wee pad training? I’ve read much about wee wee pad training and training dogs to pee outside, but I’m not sure how to get him to transition from wee wee pad training to outdoor training. 

We don’t have an enclosed area (like a laundry room, separate kitchen area, or spare room) where we can put him. Please remember, it’s a Manhattan apartment ;-) That makes wee wee pad training harder to do. 

Also, the puppy eats and drinks a lot. Everything I’ve read says the puppy will have a bowel movement 5-20 minutes after he eats. Not this dog. He seems to be able to “hold it” pretty well. Is this because he’s just not comfortable with his new environment?


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

There's a wealth of information about training puppies on petplace.com. A lot of the articles are written by veterinary behaviorists.


Here's what some of the veterinary behaviorists are saying about puppy socialization:



Link to Animal Behavior Resources Institue Article




The following link is slow to load, there's two pages:

American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior Link 




Joy


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## Charlie0824 (Jul 14, 2011)

I brought my guy home at 8 weeks old; he will turn 1 yr old on 8/24/11. I am having a hard time with gettinghim completly potty trained. He is very teritorial and marks on EVERYTHING, including humans at the dog park. It is very fustrating and embarrassing. initially, I started pad training him giving him a small area of the laundry room adjaceent to my kitchen. I now allow him the run of the kitchen when we are home, however I can not allow him upstairs or any other carpeted area of the house because he will go to the bathroom. As for pooping, he typically will NOT go out side and ususally goes in the house. I have purchased doggie diapers so that I can allow him to be with the family in other parts of the house. I just dont know what to do at this point. Any suggestions?


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