# Please help with transitioning from litter box to outside



## MaltyMom

My husband and I brought our Maltese puppy home three days ago, and we are having some difficulty with house training. At the breeder's house, she was litter box trained, and now my husband and I are trying to train her to only go outside. We have been taking her out about every two hours (she is 15 weeks old), and she almost always goes when we take her to the grass. Unfortunately, she also goes inside the house. She seems to think she can go wherever she wants. When she does go in the grass, we always praise her profusely, but we have never given her a treat reward (have heard mixed opinions on this). Please give me any advice you may have...we're going crazy! Thank you!


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## MandyMc65

15 weeks old and 3 days, that's not very long to expect potty training 

My suggestion is to put the litter box outside. And yes, praise like a crazy person when she goes in the right spot. I have always used a treat. Jax doesn't get one every time now (he's a little over a year) but he still occasionally does. 

 Good luck! Consistency and patience are the key to success!


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## wolfieinthehouse

> My husband and I brought our Maltese puppy home three days ago, and we are having some difficulty with house training. At the breeder's house, she was litter box trained, and now my husband and I are trying to train her to only go outside. We have been taking her out about every two hours (she is 15 weeks old), and she almost always goes when we take her to the grass. Unfortunately, she also goes inside the house. She seems to think she can go wherever she wants. When she does go in the grass, we always praise her profusely, but we have never given her a treat reward (have heard mixed opinions on this). Please give me any advice you may have...we're going crazy! Thank you![/B]



She is very young still, just moved to a new family and is doing the best she can.

I suspect she wasn't totally litter box trained yet too.

You can either try to fully train her to a litter box or try to train her to go outdoors but you will need to make a point of taking her outdoors often. 

I finally chose to train my maltese to use a piddle pad though he will go outdoors too if taken there. It works for me since we have lots of steps to the yard and my dog doesn't go down steps on his own.

Supervise her indoors and make sure you have her potty before letting her wander around a room with you.


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## cloey70

Confine, confine, and confine. This is a baby and will take months if not until a year old. So patience is a must in this transition. I have a 8 month old that I gate in a room that is designated just for him. He does not have freedom throughout the house, its too big in their eyes and will take time. I would buy an xpen and put the litter box in there with bed, food and water, and of course toys. Litter box training is the way to go. If your out and about and are gone all day you don't have to worry about rushing home to let them out. Try reconsidering the outdoor potty training until your baby is older, like 6 months. Your baby is probably getting confused right now with the pottying thing. They were trained by the breeder to go in a litter box and now your switching to outside. Its only be 3 days, it will not happen overnight. Consistency and a feeding schedule will help predict when they need to go. There is much info on this forum regarding potty training, research and read. Good Luck and Welcome.


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## jen_hedz

I agree that the poor little girl is probably confused. She was used to going potty inside the house in a litter box so if you don't have a litter box in the house for her she's going to go anywhere she feels the need. My pups are 5 months old now and they know exactly where the potty pads are and that is where they go but the other day I tried to move their pads to a different spot and they both went potty on the floor where their pads were before I moved them so I'd say that they were confused and they are quite a bit older than your little one, needless to say I moved their pads back to the original spot because I didn't want to go through potty training all over again!! It'll just take time and lots of potty breaks outside and praise praise praise!! I always gave treats when they were first learning and I personally think that really helped. Good luck!!


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## graceandmartin

I can't agree more with all the other posts. I brought home my baby too at 15 weeks and tried doing the potty outside only thing too. But taking her out every 2 hours (and sometimes even at 1 & 3am) just wasn't something that she wanted to do because as soon as we'd enter the house after standing outside for about 30 minutes or so, she'd just go on the kitchen floor.

So we put a puppy pad in one particular spot and have kept it there since. She'll go outside whenever we walk her, but she knows exactly where her pad is and will always use it. I know it also helped too that we kept her confined to the kitchen where her pee pad was if we couldn't supervise her. Too much space to roam is often too disorienting for them, especially in potty training. 

Good luck!! :thumbsup:


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## jmm

Yes you can train your pup to go outdoors only. 

Playing puppies can urinate every 15-30 minutes. When she is active, she needs to be taken out more often. 

If you are not actively watching her, she needs to be confined to her crate. 

Set a schedule and stick with it. She should have a time for waking up, potty, feeding, playing, walking, etc. This will help her body expect to go on schedule. 

I strongly suggest a food reward for pottying in the right place. The more rewarding you make a behavior, the more likely a dog is to repeat it.


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## MaltyMom

Thank you all for the great advice. I have started giving her a treat when she goes in the proper place, and I am taking her outside very frequently (after waking up, spending time in the crate, eating, playing, and before bed). I also take her out once in the middle of the night. When I am unable to watch her carefully, I place her in her crate or exercise pen. I just have to be patient and hope for the best.


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