# Fellow Maltese owners, new owner here needs your advice/opinions pls



## UWMsGirl (Jun 26, 2006)

Hi Everyone, 

My name is JoAnn and we just got our puppy last night and she is ADORABLE. I do have some questions that I'm hoping maybe you all can advice me on since I want to try to start off "right" if you will or atleast try to.









Last night we put Meli into a crate, since the breeder said it was easier to get her potty trained that way and she whined/barked ofcourse, so my husband or I would say a firm "NO" and then leave her alone. Every time she whined/barked we would repeat it "NO" (not sure if we are doing the right thing here, should we keep saying NO or just ignore her?), finally she fell asleep and slept for a few hours, then I heard her whine again, but it was different if that makes sense so I took her outta the crate and took her to the potty pad which she went and she got lots of praise for that. Today I had to leave her for 2 hours and when I got back she had pooped in her crate so I had to wash it out and bathe her because it was all over her lil paws. 

We did get her an exercising pen today and set that up and put her food/water bowl in there, one of her beds in there and on the opposite side the potty pads, now she has gone on them, but ofcourse she still has accidents as expected. Sorry to ramble on, my question is should I put her in the crate again tonight which is by our bed or should I try leaving her in the exercising pen at night? When I got home she was whining inside the ex. pen, so either way she whines. I guess I am confused, not sure if we should just keep her in the crate at night and stick to that and then during the day put her in the exercising pen when we're away. I know she will whine, but I'm sure with time it will stop.....she is trying to adjust so I'm just trying to do what is best for her and what will help her get through ok. Thanks for any advice or opinions any of you might have for a new Maltese owner, have a great day.









~~JoAnn~~


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## jude'n'jools (Apr 6, 2006)

What age is she?


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## UWMsGirl (Jun 26, 2006)

> What age is she?[/B]


Sorry forgot to post that, she's only 12 weeks so I know it will take time.


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## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

I have never done crate training because it did not make sense for my life style. I do use an idea similar to your exercise pen. I work during the day and I put the furkids in a room or exercise pen with their food, bed, toys and wee wee pad. I don't give them free run when I am gone because they might hurt themselves. 

I let them out once I get home and there are wee wee pads outside. I do not train them to go outside as they cannot hold it while I am at work. I have found that they know to go on the pads.


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## jude'n'jools (Apr 6, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=217198
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Well i would say that to put her in the crate all night is too long for her, i dont think she would be able to hold it in that long.

A puppy that age needs to go potty between every 1-2 hours.

My little girl is almost 17 weeks old & i am just starting to put her in a crate at night & so far she is doing good. Start by putting her in the crate for 1-2 hours at a time during the day so that she learns to control her bladder then when you take her out put her on her pad & also after every nap she has put her on the pad.

It does take time but before you know it she will be trained if you stick to a routine.

Good Luck & dont forget to post pics of your little one &







you will get loads of info here to help you


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## angelsugar (Apr 22, 2006)

*Howdy!
I got my first maltese puppy at 12 weeks too. We kept him in a small crate with us on the bed. I stuck my fingers in the crate when he would whimper when first put to bed...this was only for the first few nights. Lucky for me he slept through the night. We then we would go to bed and let him snuggle with us and when he fell asleep put him in the crate. As we started to trust him more to "hold it" and let us know when he had to go, we kept the crate on the bed with the door removed. He was then free to sleep on the bed or crawl into the crate. This crate is rather small (actually a kitty carrier) but he is kind of small too. So now he sleeps on the bed or in the crate and seems quite comfortable.

We tried to train him on pee pads, but it was very very hard. However, he took to the outdoors rather easily so we trained him that way. Now that we have had him for about 2 months now, he can do both outside and pee pads. He hates to go out when the grass is wet and refuses when it is raining. So that made it easy to start the pee pad training!

However, when we left him alone in his big kennel, he whimpered and cried and broke my heart. We did SSSHHHHH and NO and everything else under the sun, including praise when he was quiet. But it never stopped. So..............we talked to a lot of knowledgable folks and long story short - got another puppy!!! He is soooo quiet now, the only sounds we hear when they are together in their new big pen is when the cat annoys them and then the new puppy barks at the cat!! But the new puppy has only been here for 5 days so I think they will get used to each other as my first puppy did. But most importantly my first pup no longer seems to have that separation anxiety.

So...........just remember, I am not that experienced with Malts as we have always had big dogs...but I just wanted to share my current experience with you.

Good luck and be patient! They are smart little buggers, they will learn!!







*


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## tag (Aug 26, 2004)

I know you said the crate is in your room but can she see you. She probably needs that reassurance. Also I don't think they can hold "it" for very long at that age, I would think 2 hours at the most.


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## jude'n'jools (Apr 6, 2006)

> *Howdy!
> I got my first maltese puppy at 12 weeks too. We kept him in a small crate with us on the bed. I stuck my fingers in the crate when he would whimper when first put to bed...this was only for the first few nights. Lucky for me he slept through the night. We then we would go to bed and let him snuggle with us and when he fell asleep put him in the crate. As we started to trust him more to "hold it" and let us know when he had to go, we kept the crate on the bed with the door removed. He was then free to sleep on the bed or crawl into the crate. This crate is rather small (actually a kitty carrier) but he is kind of small too. So now he sleeps on the bed or in the crate and seems quite comfortable.
> 
> We tried to train him on pee pads, but it was very very hard. However, he took to the outdoors rather easily so we trained him that way. Now that we have had him for about 2 months now, he can do both outside and pee pads. He hates to go out when the grass is wet and refuses when it is raining. So that made it easy to start the pee pad training!
> ...


LOL yes i agree, get another malt


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi and Welcome to SM...................you should be setting a schedule for your baby. Take her to the pad as soon as she awakens from her night or nap, take her to the pad immediately after she eats, take her to the pad before and even during play time, take her to the pad before bedtime or before nap time, and any other time she give you any signal. She will soon get the hint.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I like my dogs use to a crate. It is fine for at night. Keep her near the bed. I also do the fingers in the crate. I ignore the whining unless the pup wakes up and needs to potty. At this age, you'll need to take her once or twice at night to potty. 

I'd ignore whining in the pen, too. You may need to make the pen a little smaller if she has accidents in it. Just enough room for bed/food on one end and pee pads on the other. 

She'll need a week or so to get in the swing of things. Just be consistent.


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## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

*I haven't had a puppy that young come into our lives yet but I just wanted to welcome you to Spoiled Maltese and wish you well.*



*enJOY!
Melanie*


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## UWMsGirl (Jun 26, 2006)

> *I haven't had a puppy that young come into our lives yet but I just wanted to welcome you to Spoiled Maltese and wish you well.*
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Thank you all for your opinions and advice. You are all very kind. Last night she did pretty good, we went to bed at about 11:30pm, I tried taking her out of the crate 2 hours later to potty, but she didn't have to "go". At around 4:50AM I heard her whine so I let her out of the crate and she went potty...surprised me that she had held it for that long, but I'm not complaining.







She didn't whine last night when I put her into the crate, so that's good. She woke up at 7:30AM to potty. Just wanted to update you all on how things are going on our 2nd day with our baby Meli, thanks again everyone.

~~JoAnn~~


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## Cindy1981 (Apr 24, 2006)

I really honestly believe it all depends on the dog. I have five small dogs and two larger dogs. alot of the time things are the same for all seven.

Four of my seven hold it all night even if I try to get them to go outside or on Potty pads and one of those four is my 16 week Maltese Lacey. The other are my 10 month old Chihuaha Tinkerbell, My 3 year old Rottweiler Daphne and my 2 year old Rottweiler Bear. I have two that go in their crates every once in awhile and those are my 9 month old male Chihuahua and my almost 6 month old Maltese Daisy. One that goes in her crate everynight even though I let her out every two hours and take her food and water up from her and that is my 18 week old Yorkie Coco. 

What I do with mine is never clean the crate up in front of them, never scold (by scolding I mean a firm ut uh) after they act is done, keep them clean even if that means a bath at 3 am, limit food and water 3 hours before bedtime (we switch to treats such as stuffed kongs and ice chips), Make sure they are really worn out before bedtime witch will usually nip the whinning in the butt as they are wanting to sleep as well and I always keep the radio on for them. Also when they are whinning unless I know it something such as they need to go out I try to let them comfort themselves, if they whine longer than 3 minutes I will get up take them potty, play with them for a bit and them put them back in their crates with a kong. All my little guys are being trained on potty pads and to go outside. I use potty pads on raining days alot and don't mind it as I really don't want them out in the winter in a foot of snow. 

When I am not home my little guys have run of the living room and the Rotts have the rest of the house. I normally don't have too many accidents off the pads. I think if you are going to be gone during the day you need to make arrangements for her to get some exercise. The X pen will probably be a good choice for the day and I would put her in the crate at night. She will probably whin for a couple weeks all mine have but will soon settle in and learn when bedtime is. Let her tell you how often she needs to go. Like I said my 16 week Maltese will hold it all night and seems to be too lazy to get out of her crate if I do try to let her out and at the same time my 18 week old Yorkie I think would still go if I let her out every twenty minutes. two weeks difference in age on those two.


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