# How long does it take to potty train?



## jackstraw

Hi- I know every Malt is different but just curious... When did you finally PT your Malt? Jack is 13 wks and he's still going inside. 

We take him out on a regular basis to prevent him from failing but every other day or so, he'll poop inside. I know that I'm the one who failed but we're usually pretty good at a routine.


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## ndth

Lol mine's 4 months now and we still have accidents...when we do take him outside...sometimes I have to sit there for 45 minutes...


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## LJSquishy

I personally never call a Maltese 100% potty trained. lol

London is 13 months old now and she still has occasional accidents in the house (obviously if we're not watching her closely enough).

From the time she came home at 12 weeks she has been solely outdoor trained, and I am a housewife so I'm always here with her to let her out. I call her potty trained, but like I said, if left unattended for very long, she will poop in the house...getting them reliably poo-trained seems much harder. lol


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## jmm

I got Soda at 5 months and he was reliable within 3 weeks. Roo took longer as he has some medical potty issues. 

Don't stand outside with your dog for 45 minutes. Have a 3-5 minutes for potty time than back in. If the dog does not go, back in the crate for 15 minutes and try again. 

If you are not watching your dog (and I mean following his every movement), the dog must be confined. Every time you let your dog have an accident, you increase the likelihood of that behavior occuring again. 

And for little pups, set a timer! If they are playing, every 20 minutes to go out. When I find my dog skipping a potty trip consistently, I extend the time another 10 minutes (so 30 minutes, then 40, etc.).


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## froglivers

Emily came to us at 8 weeks, and we took her out to potty every 2 hours, and after naps, especially energetic play times. She learned to go outside within a week, and now, at 11 weeks, is pretty reliable. Still she has an unexpected "accident" every 3 days or so.

It takes a lot of attention though.


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## trvlnut

QUOTE (JMM @ Jan 20 2009, 10:22 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=710252


> I got Soda at 5 months and he was reliable within 3 weeks. Roo took longer as he has some medical potty issues.[/B]


Jackie:
How do you define reliable?

My dog is 6 mos and was pretty good until we went out of town for Christmas and some friends watched him. Since then, he has had 3 accidents (that I know of). He's confined to the kitchen and I do open another room to him where we watch t.v. It's carpeted and that's where he likes to go. He had another accident today so I have confined him to the kitchen again.

He also used to go pee and poop first thing in the morning, but now it takes us 3 or 4 trips outside in the morning to get him to go. It's really becoming frustrating. 

Should I confine him to his crate again?

Sorry to hijack your thread op.


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## jmm

Reliable means they do not go in the wrong place PERIOD (the only exception would be an illness ie diarrhea or a urinary tract infection) in my home. Anytime you take a dog to a new place, you need to start from the basics with supervision, schedule, and reward. Dogs do not generalize from place to place. For example, the first time I took Roo to the house in VA, even though he would never dream of pooping in the house in TN, I treated him like he didn't know anything to ensure he would have good habits in the new location. 

Any stressful event can cause a lapse in housetraining. Sounds like the case here. 

Confining him to the kitchen doesn't teach him not to go in another room. Dogs do not generalize well. When you expand his access, you need to either leash him to you or be EXTREMELY vigilant (your eyes are always on him) so he does not have the opportunity to have an accident. I also only give this new access right after they have gone potty in the proper place (and have been rewarded with a food reward). 

Roo tried to play the potty game with me to hang around outside. I took my timer out with me and he had 2 minutes to go. Don't go, in your crate. The game got very old to him very fast because all it got him was 20-30 minutes in his crate being ignored. Going potty got him a piece of treat and play time. Now if he doesn't go immediately, he just doesn't need to go (which is happening more now that he's older and can hold it much longer). Set your schedule, stick to your guns, and REWARD the good behavior you want!!! My dog is much more likely to potty quickly if they're going to get a cookie for it!

QUOTE (trvlnut @ Jan 22 2009, 10:55 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=711814


> Jackie:
> How do you define reliable?
> 
> My dog is 6 mos and was pretty good until we went out of town for Christmas and some friends watched him. Since then, he has had 3 accidents (that I know of). He's confined to the kitchen and I do open another room to him where we watch t.v. It's carpeted and that's where he likes to go. He had another accident today so I have confined him to the kitchen again.
> 
> He also used to go pee and poop first thing in the morning, but now it takes us 3 or 4 trips outside in the morning to get him to go. It's really becoming frustrating.
> 
> Should I confine him to his crate again?
> 
> Sorry to hijack your thread op.[/B]


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## LJSquishy

I agree with JMM on going back to the basics any time your Maltese is in a new location. When London and I visit my parents out of town, I make sure and take her outside every 2 hours or so unless she's sleeping. Even since she was a young puppy, she has never had a single accident in my parents' home. She will go straight to the door and wait until I notice that she has to go outside.

London DOES have accidents in the house when she's ill (diarrhea), but I consider it to be the same as a child who gets the flu and vomits on the floor right before they make it to the bathroom (lol). They just can't control it. She will only have accidents in the house when we're not watching her closely enough -- it's never her fault any more.


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## ndth

OOh thanks guys, these are great advices here. I need to start with the timer thing. Sam sure takes forever in the backyard to do his business.


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## trvlnut

What schedule should I have for a 6 month old? After his morning potty, he can go 4 hours without going. In fact, today I had to leave and he wouldn't go before I left so he was crated. He didn't go for 7 hours. I gave him a couple opportunities to go before then. He also seems to have the most problems with poop. Not sure why.


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## MandyMc65

I use potty pads, but they are out in our garage. Luckily Jax knows what a potty pad means! 

When I leave, even if it's for an hour or two, I put a potty pad in our dining room. I know Jax will not hold it if he has to go while we're gone. I'm not sure if this is him being unreliable, or just not being able to hold it any longer!

He RARELY has accidents in the house (like 1 a month) and when he does it's usually my fault b/c I wasn't watching him. However, he does like to use the bath mat as a potty pad! No clue why, but he does.... maybe because it's white and resembles a potty pad?

Jax is almost 2 (holy cow!) and has been consistent since he was about 6 months old. He was a super easy pup to train and knows where he's suppose to go and where he's not. He also was crated when we left until he was about 6 months old, then he received freedom.

I think the rule of thumb is add 1 to their age in months and that's how long they can hold it (reasonably speaking). So at 6 months he should be able to hold it for 7 hours.... I think.


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## jmm

Feeding on a schedule can help make defecating more predictable. If you know he needs to defecate and has not, do not give him any freedom - crate or leash to you! 

At 6 months old he can hold it 6-7 hours when being quiet and resting. When playing, I would try every 2 hours and extend from there. 


QUOTE (trvlnut @ Jan 23 2009, 05:03 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=712184


> What schedule should I have for a 6 month old? After his morning potty, he can go 4 hours without going. In fact, today I had to leave and he wouldn't go before I left so he was crated. He didn't go for 7 hours. I gave him a couple opportunities to go before then. He also seems to have the most problems with poop. Not sure why.[/B]


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