# HELP! Housebreaking problem!



## lynn007

I have an eight month old Maltese who, despite being able to hold her bladder for 7 hours at night, still doesn't understand that she should only urinate outside. She is taken out every 1 1/2 hours during the day and praised when she goes outside. However, she but will urinate inside the house and in her crate, even if she has only been inside a short duration. She never indicates that she needs to go and will just urinate on the floor even if she has been recently taken out. How do I get her to become housebroken? I have owned many dogs and never had this problem but she is my first Maltese.


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## Snowbody

Lynn - you might want to check about a UTI. It's very rare that dogs will pee in their crates. Just sounds like she can't help herself and that could be because of infection.


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## Crysmas

have you tried punishing your pup for peeing indoors?
i don't mean physically or anything, but giving her a "time out" or something. It worked for me! =] hope this problem is fixed soon. after the potty training stage, they're just a joy to have.


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## Summergirl73

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. I would definetly do as Sue has suggested and get a quick check at the Vet, just to rule out any health related issues. Our Bella is 8 months old too and also our 1st Malt. She was quiet a challenge with housebreaking and she too went through a time where she urinated in her crate. I finally discovered that she functions MUCH better with two main things ~ no crate inside the house (I keep her in the gated kitchen area instead) and all the time access to her UgoDog potty tray. She can walk around the kitchen and access her UgoDog whenever she wants and (knock on wood) we haven't had a single accident since then. I've just started giving her more freedom to the rest of the house (since she earned it by being pee free in the kitchen). I take her outside to potty and then give her "house access". I then take her outside about every hour for a quick potty break. I think she can hold it a bit longer than that, but for now, I'm just focusing on the process of either UgoDog or outside potty....not carpet potty! She's started reaching for her leash and yesterday she even scratched at the front door to let me know she needed to go out.....woooohoooo progress! lol. Have you tried an indoor potty training system yet?


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## Grace'sMom

Agree with the others - may need to check her for UTI.

As for daytime housebreaking - I bell train my dogs. We have a bell on the door that leads outside and they ring it when they need to potty. Grace (13 weeks) rang it 4 times yesterday!  It's a wonderful tool!


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## Ladysmom

Where did you get your Maltese? If she came from a petstore/puppy mill or a kennel, she may have learned that is is okay to potty in her crate. Housebreaking can be very challenging with puppies from that background.

Our own JMM wrote this excellent article on housebreaking:

House Training Puppies & Dogs. Easy Steps to Potty Training


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## zooeysmom

Crysmas said:


> have you tried punishing your pup for peeing indoors?
> i don't mean physically or anything, but giving her a "time out" or something. It worked for me! =] hope this problem is fixed soon. after the potty training stage, they're just a joy to have.


Dogs do not make the connection between having accidents and having a "time out." This is just confusing to the dog. Please read JMM's article.


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## mzbam2842

i am having the same problem with my pets i got them 2 from the rescue shelter they had a full check up when i got them i let them out and they soil the floor and they use their crate as well since i dont jnow their histort u cant tell what the problem is but they had full check up when i got them no mention of any problem except bordotella (i think thats what it was called)


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## mzbam2842

ps guys im new at this what is used to keep them so white they are dirty as soon as i send them out!!!!


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## mzbam2842

how do u do this


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## Grace'sMom

Housebreaking is hard work. It takes a lot of patience, consistency, and more patience. Sometimes it feels like it will never be accomplished, but it will 

I just read the article the others suggested and it is a good one, so suggest you read it mz 

A strict potty schedule will help. With small dogs it is kind of nice because you can scoop them up out of their crate/pen and carry them out to the potty spot. I did this with both Gus and now Gracie. Once we were on a consistent schedule of pottying (I'd say 3-4 days) I'd make sure to have the door unlocked and ready to throw open then excitedly run to it "Let's go potty!" She would follow my excitement and be outside before she'd be able to have an accident on the floor 

I use a bell with my pups. A strip of bells that hang beside the door. Every time we are going out for potty I ring the bell. In the past week Grace has been ringing it more and more often. So she "gets" it. But I still have to stay on top of her and keep to our schedule.

I know many people have had success with clicker training and house breaking. But this can be accomplished by doing a crazy happy "potty celebration" whenever they go outside (even when you take them).

It takes awhile though. And even once they "get it", I still would keep up with the potty schedule and not relying on the pups to tell you they need to go until they have been successful for a few months. I know that sounds crazy, but the longer you can be consistent with it the more reliable they will be.

Gus is now 2 years old. He was pee pad trained at the shelter. We didn't use them once with him. I took him out on a strict schedule, did the bells, potty dances, etc. He is a smart boy and caught on in a matter of weeks. And even though after that he never had an accident in the house I still kept on top of him until he was around 6 months old. But he is perfectly house broken now. Even when we go out to other places or houses, he has never had an accident. So it can be done. Just takes patience, consistency, and patience 

I'd suggest if they are pottying in your crate and you are not at home with them all day - to set up an xpen. Give them an area to sleep and an area to potty. It may help to go "backward" a bit with your rescues and help them learn the separation - a place to sleep, a place to potty.

Wish you the best of luck


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## reanut1379

mzbam2842 said:


> ps guys im new at this what is used to keep them so white they are dirty as soon as i send them out!!!!


This is a very common problem with white dogs. One thing I do, is to try to keep Sophie out of the wet areas of our yard (eg. the bottom of the hill after rain). Another thing is to get them doggie booties. It took Sophie a while to get used to them, but now she loves them. It keeps her legs dry so they don't get dirty. Now sometimes, she does get dirty, so I just have to give her a bath


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## pammy4501

Crysmas said:


> have you tried punishing your pup for peeing indoors?
> i don't mean physically or anything, but giving her a "time out" or something. It worked for me! =] hope this problem is fixed soon. after the potty training stage, they're just a joy to have.


Punishing for potty accidents is pointless. All you do is create anxiety in your dog due to your disapproval. Reward sucess and clean up the messes. When my dogs have an inappropriate potty, I blame myself. Too much freedom, among other things will create a problem for some dogs. 1.5 hrs might be too long. Ramp it up to every 30 minutes for a while with rewards and praise for appropriate potty. She will get it. But, please don't punish...


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## Aarianne

I was going to give another reason why punishment won't work... then pulled up Jackie's article and it already said the same thing. That article's really a must read for anyone having potty problems imo. :thumbsup:


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## Summergirl73

pammy4501 said:


> Punishing for potty accidents is pointless. All you do is create anxiety in your dog due to your disapproval. Reward sucess and clean up the messes. When my dogs have an inappropriate potty, I blame myself. Too much freedom, among other things will create a problem for some dogs. 1.5 hrs might be too long. Ramp it up to every 30 minutes for a while with rewards and praise for appropriate potty. She will get it. But, please don't punish...


 :amen:


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## Dulce

How do I bell train my puppy


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## Ladysmom

Dulce said:


> How do I bell train my puppy


How to Train Your Puppy to Ring a Bell to Potty | Karen Pryor Clickertraining


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