# Housebreaking - help or suggestions please!



## Trisha (Aug 8, 2014)

It's been 15 years since going thru housebreaking with a puppy. So I'm starting over again with Maggie. Now, when I say housebreaking, I am talking about going outside to do her business, no puppy/potty pads.

My issue is she never tells me or gives off clues. So, of course I'm just taking her out every hour, keeping close eye on her, but she sometimes sneaks out of my sight for 2 seconds and seems to think my beautiful area rug is a giant Potty Pad! lol

I do use a product to clean the area & help take the smell out (not sure it works). Anyway, was wondering how long did it take that your dog was able to give you a clue they needed to go out? And do they bark to go out or ring a bell or what? My dog before this one was a quick learner and never had any problem, so I'm struggling here with this one.

Any suggestions? Thanks!


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Trish, first, your Maggie is precious, such a fluffy little ball of love! 








I've always wanted to get one of those counter bells you see in stores to tap for service, that 'ding'. I've heard of people using them for dogs' notification of 'outside'. You can also hang a small bell on a ribbon next to the door to be rung by dog.

I have had great luck with Cheerios, even with adopted dogs 7 yrs, 5 yrs and 8 mo old that were not potty trained. Cheerios (original type) are healthy, inexpensive and successful as treats. I had a little baggie I'd take outside and when one would 'business', he/she would immediately be praised and given a Cheerio. It worked. I still use them for after grooming or learning new commands. Whenever I say "Good Boy", he looks at the container of Cheerios!


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## Trisha (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks Claire for the tip on using Cherrios! I use dog treats that the Obedience trainer suggested, but the Cherrios might be a better option! I do praise & reward and most of the time I am able to reward for going outside when I take her! But it's those times that she slips up ... seems it's left up to me to just take her out constantly & hope I get lucky. I've read the books, but I keep thinking it should be time for her to give me a clue sometime! lol I guess it will come eventually! 
Thanks again for the help!


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

Pipper comes and jumps at me and gives me a "I have to pee look" and then runs to the door. It might just take her a while to figure out a way how to let you know she has to go. Sometimes when they are young they will try once to let you know and if you don't get it right away they will just go where ever. It's possible she has even tried to let you know but you just haven't figured out yet what she wants. Maybe she has went to the door for just a split second and you didn't notice. When Pipper first started to let me know, he would go sit in front of the closet door and it took me a while to figure out he was sitting there because that's where I keep his leash and I put his leash on to go out for a pee. Keep on rewarding her and she will figure it out.


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

We tried the bells on Boo and it didn't work. We did what you are doing every hour and then expanded upon it. We do use a pee pad for a backup which i do recommend because of bad weather and when you travel. (We use a washable pee pad)


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## Mallen600 (Oct 27, 2012)

Hope she gets the hang of it soon (I bet your rug does too  ). Henry will just sit and stare at you when he has to go, letting out an occasional growl. Once she gets used to going outside on a consistent schedule, maybe she will start warning you or going to the door.


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

Trisha ~~ these maltese sure are smart! Taking her out every hour is perfect. I wonder if she sniffs around a wee bit before she potty's?? You got a good plan with treating her for her successes too! 

One thing might be to either x-pen her or leash her to your body so that she can't wander over to your nice area rug. Also good to guide her with leash towards the door so that she is actually walking on her own towards her 'potty' (at least some of the time ~~ even though as puppies it's easier to just carry them outside) . When you get to the door you can maybe ring a bell or gently help her use her paw to touch the door. May or may not work, but a routine for 'potty time' is good.

We use the x-pen for puppies and slowly expanded their area of play little by little so that they would learn quicker. The smaller their play area is in the beginning helps them learn where their potty area is vs play area.

Mags idea of a back-up pee pad indoors is a great suggestion too! Easier to clean the washable pee pad then the area rug  

Good luck ! Soon this potty training phase will be over!!


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## Trisha (Aug 8, 2014)

Thank you all for the great tips/suggestions! I so appreciate everyone being so helpful here! This is the best site & people! Glad we share the love of our Maltese or four legged babies! Thanks again!

And I'm not giving up on her, she'll get it!


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

She does look young. I wonder if the person you got her from had her trained to a pee pad? Maybe that is still a little confusing for her. My Izzy rings the bells hanging from the door when she has to go out. We did like you and took her out every hour or so. Every time we went out we would ring the bells ourselves and state were going outside. After a month of that, we would use her paws to ring the bells, then she started ringing the bells herself. It took about 6 months for her to fully learn how to do this. 

What is so funny is now she rings the bells just to go outside, when she is bored inside she will ring them every 5 minutes. My DH will take the bells off so she can't ring them.


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## Trisha (Aug 8, 2014)

Thank you, Christy! Yes she will be 7 months this week! So still young. I did get her from a Maltese breeder that did use potty pads. We quickly started with going outside. I do keep her confined on and off during the day, then immediately take her out. I do have a play pen (Iris) so she gets to move around. 

Cute, how your sweetie would ring bell when bored. I also got "the Tell Bell", it's the one that sits on the floor and we do the same steps, such as letting her ring it before going out and saying "Lets go Potty".
It's just timing I think now and repetition. She is only been with us for 2 1/2 months, so it will take some time! 
Thank you for taking the time with your suggestions! I appreciate them all!!


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## justagirltv (Jun 3, 2014)

Bentley was and still is like that. No indication when he has to potty. No sniffing, circling he just goes. He's now trained to use his indoor potty grass box and he will be playing with a toy, look up and dart over to potty.


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## Trisha (Aug 8, 2014)

Kendall, Maggie can be right in front of me, then I can blink and in 2 seconds she is squatting & she has already done her business. It's like lightening...lol.

Never any sign before & we may have just gone out and she did nothing. Oh well, I just need more patience!


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## Lou's Mom (Apr 8, 2014)

We did the bell on the door at our previous house and they would ring it. I have it on the door here but Lou will just give me the "potty stare" so we all go out. I know that dogs don't generalize well. Dallas will scratch at the door when she wants out. I can relate to ringing the bell just to go out though! They want out so they can come back in and go out again! Sometimes I think I need a revolving door!


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## justagirltv (Jun 3, 2014)

Trisha said:


> Kendall, Maggie can be right in front of me, then I can blink and in 2 seconds she is squatting & she has already done her business. It's like lightening...lol.
> 
> Never any sign before & we may have just gone out and she did nothing. Oh well, I just need more patience!


He's gone right in front of my face also. Even while watching him like a HAWK 100% Mama Maltese eyes on his sassy little fluff butt. I don't know how they do it. Even #2 I'm all how did it just fall out your bum? No back hunching nothing.... 
They are talented :thumbsup:


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## justagirltv (Jun 3, 2014)

Simple Solution became my best friend. After the first bottle I bought the gallon size refill. I also sprinkle baking soda on my carpet 15 prior to vacuuming. 
The turn around point for me was when I rented the Steam Cleaner from PetSmart. 
There was just this one spot that I couldn't get the smell out of. (_I'm really weird and I would sniff the carpet because I'm paranoid that my apartment will smell like pee and no one will tell me, and no one will want to come over because I have the pee smell apartment_).
People told me to wait until he was older and more reliable before doing that but my logic was the opposite. If it's a problem spot that's attracting him, if I eliminate that spot , then it shouldn't be an issue. I was right. It was so worth the $30. I do hope I never have to rent one ever again. The one I had was missing a piece and water poured out so my carpets were extra wet and I live on the 3rd floor and the machine is clunky and awkward. When I have big things to carry up I usually hang around the staircase looking (hopefully cute) & helpless. No one came.
He's much better now but I remind myself that he is a BABY. I wore diapers that my parents had to change all day everyday for like 2 years, so when it comes to being house broken he's light years ahead of me. :thumbsup:

Oh when I told Petco that a piece was missing and that I thought that I was going to have to hitch a ride on Noahs Ark they refunded me for everything (minus the bottle of shampoo stuff)


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## Coco23 (May 2, 2014)

Trisha said:


> I do use a product to clean the area & help take the smell out (not sure it works). Anyway, was wondering how long did it take that your dog was able to give you a clue they needed to go out? And do they bark to go out or ring a bell or what? My dog before this one was a quick learner and never had any problem, so I'm struggling here with this one.
> 
> Any suggestions? Thanks!


My puppy did not even make a sound to notify me he had to go, he would just stare at me, or go to the door and sit there waiting, but if we were in another part of the house we wouldn't see him. He is 4 months going to 5 in a few days he is completely housebroken everything is outside rain or shine. Personally i am not a fan of pee pads never used them, he went out since day one i got him at 6 weeks old. What I did that works every single time is adding a cue, for example when I tell my puppy you wanna go potty he immediately runs to the door. Before this, every single time I would take him out I would say potty and it stuck now he knows potty means going outside and doing his business. Since you take her out every hour, you always have to say a cue so that they learn it, jus like teaching tricks this is one that helps and does not fail I did this with my other dog also and they know when I say potty is time to do their business outside. With enough repetitions you can even get them to go on command, while they r doing their business say potty and good girl etc. This works 100% for me, so now when I ask potty he just runs to the door. When I'm not looking and he needs to go he would just scratch the door, my puppy is more on the quiet side not much of a barker. I guess it took him 3 months to fully let us know when he wants to go, he would run to us and then run to the door, or scratch and sort of whine a little to be let outside. 


Good luck!


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## Trisha (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks so much for the suggestions and tips! I'm doing pretty much what you described, saying "Potty". I even have the "Tell Bell" by the door and tell her to ring the bell before I open the back door and she does! It's cute. But she only rings it when I tell her...lol. And I give praise and reward each and every time.

She is doing better every day. I have not had her but 2 months or so now. I didn't get her until she was 18 weeks old. 

She will get it, I just need patience and stop comparing her on how quickly my dog before got it!

Thanks again!


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## justagirltv (Jun 3, 2014)

She will get it!!!! Throw a party every time. I give Bentley a small treat that he only gets after a successful potty. We did go through a small period of time when he was fake peeing to get a treat (he would jump in the box, look at me fake it and hop out), but he was doing in the right spot and was putting 2+2 together so I played along.


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## Liza&Vic&Lucky (Sep 25, 2014)

Hello all,

We are in the same boat. Lucky is 3 months old now, and here is our situation and I'm posting looking for your comments.

First, we live in Montreal where snow and bad weather will come come December. Summer times we get the opposite around 40c (100f).

We live in a house.

I know come winter its going to be too ruff taking Lucky outdoors for his #2. Come January even with a jacket, its too much for a dog of this nature.

So should we simply train him for pee pads and another pad or other device, to do #2 in the house?

I heard a kitty litter may be a wise decision - I know it sounds funny.
Any other suggestions?

Should the 2 places, one for #1 and one for #2 be in different locations?

He has accidents, often, because its difficult for us to watch him and balance 3-5 kids and their needs.

I'm also thinking he is still pretty young.

When I catch him I quickly put him on the pee pad then praise and use treats.

Right now he doesn't do anything outdoors

Suggestions welcome please


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