# Frustrated and ready to give up



## KathiS (Aug 12, 2006)

I have 14 mo old Maltese. I wanted her to be pad trained so that I didn't have to worry about having to take her outside in the cold or rain...Bad Idea!! I now have a 14 mo old Maltese who thinks the world is her pee pad! I praise her like a nutcase when she uses the pad. I change it after every pee. Last month, after having our carpets cleaned and our darling little dog using fresh turf, I decided she was going to go outside even if that meant I had to be cold and/or wet. So our adventure began. She loved the walks, but had no idea what she was supposed to do out there! I would constantly tell her "go potty, go pee pee". She'd look at me like "but this isn't a rug!" Finally, she did it...she actually peed outside!! I think the neighbors thought I had lost it with my "Good Girl, you went pee pee outside..Good Girl!!!" over and over.
The euphoria lasted about a week. Now she's back to her old tricks, barely using the pads at all and hardly ever going outside. I take her out every 3-4 hrs and at times she will go and other times, the little darling will actually come inside and within 5 min, pee on the rug!!
I'm sure I am totally to blame for her errant ways, but I seriously don't know how much more I can take. I won't live like this. My husband is about to divorce me (not really). We can't take her anywhere. Can't leave her with anyone while we're away. My carpets are probably destroyed and they are only 2 yrs old! I don't have the nerve to get a black light for fear of what I will see!
She is an incredible companion. Very sweet, affectionate, loves attention...we just have this one teeny weeny issue.
I appreciate any advice so we can continue to be a Maltese loving family!!


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## ddarlingfam (Mar 30, 2006)

> I have 14 mo old Maltese. I wanted her to be pad trained so that I didn't have to worry about having to take her outside in the cold or rain...Bad Idea!! I now have a 14 mo old Maltese who thinks the world is her pee pad! I praise her like a nutcase when she uses the pad. I change it after every pee. Last month, after having our carpets cleaned and our darling little dog using fresh turf, I decided she was going to go outside even if that meant I had to be cold and/or wet. So our adventure began. She loved the walks, but had no idea what she was supposed to do out there! I would constantly tell her "go potty, go pee pee". She'd look at me like "but this isn't a rug!" Finally, she did it...she actually peed outside!! I think the neighbors thought I had lost it with my "Good Girl, you went pee pee outside..Good Girl!!!" over and over.
> The euphoria lasted about a week. Now she's back to her old tricks, barely using the pads at all and hardly ever going outside. I take her out every 3-4 hrs and at times she will go and other times, the little darling will actually come inside and within 5 min, pee on the rug!!
> I'm sure I am totally to blame for her errant ways, but I seriously don't know how much more I can take. I won't live like this. My husband is about to divorce me (not really). We can't take her anywhere. Can't leave her with anyone while we're away. My carpets are probably destroyed and they are only 2 yrs old! I don't have the nerve to get a black light for fear of what I will see!
> She is an incredible companion. Very sweet, affectionate, loves attention...we just have this one teeny weeny issue.
> I appreciate any advice so we can continue to be a Maltese loving family!![/B]



i wish i could help, but i have the same exact problem!!!
















waiting for a good solution









Amber


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## abbey (Apr 4, 2005)

I would go back to the crate training.







Here's what I did:

7 am take puppy out to potty ON Leash
7:15 supervised play. cuddles. breakfast...food down for 20 minutes. Back out to potty. supervised play for a few more minutes. Cuddles. Back to crate for 1 1/2 hours.
9am Outside potty on leash. Play. Cuddles. Snack. Back to crate until 12 noon.
12:00 noon Potty... Lunch...20 minutes. Repeat breakfast procedure.
12:45 Back in crate until 2 pm. Repeat morning procedure
3:00 Potty...Play...Cuddles...Snack (handfeed the puppy food)
4:00 Back in crate til supper...Repeat... Repeat... Repeat...being very flexible, but supervise very carefully if you want a housebroken puppy

You may have to adjust it to your schedule...I don't work outside the home so I was home with Abbey 24/7.
To this day Abbey has a hard time when it rains (such the Diva







), so I know if I can't watch her like a hawk she is either leashed to me or in the crate when I'm busy unless she has just went & pottied then at her age she is good for a few hours.









I know it seems like it is never going to happen but with consistency on your part, she'll figure it out. Also, when she does have accidents make sure you take her outside immediately to let her know that's where you want her to go... not in the house!


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## ddarlingfam (Mar 30, 2006)

thank you i will put that into effect tomorrow. i have heard people say to leash them to you but how in the world do you do it? it is especially hard for me since i have a 1 year old following me everywhere. how long of doing this method until you don't need to keep them in the crate anymore? i like the idea of letting my little ones have free reign of the house.

Amber


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## Fenway's Momma (Dec 6, 2005)

To add when Fenway went inside on accident I took the accident out side with the Fenway and had him smell it so he knew pottys go outside. (At least I told myself that is what we were doing!)But this is outside training.

Maybe for the pad training you should leave the pee on the pads so she can smell it, and when she goes where she is supposed to praise and give her treats (Fenway still gets treats after every potty







)

I think some members have started the pad training with pads in multiple rooms too, and once she gets the hang of it you can take some away.

I would decide outrside or pad and stick with one to concentrate on so she doesn't get confused

HTH! Good Luck


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

As Abbey said, keeping to a schedule is the most important thing. Believe it or not, I was able to train my 11 year old Lady to use pee pads exclusively since my car accident by using this method. I set up an exercise pen around her pee pads and took her there every time she woke up from a nap, ate, or started sniffing and looking like she had to pee. Then I watched her and the moment she started to pee, I told her "good girl potty". She always got a treat right away.

I suspect caring for a baby and having a new puppy probably was too much to handle and she got used to using your rug as a pad. The key is never letting her out of your sight and giving her the opportunity to pee inappropriately which is probably really hard to do while keeping up with a one year old!

You will need to get your carpets professionally cleaned, too, to remove the scent as it will continue to draw her back to those spots.

Many dogs who go into rescue aren't housebroken, but their experienced foster moms and dads are able to accomplish the feat. We have a number here so hopefully they will see your post and have some other suggestions.


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## puppymom (Jun 13, 2005)

You need a crate, an ex pen and a leash. Your pup should be supervised at all times that she is outside the pen or the crate, that most likely means having her on a leash with you. As Marj siad you need a strict schedule and stick to it and you cannot let her out of your sight (unless she is contained) while you are training her . Do not allow her to have free run of the house until she is 100% housebroken. 

I'm not sure if others have had problems with multiple pads (in different rooms) but for me it was good news/bad news. having more than one pad drastically cut down on accidents but I was never able to do away the multiple pads and cut down to one. I have a pad in two different room which Ty uses religiously but when I try to remove one of them he continues to use the spot. Having two pads is no big deal but I had hoped to cut down to one.


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## sweetbabybe (Sep 24, 2006)

I agree, you will have to go back to square one like everybody else said, whether you want her to re-train her to inside or outside. 

However, if you do want to switch her to using outside, I heard that one guy successfully switched his dog by nailing down a used pee pad outside in the place where he wanted her to go. Naturally he would praise her when she went on the pee pad outside (of course he removed the solids in between times, so she didn't make a mess). Once she got used to going there, he just cut the pee pad smaller and smaller until pretty soon she was going on the grass like a pro.

Good luck!


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## sweetbabybe (Sep 24, 2006)

P.S. It works better if you DON'T change the pee pad after every pee, dogs LIKE to go where they can smell their own urine. In fact, when changing pads, some people find it helps with the training to press the new pad to the old pad before setting it down, so it still carries her scent.


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## KathiS (Aug 12, 2006)

My Maltese will not go twice on the same pad. If I leave the pad, she will pee on the rug nearby. She never poops on the pad or outside, but that's a whole other issue. My main concern right now is getting her to stop peeing on the rug! Thank you all!!!


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

Hi Kathi, I remember when Matilda did the same thing, she is trained now but once in awhile she will jump up on my couch and pee.







I have always had dogs that would never pee inside a house, but then there's Miss Matilda, I now watch her like a hawk and whenever she looks like she is up to no good I take her out for a walk. I can understand how frustrated you feel. I sure hope everything goes well for you. HUgs to you


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## Indymaltese (Sep 29, 2006)

I dont have a problem with Courtney at all when it comes to this.. She's done wonderful since the 1st week i had her when she was going threw that training.. When at that time i was training her and she did mess on the rug outside her wee pads i use to embarres her with it somehow.. Id bring her to that spot and make her look at it and say OMG COurtney what is that? What did u do? Id take it to her pad and show her.. After she started using the pad then she got her a treat.. It took a long while to break her from wanting a treat after every wee wee use.. Sometimes i wonderd why i was getting that look of uh hey you thiers something i want.. 

Divo on the other hand is a bit different.. He would rather go outside and do the duties only if the grass was dry.. He wont walk on wet grass or wet sidewalk.. If the grass is wet he uses the sidewalk








It took me a while to get him back on the wee pads as i had to make sure they were fresh when he'd have to releive.. Luckly i know his times he's got to go.. But still now n then he'll wait till he can no longer wait and finally he'll go on the wee pad.. 
good luck


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## LoriJo (Jul 19, 2006)

> It took a long while to break her from wanting a treat after every wee wee use.. Sometimes i wonderd why i was getting that look of uh hey you thiers something i want..[/B]


My Allie was trained to go outside (she wouldn't use the wee wee pads at all) and she always got "good potty" treats, even at 6 years old.









I was lucky because Lexi was pretty much pad trained when I got her (she was about 18 weeks old), although she does still have accidents sometimes. I just make sure that she gets a "good potty" treat if I see her use the pad.







Miss Gracie-Grace, on the other hand, is still in the learning mode.


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## chloeandj (Apr 1, 2005)

You've gotton some good advice here









If all of your best attempts don't work, Please don't give up on her. If it comes right down to it, keep her in a diaper when she is roaming the house. Lots of people do that. So many wonderful pets get rehomed or go into rescue because of bad potty habits, diapers give you peace of mind. My new little 7 year old boy marks EVERYTHING!! But he wears a belly band (boy diaper) at all times in the house so it's not a big deal and he is a wonderful little companion.


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## Littlemans Mom (Apr 6, 2005)

I agree, you have gotten some really great advise







It really is important to not let them have the run of the house if they are not trained. Using a crate, playpen , putting up a gate to confine to one room or all of the above are the best ways to prevent accidents all over the rugs in your house. This along with the retraining will do wonders for your baby and your sanity







Good luck and let us know how the retraining is going


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## LillysMom (Oct 9, 2006)

I have a 5 month old Maltese and we have had the same problem. The dog trainer that we go to recommended that I keep Lilly on a leash so that she has to stay in the same area as me (for example, in the living room) and paper that entire area with puppy pads. She can still get up on the couch with me, but the leash isn't so long that she can sneak off to use the bathroom on the carpet. The dog will get used to having the pads under his/her feet and will learn to use them. You can gradually reduce the number of pads until there is only one pad. The dog will learn to look for the pad when it has to go to the bathroom. The whole process should take about two weeks. It really works!


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