# Help please!!



## 4everjack (Feb 11, 2013)

So this potty training is not going well!! Initially I started of with the pee pad in the xpen and we did this for about a month and then things just spiraled down hill!! Jacks walks while he poops so needless to say the poop started on the tray then led to all over the xpen which leads to being all over him every single day! Needless to say the same started happening with him urinating all over the place as well. 

After being totally frustrated and at my wits end I did some extensive research and started crate training he is doing ok with going out every hour but we have a episode daily of him going out then urinating in the crate. This morning he went out peed then pooped in the crate I feel sometime it's out of spite I'm not sure but can someone tell me please what to do.!! Sorry for this long post 

Any ideas are greatly appreciated at this point


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Just give him more time. How old is he? The one thing I put into my mind when I potty train a puppy is that for a very long time my life is going to consist of cleaning poop and pee and cleaning it out of crates and off of puppies. Rocky was just over a year when he was fully trained, Tucker I lucked out on, he was 5 months when he got it-however there have been times he still pottied in his crate because he simply can't hold it.

I've seen it on different sources that they don't start to gain control of their bladder until about 6 months for maltese I really don't think they have 100% control until about a year. It's just going to happen. I realized I could come home on lunchbreak from work and my job would be to clean up poop and pee.

Eventually it will get better, just stay consistent.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Hang in there! All I can say is...I feel your pain! As Shelly said, it's really tough for the first few months but it will get better. Emma is almost five months old and getting better bit by bit about potty training...but for the first couple of months, I felt like you - constantly cleaning up pee and poop from everywhere. The other day she was playing and went over to her pen and scratched at the door to get in so she could use the pad! I did a little dance when I saw that!!!

How old is Jackson? It sounds like you are doing the right things...just keep on doing them and be consistent. 

Maybe you want to set up a small pen JUST for the potty area - line it up completely with pads and put him in there until he potties and then let him out immediately to play. He will eventually get that he is supposed to potty ON the pad surface and that will make it easier to move him to a tray that has one pad on it. I kind of did that with Emma in the beginning - lined half of her pen with pads until she understood the concept and then removed the extra pads and only left the pad tray in her pen. I also used a potty training spray that's supposed to encourage puppies to potty in the right area.


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## Yogi's Mom (Jan 6, 2013)

*Hang In** It Does Get Better. Took Yogi A Long Time. I Was Going Crazy. But With Age and Time It will all work out.*
*I think every malt mom goes thru this. Some Just train faster than others. *
*Nickee**


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## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

Shelly and Nida wrote great posts 

Potty training is one of the hardest things about a toy breed puppy. Because it can take 6-12 months. I think it is harder for anyone who has had a larger dog, or who is comparing it to a friend with a larger dog/puppy.

Look at it this way: Toy breeds live much longer - so they age much slower, especially the first year.

When you bring an 8 week old lab puppy home they are confident 2 almost 3 year olds. When you bring a 12 week old Maltese home, they are like an almost 1 year old... So you need to give them more time with the potty stuff.

I like Nida's suggestion.

But Shelly is right - that first 6+ months - it's like having an infant. All they do is poop, pee, eat, sleep. You are always wiping something LOL

One thing is - if he doesn't go potty when you take him out, I'd either keep him in the potty place, or you need to let him back out 5 minutes later. If that is too short. Keep him in the potty place longer. If he is pooping or peeing right away in his crate - you moved him too quick.

Sadly, as he starts to "get it" it may take him longer so he will need more minutes... it's like Grace was saying, "No, not this spot... not this one... THIS SPOT!"

Remember lots of praise and a cheerio when he uses his pad right.

The xpen full of pads is a good idea. It is how they recommend it actually. Over the course of many weeks you can gradually remove 1 pad at a time. Then eventually (a few months) he will be on one or two pads. If he is a walker, some dogs are, he may always need 2 pads.

Deep breath... the most important part is to not feel frustrated when you are with him. He will pick up on that and get scared or ashamed. Then it will start more problems.

Good Luck... hope this made sense, it's early for me LOL


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## Rin (Feb 6, 2013)

The other day while watching TV I saw this 
Thought it might be a solution for potty training

Puppy of the Month

Just another possibility anyway


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## 4everjack (Feb 11, 2013)

Thanks Shelly!! I am going to do that condition my mind that it will be this way my biggest fear is that I don't want to start bad habits!! I feel everything I do can either help him advance or take him two steps back.


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## 4everjack (Feb 11, 2013)

Oh Shelly he is almost 5 months.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Gustave was the same. When I tried to pad train him he would pee everywhere but the pad. He would even do the same thing of going inside the crate and peeing or pooping then coming back out. It was frustrating. This is what worked instantly for me. I'm not saying it will work for everyone but I had an instinct and it turned out to be right. 

Gustave was taking time realizing why it was OK to pee on the pad but not on his bed. So I made a blanket rule of no potty inside the house. I bought a Ugodog and put it on the balcony. He wasn't allowed to pee anywhere inside the house. That instantly clicked. He had a few accidents but only because of my mistakes. I also combined it with crate training, and not allowing him in the crate during other times. 

Again, not saying it will work for everyone, but sometimes it's worth trying another method if something's not working. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## 4everjack (Feb 11, 2013)

Nida he is 4 months i started off with the pads and it seemed as if he just lost his way!!Nida that is a great Idea I never thought about lining the pen its just so confusing..Thanks for your input, I love this site


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## 4everjack (Feb 11, 2013)

Tori I think that is what happened i think he picked up on my frustration i feel like i blew it!! But do you think I am wrong for crate training him??


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## SammieMom (Nov 13, 2010)

If not already have it and you have carpet--get a gallon jug of NATURES MIRACLE from petstore. Worth every cent. Here is what I did. Pour some on spot then soak up with paper towel, again pour on spot and let sit 5 mins, soak up real good with paper towels. All scent should be gone. 
Takes a while to have no accidents, and happens if they are out of pen. Depending on many things, Accidents can still happen for while even after they seem trained. :smilie_tischkante: But all of a sudden it happens. 

Just FYI, some dogs will not pee on a pad if poop is sitting on the pads or even near. Even adults that are trained will look elsewhere if poop is there first, unless your there to direct them or pick it up..If there are 2 dogs in house, same applies as they don't care to follow ea other on a pad.


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## italianna82 (Aug 17, 2012)

Wow!!! I think I wrote this post about 4 months ago....crying and upset because Gucci was pooping and peeing everywhere EXCEPT her pad or outside.
I know the feeling. It really does get better though. Just try to be patient and consistent. As silly as it may sound, I have found that the more upset I was, the worse it got.
She was even peeing and pooping ON the bed...MY BED!!! I think I called her "defective" at one point because I thought she'd never catch on.
She's almost 9 months old and for the most part, has been really good about going outside. Just make sure that when you see him going in the wrong place, you tell him "no", pick him up and bring him to the correct spot. Eventually he'll catch on. And like the others said, they can't even control their bladder or hold a decent amount of liquid until 6 months, so don't lose patience. It'll get better even if you think he's "defective" right now. Good luck!!!


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

I would also recommend the shamwow towel. You wet it and put it over where he peed and press down hard. Then rinse it and pour the Nature Miracle stuff and repeat.


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

Have to add, make sure the crate isn't too big. If its too big, he will pee at one end and sleep at the other. While crate training, the crate should only be big enough for him to lay down and turn around comfortably. They say a dog will not soil on the spot that he sleeps.


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## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

Rin said:


> The other day while watching TV I saw this
> Thought it might be a solution for potty training
> 
> Puppy of the Month
> ...





It's just a big crate with a divider.... go to Petsmart - get a crate that will fit a pee pad, with enough sleeping room for your fluff.... They have great ones with dividers... it will save you a ton of money.

You can also get a tiny crate and a xpen ... put the crate in the xpen, pee pads on the floor of the rest of the crate - puppy sleeps in the crate, is let out to potty. Many people here have some creative solutions to this... but in my opinion that product is something so simple made really expensive...

Petmate 2-Door Training Retreat - Crates - Crates & Carriers - PetSmart

Midwest Lifestages Double Door Fold & Carry Crates - Midwest Dog Crates and Collapsible Dog Crates from petco.com

Precision Pet ProValu 2000 Pink 2-Door Dog Crate - Precision Dog Crate and Wire Dog Crates from petco.com

This is just a divider panel: Precision Pet Great Crate Divider Panels at PETCO


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## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

4everjack said:


> Tori I think that is what happened i think he picked up on my frustration i feel like i blew it!! But do you think I am wrong for crate training him??


Crate training works great for people.

I am home 24/7 basically so I don't need it.

But I think crate or xpen training is vital for those who work out of the home or are busy - because it cuts down on in house accidents and other things like curious puppies chewing things. Grace is xpen trained for when we go out and will be gone longer than an hour. Not for potty reasons, but she gets curious 

So if you want to crate train - that is fine  There are some videos online (and a DVD available) about Crate Games - it may make crate training him easier.

Don't feel bad about picking him up in frustration. Just start fresh next time. The next time you feel frustration coming over, remember he is a baby, and he doesn't do these things to annoy you. He is just learning.



pippersmom said:


> Have to add, make sure the crate isn't too big. If its too big, he will pee at one end and sleep at the other. While crate training, the crate should only be big enough for him to lay down and turn around comfortably. They say a dog will not soil on the spot that he sleeps.


This is important!!

Make sure his crate space is only big enough for him to stand up and turn around. He doesn't need space to walk around right now.


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## SammieMom (Nov 13, 2010)

There is a great sticky here. Potty Training 101.


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## Neetaz (Feb 19, 2013)

What I have done with Bella is:
1. I bought a medium size crate with the intention of having her sleep on one side and puppy pad on the other with the divider in the middle (DH grinded off some of the wires on the divider to make an separator). This did not go well because Bella just couldn't grasp the concept that she was allowed to go #1 or #2 in the crate. 
2. I bought an xpen and connected it to the wire crate. (expanded the crate), I put a puppy pad holder on one end and moved the divider to that end to block off the pad area. Bella is a walker also when she goes #2. The divider prevented Bella from walking off her pad.

She has not had an accident in the house for about 3 weeks now, but also what I do is either keep her on a leash or with me at all times when she is not in her xpen. I also lay down a pad in whatever room we are in, she always uses the pad.

Works for us....might change in a few days, weeks, or months though!


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## SammieMom (Nov 13, 2010)

4everjack said:


> So this potty training is not going well!! Initially I started of with the pee pad in the xpen and we did this for about a month and then things just spiraled down hill!! Jacks walks while he poops so needless to say the poop started on the tray then led to all over the xpen which leads to being all over him every single day! Needless to say the same started happening with him urinating all over the place as well.
> 
> After being totally frustrated and at my wits end I did some extensive research and started crate training he is doing ok with going out every hour but we have a episode daily of him going out then urinating in the crate. This morning he went out peed then pooped in the crate I feel sometime it's out of spite I'm not sure but can someone tell me please what to do.!! Sorry for this long post
> 
> Any ideas are greatly appreciated at this point



This thread might help, has some good tips. :thumbsup:
http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/54-maltese-training/92623-potty-training-tips-jmm.html


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## 4everjack (Feb 11, 2013)

I just want to say thanks to everyone on this thread your thoughts and ideas really are going to take me far in this journey. I feel like I can grasp hold of the situation. So again thanks everyone.


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