# house breaking



## mom2bijou (Oct 19, 2006)

hello! my puppy is coming home in 2 weeks and i'm trying to prepare and come up with plan for house breaking. in your opinions, should i try to get him to go outside all the time, or should i start with the pee pee pads first, and then later train him to go outdoors. (i guess i'm confused w/the pads. how do you train to go on the pads, and then get them to train to go outside?) do you actually start to bring the pads outside? 

i just want to avoid any mistakes...thanks in advance )


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

We have been so lucky with Koko, from day one he used his pee pad in his e-pen and he has never once peed or pooped outside his pen or off his pee pad. I think it all depends on what you want really, if you want to be running outside every hour or so with a new puppy then you are going to have to watch him all the time for the signs that he wants to potty, like running in circles and sniffing the floor, after a sleep, play and meal. You have to be vigilant with this and also give lots of praise and a treat for him doing the right thing. You will be amazed at how quickly they learn, but consistancy is the trick.
With Scooby we were so fortunate in that he just didn't want to mess in his e-pen at all and he took no time at all in letting us know when he needed to go potty.
Koko was pad trained from the beginning at the breeder's so it hasn't been difficult at all, but on the few nice days we have had where he has been able to go outside and play on the lawn with Scooby he has actually peed on the grass, for that I gave him heaps of praise.
You may need to crate your puppy and take him to a pee pad to teach him if you want him pad trained or take him outside if you want him to go out. At the moment I am very happy to have Koko pad trained because he is so tiny and I don't like taking him from the warm house to outside in the icy cold, and to be honest I don't want to have to go out either when the temps are in the lower 20's


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## mom2bijou (Oct 19, 2006)

ahh good point. i am in NJ and will be house training in the winter. so the pee pads may be better b/c it will be so cold out. after the winter though, he will be about 6-7 months old. is it gonna be hard to switch him to go outside?


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## nikkivong (Aug 25, 2006)

i trained otis to go outside to do his business from the beginnnig but since winter is coming, im starting to use pee pads for him and its hit and miss. he still insists on going outside but i leave the pad right by the door he uses to go outside and if i ignore him long enough, he'll go on the pad. but sometimes he'll go on the pad without nagging to go outside so i really can't tel with him... he's a moody fellow!


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

> ahh good point. i am in NJ and will be house training in the winter. so the pee pads may be better b/c it will be so cold out. after the winter though, he will be about 6-7 months old. is it gonna be hard to switch him to go outside?[/B]


Personally I think it would be easier to train him to go outside after using pads inside than the other way round. I wish now that I had trained Scooby that way because he has to go outside rain, hail or snow and he hates the bad weather but won't use a pad either. At least this way Koko knows the pads are for potty as well as knowing he can potty outside too if he is out


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## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

Boo came to us on a cold Jan. day. I intended to train him to potty pads only. I tried, but with only minimal good results,he just didn't seem to be able to tell the difference between a pad & the carpet or an area rug. He did try though. In March when the weather was starting to get a bit warmer, I began to take him outside & he would always pee or poo while outside. So, I changed tactics & began outdoor potty training. I have always felt that Boo really trained me because he was a natural for outdoor potty training & immediately began to scratch at the door whenever he needed to go potty. When we travel though,he refuses to poo outside,but he will use a potty pad placed on the hotel bathroom floor. I would definitely try potty pad training a puppy in colder climates or winter months. Then if you decide you had rather have your puppy outdoor potty trained, you can try that in the spring. Boo doesn't have to be walked, I just hook him up to a long lead & send him out the door while I watch from the doorway. He gets right down to business & comes right back inside. Good luck with the potty training.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

If you want him to go outside, then train him only to go outside. Pad training means it is okay to go in the house. If this is specifically a message you don't want him to have, don't give it to him. Switching him can be done, but I think you will have faster training if you are consistent with what you ultimately want from the beginning. 

Put your coat on and go outside. If it snows, shovel a small area of grass for him. My Malts all go outside during the winter and they don't wear clothes. You can get him a sweater or coat if you are concerned.


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## wagirl98665 (Jan 5, 2006)

Here's a bunch of threads with a lot of potty training advice.

http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/index.php?...=potty+training


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## Linus McDuff (Jul 12, 2006)

> hello! my puppy is coming home in 2 weeks and i'm trying to prepare and come up with plan for house breaking. in your opinions, should i try to get him to go outside all the time, or should i start with the pee pee pads first, and then later train him to go outdoors. (i guess i'm confused w/the pads. how do you train to go on the pads, and then get them to train to go outside?) do you actually start to bring the pads outside?
> 
> i just want to avoid any mistakes...thanks in advance )[/B]


We trained Linus to go outdoors, by using the wee pads. We started with the kitchen gated off, completely covered in newspaper, with pads in the corner. Once he was 100% on going in the kitchen, we gradually moved the pad closer to the door everyday. If he missed, or had an accident, we went back a few steps in the training. By the time the pad was at the front door, we added bells to the door knob. When Linus would go sniff the pad, we'd ring the bells, say "Let's go potty", and take him outside. By 16 wks he was ringing the bells on his own, and we've never had an accident. It's also great for when he stays with friends, we just have to take the bells with him for their house. 

We still travel with pads, and Linus will pee on command at the airport. Whichever you decide to do, it's really about consistency. Good Luck!


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

It has been my experience that outdoor training is much easier to do. That said....Cooper was pee pad trained and then at around a yr old, I slowly taught him to go outside by first placing a pee pad on our deck then moving it to the grass etc. He learned really quickly. 

Gracie was originally pee pad trained, and trained really fast, but I was very very consistant with her. That said she goes both in and out, and she's been doing this since she was about 4 months old. She actually taught herself. She prefers to go outside....but on rainy days, I keep her in, and she's fine with that.

My saving grace for potty training is TREATS.....praise and treats.....praise and treats, and consistancy. If your not consistant...you can forget it.


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## akaivyleaf (Jul 24, 2006)

My poor puppy is addicted to her pee pad. But that is a good thing for me since my schedule sometimes doesn't permit me to take her outside as regularly as I want to. However, when we're outside, if I put a pee pad down she'll go on the pad. She has never once used the bathroom outside without the pad.

When we travel this is good, as I can take the pee pad in the hotel room and she'll go as she's supposed to and I dospose of it like a diaper. Its bad enough I'm sneaking her in to most hotels, I just keep it nice and tidy like I do a baby. While we travel, I just pull over to the side of the road, whip out a pad, and she does her business and we are on the road again.


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