# How to watch my Maltese dog all of the time?



## Ritzycat (Nov 30, 2012)

Hello gentle comrades. 

I am in year 3 in my journey of house training my dog. While he has gotten somewhat better, the dining room (which we never use) remains his favorite place to poop, as well as my mom's bedroom. He seems to know exactly when to do it because I never ever catch him in the act. Ever! He is very intelligent! Nonetheless, he does not pee as much as he used to. Peeing has become a weekly thing, but the delicious poop is very common. Luckily, the poop is restricted to one or two rooms so I know where to go to clean it all up. 

It has been recommended to me, in order to minimize his frequent mistakes, that I watch him 24/7. I have been trying to do so. However, I have a job and go to school so I am unfortunately not able to be home all of the time. I feel guilty when my dog has to be in his cage for 7 hours when I'm at school because our little animal will urinate and defecate everywhere if let loose! :innocent: I take him out to Pee right when I get home. Then I will take him out for 10-15 minute intervals until I go to sleep at 11; sometimes I may have work. If I take a shower, he will have to miss one of his 10-15 minute intervals. I have been keeping an Excel spreadsheet and have been attempting to mathematically predict when he pees so I can minimize the number of outings we must take. I can never tell when he wants to poop because he seems to have quite a bit of trouble finding a patch of ground holy enough for his angelic droppings!

My little brother plays video games in the basement from sunrise to sunset and the dog is not allowed in the basement because we recently had new carpeting put in and my mom does not want it ruined. My mom also does not want to watch the dog. So if I am not home, there is nobody available to watch the dog. Perhaps in the next few years I will be able to let him run around the house when I am not home!

So I have a few questions about how to go about my journey.

Where should I put him when I am using the bathroom or taking a shower?
If I need to do homework or study, where should I put him?
If I want to read a book, where should I put him?

I do sometimes try to keep him in my room with me, but he whines by the door and that can make it hard to concentrate on whatever I am doing. While I do love my dog I do not want to fail school. However, I don't really want to put him in the cage because he is already in it so often.

I would really like to have him completely housebroke by July 2015. I will be leaving for college sometime in August, so I think that is a necessary goal. That way, he can run around the house freely. My brother usually remembers to feed him and give him water, so there won't be any problems there. Is this a reasonable goal, or should I consider a different plan of action?

I understand house breaking a dog can be a very arduous and mind-numbing process. However I will do whatever is necessary to solve this issue. I suppose some dogs may take 1 year...other dogs 10... hopefully it won't take that long with me!!!!!


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

I know that a lot of people on here have x pens that they use and they are big enough to put his crate or bed inside it along with toys and pee pads. I have never used the x pen or pee pads but many of the members here do and this might be the answer for you. This will give your little guy freedom to move around but he won't have the run of the house. I hope others will have more ideas for you.


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## Ritzycat (Nov 30, 2012)

That is an interesting idea. I was considering getting something similar but I wasn't sure if it was worth the cost or all that big of a step up from the kennel. I think I would have a good place to put it though.

What has been your experience, or anyone's for that matter, with dog diapers? My dog doesn't really have an issue with peeing so much anymore, its just the pooping that's a problem. I feel like he would rip them off though if he really had to go.


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## bailey02 (May 1, 2009)

I use baby gates and set them up in an area in my house that does not have carpet. It gives them more space to roam with out being completely confined to the kennel.


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