Toilet Training

Question
Hello Jana,
My Fiancee an I have just purchased a pure Maltese terrier puppy, she is 2 months old, our problem we take her for walks and she sniffs trees and everything else but does not go to the toilet every time, once inside she lets loose inside the house, we let her in the backyard for a play on a regular basis and only sometimes she go's to the toilet, I fear that we are doing something wrong with her training, i have caught her several times going inside the house and pick her up, say "NO" , "Naughty" and put her in the laundry for 30 minutes, we have laid out news paper in the laundry and in our on-suite and she just avoids those areas. What can we do to train this beautiful puppy.
Scott

Answer
Hi Scott,
Well your puppy is almost past the age of easy training but there is hope.
First thing you need to do is pick her up or put a leash on her RIGHT after she eats in the morning and take her outside. Don't bring her back in until she at least wets. She should have a BM since she just ate.
Give her a small piece of her food as a treat when she does.

Pick up all the papers on the floor and stop punishing her. None of that works on dogs. You need positive reinforcement, not negative punishment. That only works on people. Dog's really don't get it.

When she goes in the house you can tell her OFF and take her outside right away. Then if she just stands there you wait for a few minutes and then bring her in. Don't clean up her mess in front of her.

Get her a crate. She needs to be crate trained, not laundry room trained. Get her a crate that is large enough for her to turn around and stand up in. This is her place for time outs but it is her 'cave' as it were.

This is were she can feel safe and can be if you need to leave for a while also. Dog's will not soil their sleeping area. So let her sleep in it and put some toys in it.

When she soils the house you tell her off and put her in the crate after you take her outside first.
The most important move of all is the one RIGHT after she eats, either day or night or both. Taking her out right after she eats tells her that this is WHEN you potty, taking her outside yourself tells her that YOU are the boss and you tell her WHERE to go.

I hadn't had a puppy in 21 yrs and I got one back in 98. I did all the above with her and she was potty trained in two weeks. I got her at 9 weeks old and she had a cast on her leg to boot. But we managed.
The most important thing I did aside from the taking out after a meal was the crate training. She rode in my car in the crate, she slept in the crate at night and she has no fear of cages at the vet because of it or being left.

So start over with a fresh new day and follow that plan.
1. Get a crate for her. Make it her own little den.
2. Take her out IMMEDIATELY after Every meal and give her praise and a treat for going outside, even if she doesn't potty.
3. Tell her off and take her first outside then put her in her crate when she soils in the house. BE CONSISTENT!!!

Keep this up and be very consistent and you should all be fine in a few weeks. Also make sure she is on GOOD food such as Science Diet Puppy Growth Small Bites and not garbage food such as Purina Puppy chow, Nutro or Iams. That will also help with potty training more than you know.

Let me know how it goes.