litter training

Question
We have a 4 month old Maltese.  He is truly our baby.  We have had him since he was 13 weeks and weighed only 1.3 pounds.  He is such a good puppy and so easy to train.  We have had WONDERFUL success with poddy training OUTSIDE, but when it rains (even smells like it might rain) or when he just doesn't like the weather, he WILL NOT go outside.  My husband are so frustrated because we KNOW he knows what to do...he just won't when he doesn't feel like it, so we purchased a litter box for him.  Right now, he only eats the litter...which of course we want to say "no" to, but we are scared if he thinks we disapprove that it might scare him away from using the box.  At this point, he just thinks of the box as a toy!  He will lay in it, roll in it and sit in it...but will not use the bathroom in it.  I have collected his waste from outside and put it in the box so he would know it is ok to go there...but still nothing!  What do we do?

Answer
Ah, mine does that, too! I have to make sure he goes out before the dark clouds start to show up! He will check the weather with his nose! I don't think there is any "cure", but it helps to just "place" him out there, tell him to "go peepee", and not let him in until he either pees or it starts to rain or needs water. I am guessing you haven't taught him the word "go peepee"--a basic instruction to tell your dog to go pee on your command. It is not really a hard vocabulary word for your dog. Just repeat the word when he does his business--that means you are standing by him and talking to him. Tell him "good boy" and open the door for both you and the dog to go in. Don't let him in if he hasn't gone yet, even if it means you get bit by a few more mosquitos.  

If the litter box doesn't work out, get puppy pads or just newspapers. Lots of dogs think of the litter box as a toy. Perhaps putting the litter box outside will help him? Make sure ants and bugs don't get in it. It is quite hard to switch a dog from outside to inside, and usually if you (from the beginning) do puppy pads inside and then gradually put them outside dogs will use both methods as they please.

Many dogs are afraid of rain, thunder, lightning, planes, etc., so your dog isn't abnormal. I don't think I have helped much but good luck to you and your dog!

From Colleen, a maltese expert at Allexperts.com!