Maltese Potty Train Probs.

Question
3 yr. old Male neutored Maltese does not quite get it right 50% of time. In high-rise condo - goes in house on paper - provided in the bathroom.  Never crate trained-got him at 7 months. Any suggestions. I praise him every time he does good on paper. And let him know when I am not happy that he did it on my taxes on the floor (I know kp. papers off floor except to potty.)  

Answer
Alrighty! Here we go:

-Get a crate. He will hold it in longer if you do this. Put newspaper or weepads underneath the crate. (there's a sliding area for the paper in the crate.) Normally, newspaper is used to train a dog to eventually go outside. You slide the newspaper to the door one inch a day. This isn't what you are doing and your dog may be too used to the smell of newspaper. Try wee pads, too, with newspaper around it. See which one he prefers. My dog would have no part in either newspaper or wee pads--he would drag them places. I got a crate that week and by the next week, he was very close to being potty trained.

-He did it on your taxes!?! You should make copies when doing taxes! (Even if you must go down to kinkos!)

-Have you heard of doggie litter boxes? They are bigger than cat boxes and maltese will totally go in these. Don't do this with a golden retriever, though. I think it would ask too much for a big dog to do this!

-How large is your maltese? If he's under 5 pounds at full weight, he can't hold it very long. He needs a crate to help him learn to hold it in longer. Dogs don't like to live and sleep in their potty area. If he currently sleeps in the bathroom--big mistake!

-If all else fails, take him to the bathroom periodically (like 5 times a day.) stand there and ask him to go "pee-pee" he will catch on eventually and link "go pee pee" with going to the bathroom. Also, ask your dog "Do you need to go "pee pee" or "bathroom"? and walk to the bathroom, open the door, and let him go in there. He will figure out that when you ask him that question, you are asking him if he needs to go. He will eventually walk there by himself when you ask the question.

-Try Wagon Train Chicken Tenders from Sam's or Walmart as a reward to going bathroom. My dog will walk outside, go bathroom, and turn around to go to our "cookie cabinet" in our kitchen. You need a cookie cabinet also because it is a good indicator of when he is hungry. Maltese tend to starve themselves, so this is actually pretty useful!
Maltese will get addicted to the wagon train chicken tenders and beggin' strips so use them carefully--you don't want the dog to get pancreatitus. Potty training goes much faster when you use these yummy treats. The biscuits don't always cut it with male maltese. They want a REAL treat, with real chicken. My male maltese will do any trick in the book for a "chickie" but nothing for a biscuit. I'm not surprised. The chickens were of premium quality. I split the chicken tenders in quarters because they are big and I get more money out of the packages that way. I'm not going to lie about the cost--it is expensive to feed a dog chicken biscuits. In fact, it has gone up 2 or 3 dollars in the past couple of months, but my dog adores them. I spend the money because I know they are too good to pass up. At Sam's Warehouse, they are 11 dollars a package. Of course, Sam's is all about bulk purchasing. Check the prices and try to see if you are getting a break for buying more. You will go through them quick, though!

Also, take a look around my previous answers to other people in the "view past answers" part of all experts.com. I get a lot of potty training questions, and you might get more ideas. One family put grass on their 3rd story balcony! I just couldn't believe that one, but I still gave them extra potty advice.

Lastly, how big of an area is he wandering around in? Maybe you should put some baby gates up.
If he goes in the same places, like always in the center of the living room, put a newspaper or wee pad there. Inch it to the bathroom once a day & sanitize the living room better. He can still smell where he went before! Perhaps baby gate the living room where he can't access his favorite spot.

(If you don't know where he's going for his favorite spot, get an ultraviolet light and shine it at night. There's secrets in the carpet you can't see without this light! Your dog is old enough to have a very favorite spot in your house. I used the center of the living room as an example. My dog loved to go under the dining room table chairs and sleep under the dining room table. Now he wants to go outside, of course!) :)

Good luck to you and your pretty maltese...
I hope I've helped,
from Colleen, the only Maltese Expert!