My Maltese

Question
I have a female Maltese that is ten months old. I have had her since she was 12 weeks old. I have a female 5 year old Shit Zu also. she is completely housebroken. My situation is rather unique when it comes to going potty. I have a doggie door from the kitchen to my pool cage area and then from there I installed another doggie door that goes out to a fenced in area that I made for them to go potty. My Shit Zu goes out there all the time with no problem. I have been working with the Maltese on this since the beginning while also using potty pads ad crating in the beginning. She has no problem using the doors even though she is just a little over 5 lbs. I had gotten her to the point that most of the time she was using the potty area, but everytime I left the house she would poop and pee in the home. Sometimes in the same area and other times in other parts of the house. So, I brought in a dog trainer who spent an hour with me and my daughter and she said to keep her on a leash for four days and take her to go potty and give her a small treat when she goes and crate her at bedtime and when we leave. We did this and seen an enormous change.That was about two months ago. Since that time I have had her regress to a point where I can not let her be out of the crate when we leave the house as it is almopst certain she will relieve herself in the home. And when we are home lately she will still go in the home. Last week she pooped right in front of me and last night she peeped right on my day bed while I was reading. I didnt evenr ealize it until after I had put her to bed and went back to reading. I am at a loss. She knows where to go and usually will, but at any given time she will just go in the house for no apparant reason. During her waking hours the doors are always available for her to use.
Please help!

Thank you,
Diane

Answer
It sounds like she has major separation anxiety when you leave the house and also does things out of spite. She peed on the day bed because you weren't spending time with her--you were reading instead! (She peed in spite) Leave the dog with a Kong toy when you leave. She'll never know you left because she will be so distracted! Also, with the front doors, exit for 5 minutes, let the dog bark, and then come in when the barking stops. Gradually extend this time to 10, 15, 20, 25, etc., minutes. She must be missing you a lot, so this should help if you do this once or twice a day for a week and a half. When she can reach an hour or more, you are just about good to go. To eliminate time when the time gets longer, talk to a neighbor nearby for a few minutes or go for a drive to a local gas station. Take small errands at a time until the dog can handle a full load of errands.

I recommend to (for more than a week) but the dog on a leash when she needs to go to the bathroom-whether it be the front yard or back yard. For 4 months, I took my dog on a leash, rain or shine, to go bathroom. I had no solid fence at that time, so I really didn't have any other options--I didn't want to litter box train and the dog would have no part in wee pads. He turned out perfect when it comes to potty training (I have a nice fence now.) My dog is 15 pounds and is tall for a maltese. At about 6 pounds, your dog needs more breaks than a 10 or 15 pound dog would. The dog simply can't hold it as long as the older, bigger shih tzu. How much does the shih tzu weigh? Maltese are very hard to potty train, and having to go through 2 doors is complicated for a dog when it comes to potty training. Why don't you put the crate in the pool cage area and, if there is a ceiling, put a fan in? There are lockable doggie doors out there that will let one of your dogs in and the other one out. It is an 'infrared' doggie door that is sold at Petsmart.com. Simply put the red tag bee-bob on the shih tzu and no red tag bee-bob on the maltese. The maltese will stay out in the pool cage area and into the yard while the shih tzu will have the freedom it deserves. (is this a sunroom? I am not totally sure what a pool cage area is. Is this just a fence around the pool and if so, why would it also be around the yard?)

I know the maltese loves air conditioning. Mine does, too. Sometimes, though, you have to draw the line, even if it is temperary. Is the shih tzu currently running around while the maltese is crated? The maltese is most likely very jealous at this point if that is what is happening. Whoever put him into the crate is going to get a spiteful reaction--one that you have to clean up.  

You know, that trainer you brought in seems like a good one. Why not bring him or her back for a second visit? Your little one turned into an angel right afterwards. Why not just continue what the trainer did in the first place, just for a longer period of time? After a while, maybe your baby will be a permanent angel! :)

Also, is your female dog spayed? I know my male dog would pee on everyone until he got 'fixed'. The same thing happened to a dog named Gracie down my street. I think it is a female, but you never know with neighbors!

Also, baby gates might want to be considered. If you have tile or vinyl floors in the kitchen, as many kitchens do, fence in the maltese and the shih tzu in the kitchen only. This will probably save your carpet and you a lot of hassle! If you are interested in finding pee or poo stains that you don't know about, get an ultraviolet light! Many hotel critics/managers/realtors use this to find pet stains. This light tends to not be cheap, and have very limited power, so use it wisely. You can also use it to identify real jewelry gems vs. fake jewelry gems. It has many uses other than these, but you should really take all of this into consideration, especially if you have to sell what sounds like a beautiful home. Families who look at homes which had past pets look specifically for pet stains and problems with the doors or walls.


Lastly, about the treats. Are your treats good incentives? I tried just giving my dog regular biscuits (I tried all different kinds.) and it wasn't that yummy for him. Then I found the chicken tenders at Sams Warehouse for my maltese. (They are big, so break them into smaller pieces) He gets cravings for them all the time and refuses anything of less quality. Right after getting those treats, he made fantastic progress not only in potty training but in regular training as well. It was like he worshipped the chicken pieces! Maltese can tend to get addicted to beggin' strips and these chicken tenders, so use them sparingly, and don't forget to break them into smaller pieces. Any dog can gulp down treats too fast and cause all sorts of problems. Also, forget about greenies. If you use them, stop using them. Not all of it is digestible and there is plastic in there. Dogs have been dying from the greenies treats because the plastic has built up in their digestive system or they choked. There are news videos on this and right before I saw the video--about a week before...I gave my dog his first greenie. He threw up within an hour and has since never fully recovered. My dog is bigger than your dog, so I would watch out. Even labs and golden retrievers have been having problems with greenies treats.

Well, I tried to give you a lot of advice on the subject. The trainer you brought in sounds wonderful, and seems to know what they are doing. I would love to know the company so I can recommend them or even use them. "bark busters" is in a lot of areas nationwide, so I try to recommend them to people who ask questions. People come from just about anywhere to ask questions!

I wish you luck with what sounds like a potentially excellent dog and such a nice home investment (a pool! oooooh! I bet you and your family just love it!). Thank you for the question & feel free to send me future questions!