From around six weeks, you can begin training your Maltese to pee on a pad. While it may be less stressful doing this at this tender age, it doesn’t mean you can’t train your adult Maltese to go for calls appropriately.
So, what are the best approaches how to train a Maltese to pee on a pad?
Determine how to attract your Maltese to the pee pad. You can do this by using a scented pad or spraying the pad with an attractant. Maltese are not hard to train when still pups, and you are consistent. You can train your Maltese to pee on a pad by using commands while rewarding them.
Are Maltese Hard to Potty Train?
There isn’t an easier-to-train dog breed during potty training. When housebreaking your Maltese, the hustles you’ll encounter are probably the same as you’ll face with other dogs.
Sure, some Maltese dogs take a shorter time to train than others. But with your commitment and availability, you may take a short time to train your canine. Your furry friend can’t teach themselves to do their business on the pee pad. They need your direction to do so correctly.
Training your Maltese to use your pee pad can take around one to four months.
That said, how you treat your dog may also affect the duration taken to potty-train. If you punish your Maltese for peeing carelessly, you are likely to lengthen the training period. Besides, your pet will distrust you.
How to Attract a Dog to Pee on a Pad
With manufacturers getting smatter at enticing customers, more are infusing ingredients that may allure your Maltese to pee. But did you know not all pee pads contain these components?
What elements are we talking about?
Your Maltese Pee
This is the most affordable and readily available solution you can use to train a Maltese to pee on a pad. Place a piece of clothing or paper soiled with your Maltese’s piss over the pee pad. Your Maltese will know that they should pee in that position.
Ensure you properly rid other areas in your house of piss scent using an enzyme cleaning agent. But why an enzyme cleaner and not just any cleaning solution? Find out in the following component below.
Ammonia Scent
Did you know cleaning your pet’s pee with ammonia-based detergents may be the reason why it’s a pain to nail the training?
Cleaning the surfaces that your Maltese pissed on with an ammonia product encourages them to urinate repeatedly on the same spot. Piss contains ammonia which smells similar to ammonia-based detergents.
When your Maltese recognizes this smell, they believe they soiled the spot and will want to do it again in that area. Because of this mentality, ammonia-scented pee pads may be an excellent help when training your Maltese.
Fresh Grass Smell
Pee pads with a grassy scent help your Maltese accustom themselves to the smell of the outdoors. Upon weaning, it becomes less challenging for them to switch from pee pads to peeing on the grass in your backyard.
Pheromones
These are secretions by other animals that entice their counterparts to act in a particular manner. If you have an untreated pee pad, this may be your go-to solution. You can get a synthetic pheromone spray that you can use to condition such pee pads.
Synthetic pheromones tend to entice Maltese dogs, and other pups, to use pee pads treated with them. However, such attractants may allure your pet to the point of tearing the pad apart.
How to Train a Maltese to Pee on a Pad
Rewarding your Maltese may aid in shortening the potty training period. Once you notice signs that your Maltese needs to relieve themselves, distract them by doing something like hand clapping.
You can then take them to the pee pad. Offer them a treat every time they use the pee pad correctly. With time, your Maltese will associate proper pee pad usage with treats.
What is on your pet’s menu? You’ll probably want to avoid such meals when treating your Maltese. Giving your canine the usual dry dog food holds little value when training them to use the pee pad.
Toss them a chicken wing, some salmon, or even veggie treats like watermelon and baby carrots. This way, your Maltese will know that the only way to get that particular treat is if they do their business on the pee pad.
Use Dog Training Commands
Within the first weeks of potty pad training your Maltese, you’ll need to guide them on how to go about the process. Pick a phrase to use when taking them to release themselves. An example is “pee-poo.” Select a term that you prefer. The Maltese will begin linking this term to the action.
Likewise, pick a congratulatory term to accompany the reward for proper pee pad usage.
Where Should You Place Your Potty Pad?
It is wise to pick the potty pad spot as soon as you get your Maltese. For one, letting your pet leave messes everywhere makes it harder to train them eventually. You want to designate the pee area and start potty training them immediately.
Ensure that the pee pad is away from their bedding. Maltese, like any other dog breed, love to be close to caring owners. Did you know that your Maltese may decide to nap on the pee pad because it’s much nearer to you than their bed?
Placing the potty pad close to your back door might be a superb idea. This way, you may have a smoother time transitioning your Maltese from doing their business in the house to alternating with the outdoors. Remember, Maltese dogs are small dogs and will need supervision when you ditch pee pads for the outdoors.
It is better to restrict your Maltese to uncarpeted rooms when they are yet adequately trained. Doing this saves you from unpleasantly smelling rooms and the time and expenses involved in continuous carpet cleaning.
Never place potty pads next to your canine’s bed. One issue that may arise with this habit is your dog preferring to sleep on the pee pad rather than their bed. And a reason for this may be the temperature of the pee pad being higher than their bedding.
You want to ensure the potty pad is exclusively for your dog, relieving themselves and nothing else. Therefore, picking a suitable position is imperative in pad usage training. And it will save you resultant troubles like frequently cleaning your smelly Maltese.
Besides, if you Maltese can sleep in their piss, don’t you think they will poop on your couch the next time you are busy?
Lastly, only move the potty pad location during critical times.
Dictate Some Potty Pad Usage Times
While your Maltese has little control as to time they need a bladder or rectal reprieve, there are instances you can designate pad usage.
Take your untrained Maltese to the room with the pee pad around ten minutes after each meal. Do not let them play around. Use your desired command when you want them to do their business and direct them to do so. The more times you can supervise the successful usage of the pee pad at the onset, the faster your Maltese can grasp this concept.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Spraying Vinegar Stop Dogs from Peeing?
Vinegar mainly comprises acetic acid. With dogs having at least 10,000 times more powerful scent detection, this acid’s smell is way more unpleasant to them. With constant spraying of a vinegar solution to your Maltese’s preferred peeing spot, they will stop doing their business there. Spraying your cloth carpet with vinegar is likely to repulse your Maltese from peeing on it.
Does Rubbing Your Dog’s Nose in Pee Work?
Never rub your Maltese in their crap or piss, as it does not work. You will scare them and make the pad training take a long duration to complete. Moreover, your pet will tend to hide whenever they need to relieve themselves.
Why Does My Maltese Keep Peeing?
As they are small dogs with tiny bladders, Maltese dogs tend to pee more frequently than larger canines. Your Maltese may also pee a lot because of health conditions. Urinary incontinence is a disease that makes dogs lose bladder control leading to leakage. Another condition is excitement urination, which is common in pups and leads to peeing when excited.
How Often Do Maltese Need to Pee?
A Maltese dog can hold their bladder for approximately one or two hours. Maltese pups typically need to urinate more frequently than adult ones considering their bladder sizes. That said, a Maltese may need to pee after waking, doing strenuous exercise, dining, or drinking.
Our Verdict
Training your Maltese to use a pee pad is relative to many factors, like your dedication. While you can get your Maltese to stop peeing everywhere in your house, keep a set of pee pads. These are handy in case of surgery or sickness, at which times your Maltese may not drink water or pee a lot.
Should you need to tend to other matters and will leave your partially-trained Maltese alone, consider getting dog diapers.
