Potty training/Need friend?

I'm gone for a few hours a day at school and so are my roommates. Does he get lonely? Should I get a companion for NiNi? I feel so bad leaving him alone at home for any reason like going to school or the grocery store or when I go out to play. I feel so guilty leaving him by himself, he's only 3 months. He has tons of toys but to me it's not the same thing as having another warm-blooded person or thing to keep him company. Does he need a companion or am I worrying just too much?

• I have tried everything to teach my 3 month old, NiNi, to be house trained. Currently i'm using wee-wee pads and keeping him in an enclosed area after he eats. The problem is that he won't use the bathroom in there. He'll just sit in there and cry and cry. I try to leave him in there until he pottys but he just won't do it. We keep an eye on him at all times to catch him doing it but have not been successful. After 2 or 3 hours of his crying we finally let him out, but the instant we let him out he'll just do it on the rug. I've even tried taking him outside after taking him from the enclosed room but he just waits till we bring him back in. Also he refuses to potty outside. What can i do to train him? Also do Maltese cry? Normally when he's out and about his face is dry and his tearstains are slowly going away by itself but when i leave him in the room he'll just sit there and look at us with his puppy eyes and "cry". Does this happen?
  Linda/Nini

• I'll comment on your later concerns regarding leaving your maltese alone. Maltese do cry, they do have feelings and they do need lots of attention especially at 3 mos of age. Everyone maltese I've seen seems to act this way and yours seems no different. I would try extra hard to spend a little more time with him for the next few months. At his age he probably still misses his mother and littermates and is a little confused as to where everyone went. He should get better at being alone at times as he grows older. I know what you mean by those "puppy eyes". They look so sad sometimes. Good luck.
  Jay

• We got ours a cat. Quite by accident, but it's been great. They are best buds. The cat thinks the dog is it's mother. The dog thinks the cat is his personal playmate. The cat sometimes has a different opinion. They sleep, eat, love, and play together. We go on two week vacations and leave them in the house alone except for the neighbor that comes over twice a day. What's that good for; twenty minutes daily? They do just fine. Oh, they're glad to see us. But it's obvious they are each others best friend. We were lucky and got a good match.
  Wendy