ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Paige Gilkey

To Whom it may concern; I am a college student who is looking into getting a Maltese for a pet. I have a couple of questions and just wanted to know if a Maltese would be the best investment in a dog for my life style. I have a couple of questions: I will live with my father over the summer and we will both be working from 8am to about 6:30 every day. So our main concern is the happiness of the dog while we are gone. Is it possible to Litter Box Train the Maltese, so while in the cage all day it does not have to go the bathroom and wait until 6;30 when we get home?? Also is the Maltese a happy dog in an crate cage all day?? Lastly, my father and I plan on keeping the dog with my father while I attend school this coming school year and then the next following year the dog will come live with me when i move off campus. Will the dog adjust well and be happy?

I am looking for a dog that I can baby and carry and hold and cuddle easily. Is the Maltese the right dog for the job?? Thank you for your time.

DISCUSSION:

Malteses are the most excellent cuddlers in the world. My Cloud found me when I was in college. He was born down the street from my parents house while I was on summer break. His mother's owners asked me to check on him and his sisters daily while they were at work. So I knew him right from the first. I really wanted him, but thought it would be impossible since I had to go back to a campus apartment come fall and of course they did not allow pets. Fortunately for me my mother also fell in love with Cloud and we decided to get him. He followed me around every day until I left for school. It broke my heart to leave him, and I know he missed me (though not nearly as much as I missed him). Anyway I thought for sure that by the time I was able to go home again he would have become my Mom's dog. He did bond with her, but he had chosen me as his pet. Mom's his second favorite person in the world and he loves her company, but he and I are best friends. The moral is that Maltese's will usually do fine as long as they have love and attention. Many, if not most, Maltese owners have to leave their pets for several hours a day and though these are dogs that are happiest with people around they usually do fine adjusting to a routine. As far as the litter box training, I have never tried it, but I know others have. From what I have heard the success rate is good. There is a Maltese on the web whose got his own page and there is something about this kind of training there. The URL is www.interchange.ubc.ca/cocolee/index2.html. I hope this helps. I'm sure you and your father will both love your new friend. Keep us posted.
-Carina

Hi I guess you can litter box train them. There is something called a Something John, and it is like a litter box, but a big pan, and you put wee wee pads on it, or your put newspapers. So it is like a litter box.
-Nick

Yes they're litter box trainable. I work late a lot so had to give it a try after the breeder I bought her from said it could be done. It was a breeze. We use low, plastic storage containers with newspaper in it. Now that we have a fenced yard she prefers outside, but still uses the inside litter box when necessary. However, she's been "missing" the box some lately, I think because she gets bored and wants me to come home & play. Her way of saying "I'm not happy!" Good luck!
-Debbie

I tried to start litterbox training, but now my doggie does her do in the backyard. But last week it was quite late in the night and I was alone because my husband out of state on business--I was afraid to go out in the backyard by myself (so was Pixie Bella)--so I put a wee pad in the bathtub and told Pixie Bella "go potty". I wasn't sure if this would work--I'll be darn--she pee'd twice in there! We both laughed!
-Vicki

Since we live on the 19th floor, Touquet is newspaper trained. He has his own closet where his newspapers lie on a plastic sheet. It is very important to change the papers regularly, as the dog will be unhappy and possibly unwilling to use dirty papers! He can use his toilet area any time during the day while we are out. He has never had an accident since being trained. If I take him outside, he has no problems making the transition. One word of caution about getting a dog if you can't be there for long periods of time -- these dogs need lots of love and affection. I try to make sure that I or someone is with Touquet in the evening if he has had to spend the day alone. I don't think they could tolerate being left alone all day and evening on a regular basis.
-Barbara

I think that litter training is a wonderful option! Avery is 5 months old and trained to a regular litter box. When I first got her, weather was terrible and she hated going outside and would actually refuse. I also work a lot of hours and I couldn't afford messes all over when I was gone. Her box is in the bathroom and I would take her to it every hour in the beginning. After a few weeks she started to catch on, and now she rarely has an accident. She almost always "goes" when I have to. Good luck! It really isn't any harder than training to the outdoors.
-michelle

Yes you can train your Maltese to a litter box. The day we brought Casper home (8 weeks old) we put him in his little pen, that had a little litter box in it. We did not use the sand, only newspaper in the bottom. He caught onto that real quick, and now that he's older he pees on command. I just say Casper - pee in the box, and he hops in and does what he's supposed to. We just recently bought a bigger plastic container that had higher sides, because he was peeing over the side of the other one. We had been told if he was neutered, he would squat to pee like a girl well - not so. He's a guy through and through - the higher he can lift his leg, the prouder he is. He's sometimes alone most of the day, and I never have a mess on the floor - he always uses his box.
-Trudy