Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Marilyn

My Daughter just got a new maltese puppy that is 3 months old. She will be crate training him until he's housebroken. What should they do about working all day? I can come over to let him out and play with him for an hour or so. Should she let him have the run of the kitchen and go on paper or can he get the idea of holding it until we get there around noon. I'm sure other people who work have dogs that stay home during the day with no problems. He does get tons of attention and love when they get home. He also doesn't mind the crate. I'd like other people's experiences in this matter....thanks!

DISCUSSION:

Marilyn, Until just this year my husband and I both worked full time. My dogs were crated during the day when we were gone. I fortunately work close enough to home to stop in at lunch time to let my pups and adults out to make a potty stop. This has worked well for us for years.
-Cherie

We confine our dog, Buster to the main-floor laundry room, with a baby gate, instead of closing the door. We place newspapers in one corner. and his crate, with the door open in the other corner. He uses the papers when we are at work. When we come home, we remove the papers, and take him outside. When he goes outside, we say "go potty" while he goes, then "good dog". This helps as now he can "go" on command as soon as we let him outside, like before we have to leave to go somewhere, without all the sniffing around, and trying to find the best spot, etc. When we are home, he goes outside, but we feel comfortable knowing that if we have to go away for length of time, he feels comfortable going on the papers. At night, he used to sleep in his crate, now he sleeps on the bed, ours, or our daughter's. This works for us, but some people feel, that if you let your dog go on papers in the house, you may have more accidents. I think the Maltese (ours anyway) is smart enough to know what to do, and when. Good luck.
-Patti

Yes, I do work and have 2 Malts. My dad, God rest his soul, went to my house,faithfully, everyday to take them out. I didn't crate train them, I had them in the kitchen. Of course they had their little accidents but they grew out of that rather quickly. But I couldn't bare to leave them alone ALL day, so my dad was actually my savior in this instance. Parents.... Ya gotta love them!
-Karen Kalamaras

I wanted my dogs dual trained, paper and ouside, so I used the portable fence when my first dogs were babies and I was going to be gone from home. I purchased it at a pet store and put it in the "potty room" of my house. I shaped the fence in a rectangular form and put the paper at one end, food, water, toys and a towel at the other end. The puppies used the paper every time. When they were old enough to go outside, I put a used potty paper out in their kennel run and they started using it. Now they are completely dual trained. The best part was after the first dogs were trained, they taught the new puppies to use the paper and outside. I found my 6 all easy to train, but I am home most of the time.
-Marsha A.

When I first got my Casey I crated her during the day while i was out at work. I believe she slept most of the time and rarely had an "accident" in the crate. As soon as I came home I would take her out immediately for a nice long walk. After about a month i was able to leave her in the kitchen area only and she learned not to go in the house at all. Eventually, i was able to let her have full run of the house and i think in 8 1/2 years she had one slip. Pretty good huh!! Casey is now in puppy heaven and when i get my new baby i plan on the dual training. I found a wonderful book which explains in detail the benefits of this style training and exactly what to do each and every month of your puppies days. It is called "How To Help Your Puppy Grow Up To Be A Wonderful Dog" by Elizabeth Randolph. I did get the book 9 years ago but hopefully it is still in publication. Best of Luck!!
-Robin

Marylin, if I didn't know better, I would think you were my Mother. I just bought a puppy, and she has been making regular trips to my house during the day (while I'm at work). We are still working out the kinks, trying to make our puppy as comfortable and safe as possible during the day. I have faith that eventually, things will fall into place. My main concern is with the all-day crying. Do you have this problem?
-Cindy

I have gone through this with both of my dogs. I used a wire crate, but found that if the puppy had more than just enough room to lie down, he/she would use that area as a toilet. Because a Maltese is so small, I rigged up a broiler pan to block off the rear of the crate, and kept moving it back as my puppy grew. I am usually home, but on those occasions when I had to leave them for several hours at a time, this worked beautifully. A tiny puppy of three months can't really be expected to hold his bladder all day, any more than a small child. I believe a bit of play and a trip to the yard at midday should be plenty. You are lucky to be able to work this out so well! For the first several months of each of my puppies lives, they were either in a lap, being played with, watched closely or in the crate. To this day, they both think of the crate as a safe haven, not a prison. And, they are both well trained! Don't you just love Maltese? Blossom
-Blossom

Yes, I understand your problem with not spending the entire day with your dog. My boyfriend goes to work all day and I go to school. We have been lucky that one of our relatives would take my two dogs out for a walk everyday. But to answer your problem, at our local shelter, SPCA, has a program called doggy daycare. They are suppose to take your dogs for a walk, nap, and get socialization from other dogs as well. This program costs about $20. to $30. a day. I hope you can find a doggy daycare near where you live! Good luck!
-Jenny

When I adopted my sweet Dolly when she was 3 1/2, she had always slept in her crate (nice plastic "Kennel Cab" that has plenty of room for her to move around, but she usually curls up in the back) well now she sleeps on HER side of my bed (I know it's hers due to the growling that i get when my leg will wonder over on HER side!) and she spends the day (around 7 hours) in her crate, all that I read says that dogs feel safe in their crates, when they are in the wild they live in dens & feel safe when they can get their backs up against a wall. I also don't have to worry about her getting into anything or falling when I'm gone. my vet even crates her dogs. She doesn't seem to mind it at all, actually when i tell her that i have to get ready to go out or go to work she will go into her crate before I'm ready (sometimes I've just gotten out of the shower!) I also give her a treat too. I try to respect her crate as her own room & not violate it except to maybe change the towel in the bottom. The literature from the American Maltese Association actually recommends crating your maltese when you're going & say that a crated maltese is a "safe not sorry sight" btw the american maltese association's address is: 2211 s. tioga way, las vegas, NV 89117-2735 (a few blocks from where i live!)
-patty