If you own a Maltese, you are well aware that they are a little and charming breed. These dogs are energetic, playful, and incredibly devoted to their owners. While they may appear to be at ease with strangers and other animals, this is not always the case. These breeds have a lot of issues with housebreaking and separation anxiety. This is why training the Maltese is very important.

The answer to your question is yes. Maltese dogs are fairly easy to rain. They are very intelligent and have the ability to learn new behaviors quickly and with plenty of enthusiasm. However, there is an exception. House training the Maltese is quite difficult.

Are Maltese Dogs Easy To Train?

Unlike other toy breeds, the Maltese dogs are extremely trainable. They have a natural desire to please their owners and respond to rewards and attention quite well.

The Maltese can have a stubborn streak on occasion. If your Maltese pup suddenly refuses to listen, a little more praise and treats might help them get back on track. They’ll most likely return to training once they understand food is involved.

Encouragement, praise, and treats should be used abundantly when training your Maltese. Keep training sessions short and enjoyable and keep challenging your Maltese to avoid boredom. To form new behavior, always rely on consistent training methods and repetition, and avoid any harsh punishment. Leash jerks and other severe “corrections” don’t work well with Maltese, as they are sensitive pups. Because of their tiny stature, they believe that their teeth are their sole defense. So, they won’t hesitate to bite you if they are handled harshly.

General Training

General training includes learning the fundamentals of how to train a toy dog of any breed. Most toy breeds feel the urge to terrify everyone because of their strong energy and small size. You may use some of these excellent Maltese training approaches as well.

1. Positive Reinforcement Training

These are the most successful dog training approaches. Maltese dogs are affectionate and would welcome any positive reinforcement. Make sure you give your dog treats and praise after each training session.

The Maltese will go to great lengths to satisfy you. This is why it’s important to remember to provide them positive feedback and prizes for all they’ve learned. These reinforcements will be remembered by these pups as they get older, and they will respond to you.

2. Corrective Reinforcements

Trainers employ the old-school approach of correction reinforcement. To produce combination reinforcements, these are followed by positive reinforcements. All you need for corrective reinforcing is a lead, collar, or other similar accessories available on the market.

The corrective reinforcement approach will help us attain your training goals fast since Maltese are easy and clever.

3. Clicker Training:

The Maltese will readily adjust to this training. All you need for this approach is a clicker, which is a gadget that generates a ‘click’ sound. A clicker may be found at pet stores and on the internet. Feed your dog after each click so they understand that a click equals a treat. You can use a combination of the methods above and click when you give them positive reinforcements.

You can always utilize another sound that you create if you can’t find a clicker. Your dog will associate the sound emitted with an object in this manner.

4. Socialization Training:

A difficult adjustment for Maltese puppies is socialization. Your dog may not be as sociable to strangers as first as they appear to be later on. In fact, if it is not taught early on, it can persist into adulthood.

This is why you’ll need to use suitable socialization techniques to encourage your dog to be more sociable. These are some approaches that you can use:

1. Take your dog outside and let them meet and interact with people he doesn’t know, such as strangers and youngsters.
2. Introduce your dog to other dogs and take them to dog parks.
3. If they don’t react well to other people, provide corrective reinforcements.
4. Once they’ve learned to remain cool in public, shower them with praise so that they feel motivated to behave the same way.

House-training A Maltese

Housebreaking your Maltese will be one of the most difficult tasks. It may appear challenging at first, but with correct techniques, it will become easier. Here are some things to consider before effectively potty training your Maltese dog.

1. Make a separate space within the house for your Maltese puppy:

Allowing a puppy full run in the house is one of the quickest ways to catastrophe when it comes to housebreaking. The puppy will surely pee and poo all over your house.

There are a few different ways to put up a pleasant small place for your Maltese, some of which are better than others. This might be a playpen, a fenced area, or comfortable dog beds, among other things. They will feel at ease and home in this environment.

Don’t use metal crates and boxes since these do not provide adequate space for a dog to walk about and play, causing both physical and mental discomfort.

2. Choose a designated bathroom area:

While little toy breeds like the Maltese may be trained to go potty indoors, and your dog may need to use pee pads while you’re gone, outdoor training is frequently the most effective. If you prefer the indoor option, you may either leave the entrance to the pen open and utilize the pads there as ‘the place,’ or choose another location.

Consider this while selecting an outdoor space- It should be simple to walk there, regardless of the weather. It should also be at least 10 feet away from any family activities.

If you’ve decided on a bathroom area for your Maltese, don’t modify it until it’s really necessary. Housebreaking entails the dog peeing and pooing in a specified place, rather than merely going when on a leash. And, while we’re on the subject, don’t open the door and let your Maltese scamper outdoors on his own. If that’s the case, you’ll miss out on the vital aspect of effective training: praise and reward.

3. Keep training treats ready at hand:

While dogs like praise and words of affirmation, many puppies will accept any food as a reward. So giving them particular training treats is frequently the best way to get faster results.

Dogs have no concept of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bathroom manners. Later on, the activities of going pee in a certain location will become habitual. But, for the time being, your dog needs a compelling reason to do something that makes no sense to them. When a dog is learning anything new, a significant motivator is a treat.

It will have greater meaning if a specific sort of food is designated just for positive behavior, such as housebreaking. If a dog obtains a portion of food that they would have had otherwise, it isn’t as significant. So, it’s a good idea to pick one dog reward that will only be used for training, as well as any subsequent training.

4. Maintain a schedule:

You should maintain a general timetable in mind for when you should take your Maltese puppy out for their pee and potty needs. This will be somewhat flexible because you will take your Maltese to the bathroom location whenever they need to pee or poo.

However, here’s a solid rule of thumb for when you should go out:

1. When the puppy first wakes up (nap or nighttime sleep)
2. 20 minutes before bedtime
3. 20 minutes after every meal.
4. Every so many hour, depending on your age. Every three hours for a three-month-old, four hours for a four-month-old, and so on.
5. Every day, before and after your stroll. Allowing a dog to pee and defecate on a walking path is not a good idea.

Some House-breaking Facts:

1. Even if a breeder claims that a dog has been paper-trained, you should still complete all of the training steps.

2. Puppies can only contain their toilet demands for so long before they have to go, but that does not guarantee they will. When the urge occurs, most puppies will simply discharge their bladders and bowels. Only through persistent training and the strengthening of the bladder and bowel muscles can a dog learn to hold on if at all feasible.

3. A Maltese puppy might take anywhere from one to four months to thoroughly house train. Much of this is determined by the amount of training completed. If you’re rarely home, a puppy’s learning chances are limited; but, this may still be accomplished; it will simply take a little longer.

Conclusion

Maltese are very easy to train. These dogs learn orders quickly when rewarded with praise and treats. They also have a natural desire to please their human. However, it is not the same case with house training. House-training can be a little bit more difficult to train Maltese pups.

Thank you for reading the article.

To explore more, check out other Maltese-related articles that you might be interested in.

Do you have a Maltese? How do you train them? We would love to hear from you. Please share with us by leaving a comment below!