Even if you have never owned a dog, the Maltese breed makes pet ownership a joy. These intelligent dogs are friendly, sociable and easy to train. With their intelligence and personality, there is no doubt that they are so popular.

One of the delightful things about this breed is that they are incredibly easy to train. These puppies are willing to learn whatever that you are teaching. If you have never had a dog, or perhaps just discovered this dog breed, here are a few tricks that you can apply in your Maltese puppy training.

• Puppy Proofing

In order to reduce the stress that puppy training can cause, do things the easy way. Before you bring your new Maltese puppy home, you will want to puppy proof, much like you would do for a toddler. Since your dog will be curious, make sure that you have put everything dangerous or irreplaceable away from your puppy's reach. It will make training much easier if you have to spend less time correcting your dog.

You can spray Bitter Apple (a chewing deterrent available for dogs) on furniture legs and other potential chewing posts.

Make sure that your puppy has his own basket of "good" toys. Maltese are very smart, and will become protective over favorite toys. You can even teach them to clean up at the end of the night and put their toys away.

• Puppy Potty Training

Your puppy's housebreaking should progress smoothly, as long as you keep your puppy on a schedule. When puppy potty training, your Maltese should be taken out the very first thing in the morning and last thing at night. You should also take them out after meals and after nap time.

You can also train your puppy to use puppy pads. Since many Maltese are apartment dwellers, they will often use the pads throughout their life, and not just during their puppy training.

When you are away from your dogs, keep them in a crate large enough to turn around in. Dogs are den animals, and being in a crate replicates being in a cave or den. Your dog will feel secure, and is much less likely to have an accident when in fairly confined quarters.

Don't punish your dogs when they do have an accident. Be persistent, and your little dog will catch on. Remember that when a puppy isn't housetrained, it is a human error - not a dog's mistake.

• Puppy's Behaviors at Home

From the first day, decide what is acceptable from your Maltese. For example, if you don't want a dog that begs from the table, or one that jumps on company, you must start with the first day home. With consistency, your dog will become a well behaved companion that you will enjoy for many years.

When puppy training your dog, use quick and strong "shh..." sound in stead of "No" to mark for undesirable behaviors will be more effective. The reason is the word "No" is always in use in your daily conversation. Don't forget to give plenty of praises for the good behavior as dogs will always learn better with positive reinforcements.

I believe that you couldn't wait to apply the above tips on puppy house training at your home. You should check out my website if you want to learn more tips and techniques on Maltese puppy training.