Potty training a Maltese puppy in a high-rise flat

Living in a high-rise with a 12-week-old puppy and no garden access is one of the trickier training situations there is — you can't just open the back door every 20 minutes, so you need an indoor toilet solution that actually works from day one. The first few months set the patterns for life, and the right tools make training easier and less stressful for both of you; the wrong ones create habits that are genuinely hard to undo. So — what breed is your puppy, how old are they, and what's the main thing you're trying to get on top of right now?

That's a really common frustration with standard puppy pads — they move around, she probably chews the edges, and there's nothing to signal to her that it's a proper toilet spot rather than just a bit of floor. Before I suggest anything, can I ask: are you hoping to eventually transition her to going outside on walks, or would you be happy with a permanent indoor toilet spot long-term? That changes what I'd recommend quite a bit.

Perfect, that's really helpful. For your situation — 14th floor, tiny Maltese, needing consistency now but aiming for outdoor toileting later — I'd steer you away from flat pads entirely and towards a proper indoor grass toilet tray. The one I'd specifically recommend is the Bark Potty or, more readily available on Amazon UK, the Pidan Indoor Dog Toilet Grass Pad with a removable artificial turf layer over a tray. The reason it works better than pads for your goal is the texture: grass surface triggers the same instinct as outdoor grass, so when you do get her outside, she already associates that surface with toileting. It's also weighted and fixed, so a Maltese can't drag it around or chew the edges. The tray underneath catches everything, you rinse it out daily, and it keeps the smell contained — important in a flat. At 12 weeks she needs to go roughly every 45 minutes to an hour when awake, so place it near the door you'd ideally take her out of, and carry her to it on that schedule rather than waiting for signals.

Most do, yes, especially at 12 weeks when habits aren't set yet. The key is scent — the first couple of times, place one of the pads she's already used underneath the grass layer, or put a tiny bit of soiled tissue on the tray. That scent signal tells her exactly what it's for. After two or three successful uses she'll seek it out herself. Maltese are actually quite fastidious little dogs, which works in your favour — once she has a consistent spot she prefers, she'll use it reliably. The transition to outdoor grass later is usually straightforward because the muscle memory of grass underfoot is already there.

At 12 weeks she physically can't hold her bladder through the night — most puppies this age need one or two overnight toilet trips until around 16 weeks. Put the tray inside or just outside her crate, close enough that she can get to it without wandering far. Keep the area dimly lit but don't engage with her when she uses it overnight — no fuss, no play, just let her go back to sleep. That way she doesn't learn that night toileting is an event worth waking you up for. By 16 weeks most Maltese can make it through the night, and by then the tray habit will be solid.