pees fine, doesn't poop in box

[lambchop]

hi,
i have a 14 week old maltese that i am trying to paper train on wee wee pads in a litter box. she has no problem peeing, she will seek out the box and go in there to pee. but, when it comes to pooping she does not bother to seek out the box. she poops in the house, i only scold if i catch her in the act, and then place her in the litter box right away. i clean up the mess and make sure to deodorize the area. i have even bought the hormone scented spray to try to draw her to the box to poop, but it hasn't worked so far.
is she too young still?? am i expecting too much too soon? she has the peeing down pat just not the poop? anything i can do to lure her to the box to poop? i have tried cleaning the box immediately for a clean box and i have also tried leaving a piece of poop in the box to draw her but that doesn't seem to help either?

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
anne

[Lucky Rescue]

Yes, you are expecting too much way too soon!

Don't scold her for pooping in the house, because if she does it's your fault for giving her way too much freedom and expecting her to be housetrained at 14 weeks old. If you scold her, it may make her fearful to go in front of you. Do not let her out of your sight. You can even attach her to you by her leash on your belt. That way, you can see if she is indicating she needs to go and you can pick her up and wisk her to the litterbox and reward her for using it. Praise and rewards will work much better than scolding her for something that isn't her fault.

OR you must confine her - puppy pen or other - when you can't watch her. You need to pick her up and put her in the litterbox after she eats, sleeps, drinks or plays. Use a word or phrase, like "Hurry up" as she is going to teach her what you want. Do this every time. Praise like mad when she does go in the box.
14 weeks is too young to have housetraining down pat. Very small breeds often take a long time to housebreak completely, and scolding her will just confuse her.

Repetition, patience and consistancy is the only way to get her reliable, but it won't happen overnight.