Lady was outdoor trained (to cement) when I adopted her, so that was really challenging. It took me year before I could even get her to walk on grass. The only way she would pee is right on the sidewalk.
We're made lot's of progress since then. It took me another year to cross train her to pads, a lifesaver with these little fussy-about-the-weather dogs. She still prefers outdoors (on the grass now!), but will use her pad while I am at work, if she's not feeling well or we have 2 feet of snow on the ground.
Got a question for those of you with indoor only Maltese. How do you socialize them - or don't you bother? I lived in neighborhood with a whole network of sidewalks contacting townhomes, single family homes, even an upscale assisted living complex, so we see tons of people, other dogs, children in strollers, even older people in walkers. Lady is very social as a result and I can take her anywhere with me which is fabulous.
My friend who introduced me to Maltese had them for 25 years before getting the 2 she has now. These girls were the first she trained to be indoor only and she has had real behaviorial problems with one of them because they haven't been socialized or gotten accustomed to scary noises, etc. They are Lady's age, 9, and the one has terrible separation anxiety, wets on their mattress when she gets upset and barks non-stop if anyone comes into their house. The other one is much more calm.