You will need to set up a proper space, or den,  for your Maltese puppy. This could be a small bathroom with a baby gate, a baby playpen, an exercise pen,  or a Playyard. I prefer the Iris pet pen. Purchase the 4 panel (35″) with an additional 2 panels.
The main purpose of this space will be to keep your Maltese puppy safe. When you cannot watch your new puppy, they must be in their safe space.

Inside of your Maltese puppys  den, they should always have their bed, food & water at one end (the clean side) and a piddle pad on the other end (the unclean side). Even though the unclean side should always be kept tidy, the two should be separate.  You always want your Maltese puppy to be accustomed to a clean environment. Keeping your Maltese puppy in a clean den, will help support your teaching them their housebreaking skills.

The den area is also a good place to set up a crate to get your Maltese puppy used to being comfortable inside of his crate. A clean crate should always be the cozy, safe spot your Maltese can go to nap or have some quiet time. Crate training is an excellent way to housebreak your Maltese puppy. However, when you first bring your young puppy home, you just want to get him used to the idea of the crate being a neat place to hang out, so leave the door open and he will eventually go in and out of it. I would not recommend beginning crate training until your Maltese puppy is approximately 16 weeks old.

I sometimes leave an open crate in the puppy playpen starting at about 8 weeks of age, which helps the puppy feel comfortable with crate sleeping at a very early age. My Maltese puppies are also accustomed to drinking from water bottles and free feeding dry kibble 24/7.

A Maltese puppy should have access to food and water 24 hours a day.  Always supervise your puppy with any chew toys.

Never, ever, use retractable leashes or “flexi-leads”.