Maltese

I was wondering on opinions of Maltese's??? My parents are getting one for the family and was wondering what other people thought about them?

 

My boss has one and says she is great...very sweet and lovable too. They are beautiful dogs.

 

Had and old girl friend with one some years back and she could not put it on the floor much and just a walk to the car would take a day to get there. She had to groom it all the time other wise it got mats real bad. It did not seem to be the healthiest of breeds all ways sick with something and had to eat soft food, the dry stuff was to big for her to chew. House braking it was impossible could not let it out in the rain and winter so they had to do the liter box thing. You had to check everywhere you walked and look behind you before sitting.In the end she lost it when one of her friends did not see it and closed the front door on it. I felt she should have just bought a gerbil. We have a Jack and I still step on it sometimes, scares the hell out you when you do that so get even a smaller dog ! I would give it a lot of thought to life style of your parents.

2pyrs

 

Sorry meant to say Guinea pig. They can tell everyone it's a dog know one well ever know.
www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/breeds/Gu ... Haired.htm


2pyrs

 

2pyrs - you're making my day today, I'm sat chuckling away at your posts :lol: thanks.

I don't know anything about the breed, sorry... but a guinia pig would be much easier work. :wink:

 

Sounds like you just don't like small dogs, 2pyrs. Perhaps I am used to looking where I step and when I close doors because I have cats.

If you like small dogs, then I have heard maltese are great dogs. They do need grooming. As with any other dog, I'm sure a lot depends on how you train and socialize the dog.


Jamiya

 

Sounds like you just don't like small dogs, 2pyrs. Perhaps I am used to looking where I step and when I close doors because I have cats.

If our Jack hears that she might bite me and of course 12 years of breeding Scots with my mother, I know there not really small dogs are they ? As to the door closing on my friends dog well sh** happens to the best of us. Hel* I ran over one of my pups years back with our truck. It's just not a perfect world.
I have breed and raised snakes,rats, dogs, cats, birds, fish, chipmunks,skunks. I trained dogs for more then 25 years and worked with cats and training as well.
If you went to the site I left in my post I thought it was funny.(joke) But ok on the serious side. I don't know your parents but I do know dogs and I just wish to point out the down sides of some small breeds.It's not just grooming that particular breed it's what I feel is a change of life style for the individual owner. As with most any small animal it needs different consideration in it's care and handling then large dogs. My grandmothers Pekinese spent most of it's time on her lap because she was unable to walk but yet it took a lot of care in it's feeding and grooming and when I have placed small dogs with seniors I take in consideration there activate level and there age that might affect how they get around in a few years. The mix breed I got my mother (94) a few years ago has been a god send as it has keep her moving even with the pain she is in with arthritis in both legs. The up side the Maltese are very loving to there owners and very smart and more ......http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/maltese.cfm

2pyrs

 

my boss has 2 maltese and I don't visit her anymore

#1 you can't talk over the constant barking
#2 everytime you move your feet they are waiting to bite them

it could be just that these are her first-ever dogs and they are made to behave nearly as well as her very spoiled son was.

But I do know she gets them groomed every 4 weeks to keep control of their coats. Then they both have the brownish gunk from their eyes staining their fur - I remember her doing something about that but I don't remember what it was.

 

I guess I misread your post 2pyrs. This is how I interpreted it:

Small dogs walk slower than big dogs. Or some do. If you spoil the dog and let her goof off instead of walking, then I suppose it would take forever. Sounds like a problem with the owner, not the dog.

Yup, a maltese does need a lot of grooming. This is very important to consider before getting one. Although you could keep it in a puppy cut and thereby eliminate a lot of the hassle. I don't know anyone with a pet maltese that tries to maintain a show coat.

Sounds like another problem with the owner, not the dog. A maltese can eat raw bones just fine, so I don't see why kibble would cause problems unless she was spoiled or trained her owner very well. As for being always sick, that could be the particular dog, not the breed in general. Could also have had something to do with eating watered down crap.

I have heard many small breed are difficult to house train. But if the parents are looking for a small breed, this is sort of a wash since it is a small breed thing, not a maltese thing.

Another small breed thing. Although a maltese isn't THAT small. Heck, my daughter was pretty small when she was born, and I never sat on her.

I now assume this was meant as humor. But if you truly felt that way, sounds like she wasn't ready for a dog. Not the dog's fault.

I'm not entirely certain what this means. Maybe you are saying that you step on your Jack and a maltese would be worse because it is smaller? I would imagine as long as there are no small children in the house who never watch where they are going and fall down a lot for no reason, a maltese would be fine.

This goes for getting ANY kind of dog. They all come with a ton of work and a lifestyle change. Big vs. small was probably one of the first things the parents thought about, though, so I assume they are looking for a small dog. If so, a maltese is as good a choice as any. Depends on the particular dog more than the breed.


Jamiya

 

Jamiya
Small dogs walk slower than big dogs. Or some do. If you spoil the dog and let her goof off instead of walking, then I suppose it would take forever. Sounds like a problem with the owner, not the dog.

There is walking and then there is really walking. I am trying to say it is not a dog one takes to the park for a long walk or even around the block. Keep in mind the coat on this breed it is long and drags on the ground. Don't ever let a one run into a pile of leafs unless you are looking for a good laugh. After picking her up I was not sure where she was as it looked kind of like a leaf bush I had to shake it to make sure I got her and not a bunch of leafs.
If it could stick to her it did, bugs, gum, candy any thing on the ground. It's not the size per say of the dog but the size of the body, legs over all build.
Have you ever seen a Jack at full run ? Not even my Collie can keep up with her.


Sounds like another problem with the owner, not the dog. A maltese can eat raw bones just fine, so I don't see why kibble would cause problems unless she was spoiled or trained her owner very well. As for being always sick, that could be the

Not true many dogs don't show problems with health for some years. I lost a pyr to renal disease at age 4 and found out after some checking it was the breeders fault it ran on the fathers side,but the breeder choose to breed any ways and is still to this day.
My grand mothers Pek hand problems eating because of it's bite and had to eat soft food. As to the girl she was unlucky to have one with digestive problems as I said she did not get a very healthy dog and as much as I hate to say it happens more often then we like to admit

Another small breed thing. Although a maltese isn't THAT small. Heck, my daughter was pretty small when she was born, and I never sat on her.

Thank goodness for that, and I well assume she grew up some and has put on more weight.
Weight under 7 pounds, with from 4 to 6 pounds preferred.
Think about it 4 pounds as with many breeds there is a standard but that does not mean that every one born well read the chart of standards. This one was small 4 pounds maybe. I have seen them over the years breed just for size.
Fool around with mother nature and there is always a price to pay.



I would imagine as long as there are no small children in the house who never watch where they are going and fall down a lot for no reason, a maltese would be fine.

And in a perfect world dogs never get away from there owners and hit by a car. Know one ever steps on there dogs foot or tail.
What color is the sky in your world ?

Hay we could go on and on here so I'll put a end to it, You have your opinion and I respect that you have a right to believe as you wish , to choose as you wish and not me or any other person can or should change that.
May the blue bird of happiness smile on you and yours.

2pyrs

 

Actually I fully agree to what Jamiya have said.. I own a maltese just 2 weeks ago. He's only 3 months old. As I can say, he's been trained on papers by the pet shop owners but of cos I hv to train him again wen he gets to his new home. He is now a well house trained dog, niki very smart and pick things up fast. That depends on the owner too, on how the training goes. It does'nt mean that this breed will have lots of health problem.. so far Niki has not been a trouble.. he's a very happy dog.That you have to look for a responsible breeder. As for grooming, Niki's still a pup, his coat is still short. you can keep its coat short always and it's not difficult to do that, moreover i stay in a very humid country and short coat is preferred for most of the dogs here. Unless you want to maintain them as show dogs. I have many other owners who kept maltese and as far as i've known. there isn't any prob with this breed. Malese is a very friendly and adaptable dogs. They r very gd with children and Niki loves toplay with my niece and nephew. They simply adore him!
Moreover Niki is not that kind of barky type.. he's very quiet. He only barks at things he feels afraid of or if he wants to play. That depends on individual pup cos i've seen some maltese which are noisy. That depends on how the owner trains them too. My parents do not like the idea of keeping dogs but i bought Niki without informing them, of cos i got a tongue lashing from my mum, my dad loves dogs so he's ok with it. However, i managed to convince my mum to keep him. Eventually, my mum got very attached to niki. Now my mum adores him! He's really an obedient dog! To me,I think Malteses are a all round family dog.

 

What has seemed to have passed by you is that I am not saying you should follow any one rule but rather that I was simply relating to a question put forth about the thought of a certain breed and so by the telling of what has happen to this individual could be of some help to others but for some reason some individuals have little to do so they sit and nick pick at things to occupy there time and usually miss the point of the topic.
I did own this dog, I did not train this dog, I did not feed this dog, I simply saw what it did how it reacted and after talking to some owners of this particular breed learned of some of the pit falls to it. I am sorry I got caught up in the nick pick game I thought I was above that but as they say "even and old dog can be taught new tricks."
A simple analyzing of any given question can give know one answer to any unsolved problem to any one individual.
So one could conclude that a solved problem is never really solved.
In Conclusion I would like to say I have know idea what that means or where you are going to with this topic.

2pyrs :lol:

 

My point, 2pyrs, was that a lot of your assessment of this particular dog had nothing to do with the Maltese breed and everything to do with training issues and this PARTICULAR dog. Anyone can say, "I knew a person with a (fill in breed name here) and it was sick all the time." But to judge by that one example that all (fill in breed name here) are unhealthy dogs is not true.

Honeybear's Jake is a yellow lab that struggles with allergy issues. Dukesdad's Duke is a yellow lab that is healthy as a horse (as long as people stop sticking knives in him). See what I mean?

As far as the coat dragging on the ground, all I can say is.....puppy cut!


Jamiya

 

I learned many years ago never to argue a point with the person that has to get the last word in because you well never be right they only see and here the words they want to or rephrase them to fit there needs.
As to judging a breed on one mishap maybe but I feel all dogs have a common ground and if one looks at that point they can conclude the many traits that they form. I also feel that a dog is not and individual but the owner is and sets those goals and to which they follow or another way of looking at it is the mannerisms that we have reflect back to how our pets act to a point.
The question is are we all individuals or are we not one in the same in the end. If I stomp my foot at my dog everyday what well the reaction be ? Fear,shy,loving. Would I be judging this as I see it or the way each of us form an opinion ? The point I attempted to give was missed so to form a new way of communication would be of little use to anyone.

2pyrs



Have a nice day in your eyes by your thought of what a nice day is for you.

 

*sigh* Then please argue the point instead of arguing about how someone is arguing. I was trying to clarify my POINT which was that one dog does not make a whole breed. I'm sure there is some fancy debate terminology for the error of making a generalization from a particular instance, but I don't know what it is.

You said you didn't like your girlfriend's maltese. I pointed out for the person who asked that not every maltese would necessarily be like that, and supported my opinion.

Then you told me I only hear what I want to (or "here" what I want to, as the case may be). I guess I am not getting your point, if you had one besides, "I didn't like this one dog that happened to be a maltese." If you want to clarify your point by using more than one dog as an example, then please do. If you want to continue telling me that I am not listening, then please save it. I read every word you wrote and attempted to understand, which takes a little bit of work with your particular writing style.

Most people who would consider a maltese would not like a Jack. They are very different dogs and it totally depends on what you are looking for in a dog. They are both wonderful creatures in their own ways.

I asked for clarification and have received accusations in return. Please accept my apology for any misunderstandings I may have caused.


Jamiya

 

:wink:


2pyrs