Your recommendations and advice

[damara23]

Hi everyone!
I'm new to the Maltese breed. I've always wanted one in the past and recently dog sat for a lil maltese girl. Needless to say I fell in love with her and decided to start my hunt for one.

I do have a few questions that I'm hoping you all can help me out with:

*Tear stains - I'm not for Angel Eyes, what do you do to clear this up and maintain it?

*What type of food do you feed yours?

*what type of shampoo & how often do you bathe yours?

*I'd like to keep mine in a puppy cut, how often do you get yours cut and ball park figure, how much?

*Barking, what was your best way of getting yours to not bark so much?

*How did you train your maltese and what commands does it know?

Okay, think that's it for now, I've been reading a lot of great and useful information here, I know my questions are between topics, sorry about that.

Look forward to hearing your response!!!

Damara

[edelweiss]

Damara, Welcome to SM!
Probably the easiest way to research is to put a topic in the search box above & read as much as you can first as these are general topics that have probably been covered well on SM---written by SMers. Then you can come back to ? anything not covered.
Again, welcome, happy to have you!

[Zoe's Mom88]

Do you have a Maltese now. If so how old is he/she because when they are puppies until they are done teething they can have tear stains but not all do. As far as food it depends on what you want to feed wet or dry. There is a good website called: dogfoodadvisor.com that can help you determine some of the best foods available. Grooming can be pricey but a lot of people do it on their own. Maltese are high maintenance and require brushing/combing everyday otherwise they matt and knot. I bathe my Zoe once a week as most people here do. Some dogs are not barkers and others are so it all depends on the pup itself.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. And as Sandi said you can use the search bar at the top of the page to look up different topics of interest.

[Leila'sMommy]

Hi & welcome! There is a recent post about tear stains and Angel Eyes that make a lot of sense and my vet says the same the thing as that vet does. Luckily, we haven't have too much problems with the stains and haven't had to use anything. I try to wash Leila's eyes daily with saline solution for contact wearers on a cotton ball, feed her grain free and dye free food that comes from pet food stores (not chains like PetSmart), distilled water, and use stainless steel bowls.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

[damara23]

Thanks for the tips so far. I am currently searching my specific questions and learning so much.

I've never owned a Maltese just dog sat for the sweetest lil girl. She opened my heart to the breed and I'm trying to find a breeder now.

By the way has anyone heard of Barbara Gilliland with Malteseuluv?

[revakb2]

Welcome. There are lots of threads on all of the questions you asked. Just do a search on each topic. Much good luck in hunt for your new baby.

[Zoe's Mom88]

Originally Posted by damara23

Thanks for the tips so far. I am currently searching my specific questions and learning so much.

I've never owned a Maltese just dog sat for the sweetest lil girl. She opened my heart to the breed and I'm trying to find a breeder now.

By the way has anyone heard of Barbara Gilliland with Malteseuluv?

I have never heard of them but did look at their website. The thing that struck me at first was they were advertising teacup size Maltese. There isn't a so called teacup size, they have a standard which is between 4 - 7 lbs. They show the pups they have available to range between 7 - 9 lbs. The pups also cost $750.00 which is rather inexpensive for a Maltese. It really is important to research a lot beforehand. You can go to the American Maltese Association website and get recommendations for breeders in your area.

[damara23]

I am skeptical about malteseuluv, and have already checked with AMA, I'm located near New Orleans and the breeder closest to me is asking $3,000.
I feel like that's a lil excessive to purchase a pet.
There is another breeder I came across, her puppies are like show dogs and start at $1,800. Still looking though.

[Zoe's Mom88]

I agree $3000 is a bit much.

[maggieh]

I heard of her several years ago as my mom lived in central Illinois near her "summer home." Why anyone would refer to a house in El Paso IL as a summer home is beyond me.

Anyway, there are a number of red flags with her. Her dogs are raised in an outbuilding, not in her home. She advertises not only "teacup" but also morkies. Her dogs are Continektal Kennel Club, which is used by puppy mills and back yard breeders, not AKC.

In short, I would suggest looking elsewhere, considering rescue if you are concerned about price.