# Maltese-What's Good and Bad About 'em



## onedebora

What's Good and Bad About 'em


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## k/c mom

Gosh, I thought this was excellent. All who are thinking of getting a Malt should definitely read it.


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## Scoobydoo

I wish I had this article the other day, we had the plumbers in and the young one was totally taken with the boys and said he wants to get a little Malt for his wife.
They have a 4 year old and one on the way. I talked in length to him about the pros and cons of a toy breed such as the Maltese with young children and also the maintenance time necessary to keep them healthy, not to mention the vet costs if they happen to become ill.
I think he listened well and decided that a toy breed may not be for their home just yet. I didn't want to talk him out of the breed but did want to point out the possibilities if he went ahead and brought one home.
This article would have shown him exactly what I told him, thankfully he listened well and has decided to hold off on a puppy till the new baby is old enough to respect a pet, he also decided perhaps a Lab Retriever would be a better choice where young children are in the home


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## cloey70

Yes, this website is excellent info for any breed you are interested in. I used this site to figure out what breed would be a good match for me.


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## Julie718

That was a very good article!!! I've been feeling the barking of a Maltese lately. I feel like T&T have been barking like crazy at everything!


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## trvlnut

The article states that it's one of the top five hardest breeds to housebreak. Do you all think this is the case? If so, why? If not, why?


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## coco

QUOTE (trvlnut @ Sep 23 2008, 08:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639565


> The article states that it's one of the top five hardest breeds to housebreak. Do you all think this is the case? If so, why? If not, why?[/B]



I was going to comment on that. I've never had a dog as easy to housebreak as Coco was. She just never had accidents, and she decided on her own to be an outside potty dog. Another thing I noticed was the barking, and while my last Maltese was deaf and barked non-stop, Coco never barks unless she hears the doorbell. She'll definitely bark for it, but, otherwise, she's a very quiet dog.


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## 08chrissy08

I saved this article. I'll definitely show this to anyone considering a Malt. These little fuzz balls have many up sides, but so many people get them without realizing that they require a great deal of time and effort too. Maltese have the ability to be fantastic pets....in the right homes. I liked how it pointed out that they have many different personality traits. Some being calm, others hyper, etc. I hear a lot of, "but so and so has a Maltese and he's like this so I'm going to get one!" You have to be prepared to love and care for your dog, no matter kind of Maltese you have. A good breeder will help out a lot with this as he/she will do his/her best to match you to a puppy that will mesh well with you, but a bad breeder will sell you anything "in stock."

And now I'm rambling lol, I'll stop. At any rate, good read. I will definitely share that with anyone wanting a Maltese.


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## binniebee

QUOTE (trvlnut @ Sep 23 2008, 08:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639565


> The article states that it's one of the top five hardest breeds to housebreak. Do you all think this is the case? If so, why? If not, why?[/B]


No, I don't agree. We had more trouble with our Poodle and Yorkie than with our Malts. However, we were poorly prepared for the previous dogs' housebreaking. Actually, Midis is the first dog I have had that learned easily. But I have to be honest: if it is raining/pouring ourside he will use his pee pad or somewhere close, at least (you know how they have to walk around to poop, for some reason; there's not enough room on his pee pad to do that much walking and pooping!)

Cyndi


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## binniebee

QUOTE (08chrissy08 @ Sep 23 2008, 09:44 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639611


> I saved this article. I'll definitely show this to anyone considering a Malt. These little fuzz balls have many up sides, but so many people get them without realizing that they require a great deal of time and effort too. Maltese have the ability to be fantastic pets....in the right homes. I liked how it pointed out that they have many different personality traits. Some being calm, others hyper, etc. I hear a lot of, "but so and so has a Maltese and he's like this so I'm going to get one!" You have to be prepared to love and care for your dog, no matter kind of Maltese you have. A good breeder will help out a lot with this as he/she will do his/her best to match you to a puppy that will mesh well with you, but a bad breeder will sell you anything "in stock."
> 
> And now I'm rambling lol, I'll stop. At any rate, good read. I will definitely share that with anyone wanting a Maltese.[/B]


Rambling or not, (not, in my opinion) you make excellent points. The barking is what drives me nuts! My hubby says "Casper didn't bark this much", well, this hubby wasn't on the scene until Casper's hearing got so poor and then completely went away. Casper's barking WAS this bad when he was younger, as Midis is. They can hear every bark in the neighborhood, and they feel they have to bark back. It is driving me to distraction! I am using piano CDs so that I can read and sit peacefully for a few hours after I get home from work. That helps somewhat, but some days it doesn't. I don't know why. Maybe because he goes outside and hears them firsthand, so knows even with the music going, that they are still barking.

I use Bully Sticks (Merrick only) and music CDs to try to curb the barking. Also, order him into his kennel for barking and leave him there for a couple of minutes (and he will NOT bark in there, because he learned early on that barking will not give him release). So then I let him out and tell him "Good: No Bark" But nothing seems to "stick". It's a day-by-day procedure. I hate using the kennel as a punishment tool because he LOVES his kennel and goes into it willingly every single morning, even before I tell him to, when I am ready to go to work. But, whatever: I know I need to learn to control his barking in some other way, but can't seem to figure out the best way.

I would love some better advice. I know I can put his pinch collar on him, order him into his "climb" (cat bed) and it will distract him and he will mind me, but isn't there some other way of handling this barking (in the house, with no obvious reason) without resorting to the pinch collar? (BTW, haven't used it in months. He will follow the command to get into his "climb" without it, but just won't stay for long.)

Cyndi


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## njdrake

I think most of the article was great but I don't agree with the housebreaking either. I've had a lot of dogs but these girls were the EASIEST to housebreak. Zoey was doing great after a couple of weeks and completely house broken within a couple of months. Tess was 13 months old and from a kennel when I got her so I was sure I'd need a lot of patience and it would be hard to teach her but I was wrong. She just followed Zoey's lead and she caught on right away.


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## Snuggle's Mom

I would have to admit, the housebreaking issue was one that we really had very little trouble with since we got Chrissy at 9 weeks of age. However, we were not aware that the Breeder used a doggie door and Chrissy just followed her Mother and siblings out in that manner. It wasn't until a few months later that I inquired about how quickly she ran to the door to let us know that she had to go out. As far as her barking is concerned, she and Snuggles let us know when someone has come our door but will stop as soon as they are in the house. She still has a bad habit everyonce of a while of hanging on to my pant legs which is not a good thing. If she persists, she goes in her crate!!

Snuggle's & Chrissy's Mom


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## The A Team

QUOTE (Coco @ Sep 23 2008, 09:27 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639569


> QUOTE (trvlnut @ Sep 23 2008, 08:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639565





> The article states that it's one of the top five hardest breeds to housebreak. Do you all think this is the case? If so, why? If not, why?[/B]



I was going to comment on that. I've never had a dog as easy to housebreak as Coco was. She just never had accidents, and she decided on her own to be an outside potty dog. Another thing I noticed was the barking, and while my last Maltese was deaf and barked non-stop, Coco never barks unless she hears the doorbell. She'll definitely bark for it, but, otherwise, she's a very quiet dog.
[/B][/QUOTE]


I guess all dogs are different. Abbey came to me at 8 weeks old - pee pee pad trained and never makes a mistake... :wub: ..on the other hand, she's a real Yapper (with a capital Y!) :w00t: 

Archie is the sweetest most loving little guy in the world, and he is housebroken......ummm.....unless it's raining....or something :smpullhair: He knows I want him to go outside, but sometimes, he'll sneak it....anywhere! This is only once in a while though.

Over all, I really enjoyed this article. It is right on target.


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## camfan

QUOTE (trvlnut @ Sep 23 2008, 09:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639565


> The article states that it's one of the top five hardest breeds to housebreak. Do you all think this is the case? If so, why? If not, why?[/B]


I don't agree with that. I mean, it took hard work, but probably no more than any other puppy. Since he was around 4-5 mos old he's never had an accident in my house. Then again, I have my suspicions that Ollie may not be 100% Maltese, but that's another story 

He's not really much of a barker, either. When he's sitting on the back of the couch in the window he'll bark at squrrells or a passerby, but I think that's pretty normal. It's funny, when the kids are in bed or when he knows he's supposed to be quiet, he does a very quiet "woof" kind of like a whisper, lol.


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## cloey70

The only thing that drives me nuts is the tear stains. Otherwise this is a perfect companion in everyway. I can deal with the tear stains, its just frustrating knowing I have done everything to find the culprit causing the stain, but even after a year of age, he still stans, UGGGH! I wish malteses came in different colors...lol


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## carrie

the article is excellent. however, i do agree with housebreaking, as i agree that there are maltese with different temperaments. 
massimo was the easiest dog to housebreak. but he's good all around, aside fom his health issues, of course...
mini is another story all together. i'm afraid i will never have this girl pad or outdoor trained. no matter WHAT i do. it's the most frustrating thing on the planet. but hey...she's cute, right? and most importantly, healthy. oh, and she's a total barker. eesh.....


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## paris'mom

QUOTE (Carrie @ Sep 24 2008, 07:36 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639855


> the article is excellent. however, i do agree with housebreaking, as i agree that there are maltese with different temperaments.
> massimo was the easiest dog to housebreak. but he's good all around, aside fom his health issues, of course...
> mini is another story all together. i'm afraid i will never have this girl pad or outdoor trained. no matter WHAT i do. it's the most frustrating thing on the planet. but hey...she's cute, right? and most importantly, healthy. oh, and she's a total barker. eesh.....[/B]



I bet Mini knows she's cute and can get away with it. That's what we think of Aries (Chalet baby too)... He can't do any wrong...lol


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## wolfieinthehouse

Wow.
The article is right on with my observations of Wolfie!

And.....he has been the most difficult dog to housebreak I have ever had (toy, small, mediium or large). It took me a year and a half (knock on wood) to get him to 'get' it pretty clearly. Poop or pee on the piddle pad or outside and nowhere else! (knock on wood)


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## luvmymacy

Great information...especially for people looking into getting a maltese


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## jaceybaby

How DARE somebody say something is bad about my little peanut! LOL!

Well, the housetraining thing is just a misconception. I have had... *counts on toes* 4 Maltese in my life so far including Jacey. All of them have been easier to housetrain then my Labs, etc. Yup!


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## binniebee

So, what about the barking that drives us NUTS? I know that the reality is that there is a new puppy across the street being let out about the time I get home from work, a big barking dog that is fenced in two doors down and another dog "down the hill" from our house (?) that barks a lot. So, I have started playing music CDs while I read during my downtime between 6 and 7 p.m. It helps drown out the other dogs' barking so helps a bit.

BUT, Midis wants to go outside (and pretends he "needs" to go out to do his business) just so he can bark back at them all. Very, very frustrating. I can distract him with commands, treats and voice commands, but he simply doesn't want to be kept from barking back at his "neighbors". What to do here????

Help!

Cyndi


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## Annita

very interesting! thanks


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## Glorybell

Thank you for such an educational thread.


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## gatiger40

I know it's all my fault because I never used a kennel for house training, but my little one is still only 80% reliable when it comes to her potty pad or outside. She is so darn cute, however, that she gets away with everything. She definitely wouldn't score high on the doggie IQ test, but with her sweet little personality and face she can pull it off. :wub: 

My older one was much easier and he learned so fast to use his potty bells to tell us he needs to go out. It's amazing how different their little personalities can be.


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## Carole

I disagree about the housebreaking... both my fur-girls were quite easy to housebreak....Admitting though they had excellent breeders (Bella DIVINE and Krista PASHES)....so likely they had an excellent start.
I had no problem at all getting them housetrained within a few weeks. I was fearing the worst and happily amazed!  
I never used a kennel at all...but they were confined to a small penned area with pee pad (and food, water, bed.) They got "free time" when they pottied and lots of "good girl!!!" and a treat. After about 20 minutes of free time....back into the pen. They soon learned using the pad gave them a positive reward.


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## sadiesmom

This is a good article but I disagree with some of it. Sadie has been good with the housebreaking compared to my previous experiences with house dogs. She does hear everything and thinks she has to bark but she is not socially accepted by other dogs. She just wantd to attack every moving animal. Not in a vicious way, she thinks that everything that moves is a play toy. My son's dog, a yorkie, actually runs from her because she doesn't give her a moments peace. My outside cats scatter when they see her because she wants to tackle them. They run up trees to get away. Even my 70 lab runs from her because she thinks it's time to roll and play when she sees him....needless to say, she hardly ever gets outside, I'm afraid that she might see a rabbit or deer and chase them to play and we'll never see her again so we have a lot of social training to do here....all this said, I still have no regrets for choosing a maltese!


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## sadiesmom

One more thing, I don't think there is a dog around that can play her 'down'. My mom just got a baby poodle and she thinks it is so hyper, I brought her home and Sadie she couldn't even keep up with Sadie. "Oh boy, a new toy" is all she sees.


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## HEINI

great article! thanks for posting it.

heini is a very quiet dog too, sometimes, if he barks, I really jumps and think..."woaahhhh..heini you scared me" he usually doesn't bark at things outside, unless he hears dogs barking loud and for a long time. if its just a little woof woof' he just puts his ears up, listens and then relaxes again.

the doorbell sometimes makes him bark, not always though. he seems to know exactely when it is someone who's coming to visit ( he barks) or if it' just the mailma, jehovas witness, telephone people wanting to sell whatever etc. ...he doesn't bother.

mostly he does what ollie does  
QUOTE (camfan @ Sep 24 2008, 03:13 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639763


> he does a very quiet "woof" kind of like a whisper, lol.[/B]


I love that little sound. 

housebreaking took quite a long time with heini, but he only had one or two accidents in the flat, because I went out with him, every hour in the beginning, and then every 2/3/4 hours. 

still it took me about 4 months till I was sure he is fine and didn't need to worry. we never used potty pads or something like that. it is just not common here, at least I never heard of it before I came on SM.

I chose the maltese breed because I am (was) a newbie with dogs, and it said that they are easy going in educating them, as they are really clever. also that they are very quiet and agreeable with human beings, other animals.
from the beginning on I wanted to have a dog whom I could surely take with me everywhere, even to work, I didn't want him or her to have to stay on it's own. at least not regurlarly. 
I wanted a dog that is not to big, as I live in the towncenter and my flat is small, I didn't want to imprison the animal.

the maltese breed in all points, because of the size and the character seemed to be perfect.

in the end it is. heini is perfect. he is my companion around the clock and best friend. I love him dearly.

I have to say the education was not as easy as I thought. we had several dog-classes and it took some time until heini knew what I want from him, and he was able to tell me what he exprects and wants from me. then again, I wanted all people to be happy with his behaviour and that no-one is annoyed by him or even sais something bad about his behaviour. I don't know, but it means a lot to me, that he agrees with all people and situations and everyone is happy in the situaation, if you know what I mean.
now, we understand eachother without words now.


edit: 
answering the question " what is bad about them" I can't find a single answer. 
they may not be comüatible with everyone or every housing and homesituation, but the breed maltese is just fantastic.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi

QUOTE (onedebora @ Apr 20 2008, 12:01 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=566417


> What's Good and Bad About 'em[/B]


Thank you for posting this. I would show this article to anyone who is considering a Maltese.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi

QUOTE (trvlnut @ Sep 23 2008, 08:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639565


> The article states that it's one of the top five hardest breeds to housebreak. Do you all think this is the case? If so, why? If not, why?[/B]


We brought Snowball home when he was almost seventeen weeks old. 

Although our breeder told us Snowball was already potty trained, we still were amazed that when he came here to his forever home, he went on the pee pad the very first time. So, we've never had a problem housetraining him. 

He goes on the pee pads inside ... and, he goes outside during his walks.

The only time I recall an accident was once when he was sick with gastritis. He had an accident on the floor, bless his heart. He still gets an upset tummy on occasion, with a loose BM, but, he always heads straight for the pads. I know if he's not feeling well, just by observing certain things he does. Like he won't come up on the bed (when we're ready to call it a night) ... and instead sits on his steps leading onto the bed until he feels better.


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## Colette'sMom

QUOTE (2MaltMom @ Sep 24 2008, 07:51 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639740


> QUOTE (Coco @ Sep 23 2008, 09:27 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639569





> QUOTE (trvlnut @ Sep 23 2008, 08:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=639565





> The article states that it's one of the top five hardest breeds to housebreak. Do you all think this is the case? If so, why? If not, why?[/B]



I was going to comment on that. I've never had a dog as easy to housebreak as Coco was. She just never had accidents, and she decided on her own to be an outside potty dog. Another thing I noticed was the barking, and while my last Maltese was deaf and barked non-stop, Coco never barks unless she hears the doorbell. She'll definitely bark for it, but, otherwise, she's a very quiet dog.
[/B][/QUOTE]


I guess all dogs are different. Abbey came to me at 8 weeks old - pee pee pad trained and never makes a mistake... :wub: ..on the other hand, she's a real Yapper (with a capital Y!) :w00t: 

Archie is the sweetest most loving little guy in the world, and he is housebroken......ummm.....unless it's raining....or something :smpullhair: He knows I want him to go outside, but sometimes, he'll sneak it....anywhere! This is only once in a while though.

Over all, I really enjoyed this article. It is right on target.
[/B][/QUOTE]

*2MaltMom,*

I would love to have an animation done such as you have. Is there a special program you use? BTW, I'm also in NJ....Oakland...Northeastern Bergen County.

Back on topic...I've also read that the Maltese is one of the more difficult breeds to housebreak. Many small dogs also fit into this category, but you have to remember that these are just averages. Now if you want a really stubborn dog, get a terrier. I've also read that there's a possibility that the Maltese may have Terrier in its history. Perhaps that's a factor in the housetraing difficulties.

A Maltese is for anyone who wants a dog in their face 24/7. I do! There are other toy breeds that aren't "in your face" dogs.


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