# new here with question



## conniemarie (Feb 17, 2015)

Hi. I adopted a 4 year old female maltese named Maddie.
She is a sweet heart and I love her so much. I have a few concerns that I would like advice about and I am so glad I found this forum!
First of all, I would like to tell you her story for you to really understand her behavior,so I apologize for the long post...
I got Maddie from a breeder that was selling her because she had enough puppies and I guess she thought she was ready to retire. I cry when I think about it. But when I saw she was up for sale i had to take her. She had just weaned her puppies when I got her last week. So I will be having her spayed ASAP.
Vet checked her out and she is fine, HW test negative. But her
teeth are horrible! I have to wet her food because she can't eat dry food well. So since I can't afford having both her teeth cleaned and spay all at once, I have to choose the one that is more important than the other at the moment. What would you suggest?
Also, she is VERY clingy and does not want to leave my side which I am not complaining because I love it, but if I don't walk her to the pads, won't go potty on her own. I know its because she doesn't want to be alone because of what she has been through. Should this get better after a while? I mean she will go potty on her own? Or do i just ignore and hope she gets it? I don't know what is best and that is all I want for her- what's best. I am afraid to hinder her. 
Thanks for reading and I appreciate all advice. Thank you


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

You have purchased a dog from a puppy mill and the problems you are seeing are exactly why we are so passionate about doing away with the types of breeders you bought her from. You will need to find a way to do both her spay and dental; untreated dental disease can cause other problems, including heart disease and after what she has been through, the kindest thing to do is spay.

Every puppy mill mom is different. I have a friend who adopted a mom (from a rescue, she didn't give money to the greeder) who after four years is still not housebroken and is still afraid of her own shadow. 

You will need the assistance of a good behaviorist (special kind of trainer) to help you undo the damage the puppy mill did to her. Good luck.


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## conniemarie (Feb 17, 2015)

I know she is from a puppy mill.im not stupid. And I will get both done just not at the same time. I know what bad teeth leads to. 
Can't you be more positive? What about its a great thing I got her out of there?. So what do you think should happen to these moms???


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

I'd be concerned about having to put her under twice . If the vet could do both at once it would be better. I think lots of patience and love will help her and feel more secure. 
Every time that she does go on the pee pad , praise her and give her a little treat. 
How old is Maddie? She needs time to get used her new surroundings . Just be patient and give her lots of love! 
Welcome to SM! So glad that you joined!!!


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## conniemarie (Feb 17, 2015)

You have purchased a dog from a puppy mill and the problems you are seeing are exactly why we are so passionate about doing away with the types of breeders you bought her from. You will need to find a way to do both her spay and dental; untreated dental disease can cause other problems, including heart disease and after what she has been through, the kindest thing to do is spay.

Every puppy mill mom is different. I have a friend who adopted a mom (from a rescue, she didn't give money to the greeder) who after four years is still not housebroken and is still afraid of her own shadow. 

You will need the assistance of a good behaviorist (special kind of trainer) to help you undo the damage the puppy mill did to her. Good luck



Oh and another thing- I have read posts from people here that says theirs are clingy too. lady, your comment is just wrong.
You don't have to be so negative! I thought this site is supposed to help ? Did you not read that I said I WILL do both???
If you don't have anything positive to say don't comment


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## conniemarie (Feb 17, 2015)

Furbabies mom said:


> I'd be concerned about having to put her under twice . If the vet could do both at once it would be better. I think lots of patience and love will help her and feel more secure.
> Every time that she does go on the pee pad , praise her and give her a little treat.
> How old is Maddie? She needs time to get used her new surroundings . Just be patient and give her lots of love!
> Welcome to SM! So glad that you joined!!!


As I said in my first post, she is 4. Thanks for being nice. I appreciate that


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## Sarahsphere (Oct 4, 2015)

I probably have the least amount of experience to offer.

Does your vet offer a payment plan so he can do both at once?
If you explained to the vet your concerns, it would be nice if he wanted to help in this way, that might not be an option but if you could, that would be good.

I think maybe you treat her as a puppy who needs to have all that closeness and reassurance, puppy's are hard work, I'm a few days in with my new puppy and I'm watching body language so I can work out when she needs to go, when she needs to eat, when she needs to cuddle, trying to get into a groove with her needs and nature. Consistency is security.

Is there any chance you can time her pee pad visits and go with her. It's a lot of extra work, but you'll be building a close trusting relationship which will replace the hard work eventually. 

She's in a much better place for sure.
It's hard to hear about mistreatment of any kind. I'm glad you stepped up to save her. You can only do what you can do.

When was her last season? If I was in your situation, I might choose to talk to vet and see if he could agree to both at the same time, if not, the teeth would be causing pain. Keep her locked up and away from another pregnancy threat and take care of her teeth, hopefully when you have saved enough before she's in season again. I would try to take away immediate pain.

As I said, I'm far from an expert, wish you all the best with her.


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## conniemarie (Feb 17, 2015)

Sarahsphere said:


> I probably have the least amount of experience to offer.
> 
> Does your vet offer a payment plan so he can do both at once?
> If you explained to the vet your concerns, it would be nice if he wanted to help in this way, that might not be an option but if you could, that would be good.
> ...


Thank you and bless you for those kind words! 
I will call my vet tomorrow and ask if I can do both and pay half and see what he says. He can only say yes or no right? 
And she is not skittish at all. She is very friendly and will go to anyone. She us just clingy with me actually which is probably more my fault because I spoil her knowing where she came fro. Its hard not to. I feel blessed to have found her and I truly love her so much


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## conniemarie (Feb 17, 2015)




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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

Small dogs can have issues with anesthesia, so you will want to do everything at once and not put her under twice. Maltese can be difficult to pee train, it takes a lot of patience. Consistency is essential. Love and attention goes a long way making a dog comfortable.


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## Snuggle's Mom (Jan 3, 2008)

Maddie is absolutely adorable and I am sure that in time, the clinginess will get better. Glad to you have her and like some of the others have suggested, it would be better is she did not have to under anesthesia for each procedure. Perhaps you can work something out with your Vet is he/she has a payment plan. A lot of Vets do have those today which truly makes it a lot easier on their clients.


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## sherry (Jan 4, 2013)

First of all, Maddie is a little doll. Please don't take offense at any advice being offered, it is truly from the heart, I agree that both procedures need to take place at once, and your vet needs to take consideration for this girl being small and delicate. As far as potty training, when you feel comfortable letting Maddie have her own space, which I would recommend soon, get her an xpen and put her potty pad in there and start breaking her of being so needy of you. She will learn to potty. Also I would like to say that between the two procedures, if only one can be done and she won't be out around any male dogs, the teeth totally need taken care of first.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Oh how cute Maddie is!!! 

I agree with Sherry. If she's not around any male dogs, and she's kept in while in heat, I'd have the teeth taken care of first.


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## pammy4501 (Aug 8, 2007)

So this is the issue. You say you "adopted" this dog. Did you go through a recognized rescue organization? If so they would help with the spay and dental. If you paid the mill for this dog, then you enabled them to keep doing what they do, It looks like you have been a member here since Feb. In that time did you read anything here about how to go about rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder? If you have a rescue group you can go to they may help you. Sincerely hoping you didn't pay for this dog.


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

I'm sorry if you think this is negative but here is what you have shared as the situation:

1. You gave money to a puppy mill breeder to "save" this dog. Yes, you saved her but it sounds in your Post that you rewarded the breeder by giving him money, so you have just encouraged him to continue to do the same thing to other dogs. No, one person can't stop it all but if enough of us take a stand and say no to puppy mills they will have no financial incentive to stop breeding. If you had been actively reading this forum, you would have seen this position from many of us who are taking a stand against puppy mill operators.

2. You got a dog who like most puppy mill moms is in desperate need of medical care, yet you are concerned about the finances. Caring for a dog is expensive, puppy mill dogs more so. Any time someone starts to imply that finances are a barrier to getting their dog the care it needs concerns me.

3. You are going to need the help of behaviorist and health care professionals, so getting defensive about the situation is only going to get in the way of your pup's progress. You have a chance to make a difference in the life of this dog, so you need to be willing to learn how to handle the very special needs of a puppy mill mom. 

I am speaking from experience here, and if this comes across as negative, then so be it. This dog will need a lot of special care: medically, emotionally and behaviorally. You need to be prepared that helping her adjust to her new life will be a very long term process, and that she may never socialize, play or be housebroken like dogs who had better beginnings. And yes, our dogs are clingy, but they will walk to potty on their own - something you say your poor baby has never had the opportunity to learn to do.

I do wish you luck with her, but please get advice from a behaviorist so that you give her the best possible chance at a long, happy life.


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## conniemarie (Feb 17, 2015)

Thanks for your help


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## Dominic (Nov 4, 2012)

Try care credit. You should run a blood panel, spay her and get her teeth cleaned. 

Maggie is saying things the way they are, if you get offended you'll miss the opportunity to educate yourself and take care of your dog. Lots of people use the term 'adopted' to justify 'buying' from a puppy mill or 'saving' the dog. This is a very difficult subject and here on this forum we are always going to say as it is. Well, a few people will make a light of it but still doesn't change the reality for the mill dogs. 

Hope you can get the care credit, teeth cleaning and extractions are expensive. You can also look into health insurance for her ASAP, we like Healthy Paws and VPI but there's several to chose from.


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## Gabbee15 (Jan 8, 2015)

She is adorable. Mine are pretty attached to me and they have not been through what yours has. I do not have great advice other than if you have a good friend or family member maybe they could help you work with them so she trusts more than one person. I did not see how long you have had her but I hope you will be successful with the potty issue. Time will help her heal and I am confident that you will find a solution that will work for you both. If it helps,mine go when they wake up in the am and if they wake up from a nap. They go out after they eat (twice)a day. Then before they go down for the nite. 

Good luck. And please keep us posted


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## LilSuz (Oct 18, 2015)

Hi. Reading through the posts, I saw two good points....teeth first and x-pen. As she´s been a puppy-producing bitch, she´ll be quite used to a pen, and you can use this to give her security and pee-pad train her. I do hope you can get some arrangement worked out to get all the vet work done at once, but if not, and you can keep her shut away safely from dogs, then the teeth would be the urgent thing to get done. Meanwhile, hopefully she would have no probs with pyometra or tumours, etc. 
She´s a little dinky. So sweet. My tiny pup came from a place like this. I couldn´t leave her there either. 
Hope all goes well with her.


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