# 10 lb maltese?



## LGR

Hi Everyone! 

I am a relatively new Maltese owner and brand new to this forum. My sweet boy Charlie is now 6 months old and I love him more every day.

I recently took him to the vet who told me he would be about 10 lbs full grown, which seems awfully large for a Maltese! I don't mind if Charlie is big, I just wasn't expecting it. He currently weights 6.5 lbs and seems to be growing really quickly. (He has gained 2 pounds in the past two weeks, which I didn't know was possible for such a small little thing). Any ideas on when he may stop growing? I know it seems to vary, but I'm getting a little bit worried that he will even surpass the 10 lb mark.

Thanks so much!
Charlie's mum


----------



## Bonnie's Mommie

Hi Charlie's mum and welcome to SM. There are a lot of bigger Malts on the forum, some are simply large, and others may have been poorly bred. Either way, it's just more to love, right?

We'd love to see a picture!


----------



## jerricks

My Shelby, who is no longer with me, probably weighed 12 lbs, she was 17 when I had to put her down, she was healthy as could be, just big.


----------



## Rocky's Mom

I have seen lots of 10 lb Maltese. I would not mind it at all. More to love like Linda said! :HistericalSmiley:


----------



## Katkoota

Hi there and welcome to SM to you and Charlie. We love pictures here, so I hope we will get to meet your cutie in pictures  puppyhood days pass so quickly, i always suggest others to snap tones of puppy pictures :wub:

I agree with what others said.

My Snowy and Crystal are full grown, but their weigh fluctuates between 8lb , in days where my dad doesn't help in feeding them extra, and 9lb , in days where my dad feeds them.

That said, my maltese will sure fall under the FCI maltese breed standard as I am not close to the U.S and the AKC maltese breeders .. FCI maltese breed standard calls for the weigh to be between 6.6ib and 8.8lb.

For me, I like them in the heavy side, rather than the very light. I am an active type of person and I think that the very light one wont be able to join me for too long. 

I find Snowy and Crystal to be perfect *for me*


----------



## Summergirl73

Sweet Charlie will just be a sturdy boy  . 10 lbs for a Maltese isn't really uncommon at all. I personally (shhh don't tell the AKC lol) like to see them about 7+ lbs. Though we live in the suburbs, there are lots of rather large & scary looking birds. A few extra pounds isn't a bad thing at all in that case! Enjoy your Charlie.


----------



## aprilb

Large Malts are common. My first Malt, Noah, grew to 11 pounds.


----------



## The A Team

Hi..and welcome! My Archie is 11 lbs......funny, he was so tiny just about 2 lbs at 12 weeks. My vet said he'd be small....LOL....:HistericalSmiley:

He is a tad over weight, but I love him with all my heart. I suspect he has some bichon somewhere back in his family tree. 

Actually I have three malts, 3 1/2 lbs - 6 to 6/12 lbs and - 10 1/2 to 11 lbs. They're all sweet lap dogs. :thumbsup:


----------



## elly

My Edgar is 12 pounds.


----------



## beckinwolf

At his healthy weight, Micky is 10 pounds. When I first got him he was pretty skinny at 8.8, and later after my grandparents had been feeding him junk food, he was up to 13 pounds at one point...:blink:


----------



## romeo&juliet

Welcome to SM MY BOY Romeo is 10 lbs :w00t: This is what he looks like do you have pictures we love to see pictures :chili::chili:


----------



## Ladysmom

My Lady weighed between 8-9 lbs. and I though that was a perfect weight. Big enough to safely take for walks and not have to worry about around my grandchildren or my clumsy feet. My Bailey is going to be around the same size full grown. I wanted a larger Maltese.

The only drawback to a larger Maltese IMO is they get heavy to carry around in a shoulder bag. I prefer a pet stroller for errands anyway.


----------



## LGR

Thanks everyone for all the responses 

Here are two pictures of Charlie - one when he was a little puppy and the other was just a few weeks ago (around 5.5 months and in serious need of grooming). He has some tear staining now - I am sure there are a ton of threads on how to deal with this but if anyone has suggestions on how to get rid of them I would love to hear them.

I honestly can't believe how much I love him.


----------



## shellbeme

I have to admit, I was always a big dog person, but after we got Rocky I am completely in love with the maltese, they are now my official breed of choice :-D As for the tear staining it can be caused by so many things. I use a high quality grain free dog food and also give distilled water, he still has some tearing but nothing that a good face wash wont get rid of. We use spa lavish to waash the face.


----------



## Ladysmom

Charlie is adorable!

Don't worry about the staining now as it comes with teething. Just keep his face clean and remove the eye boogers for now.


----------



## Katkoota

Awwwwwwwwh he is so very CUTE :wub:

It is normal for puppies to get stains as they teeth


----------



## MoonDog

Awwwww, Charlie is so adorable!!! My fluff Phoebe is a tad over 9 pounds and I love every ounce! You say you can't believe how much you love him? Wait til tomorrow, it'll be even more.


----------



## Bonnie's Mommie

He's adorable! And I agree with Marj on two points:
1. His size is great for rough-housing and a little rough playing. Bonnie and I play rough sometimes, and I think I would be a little cautious if she were smaller (she's just under 8 pounds)
2. The tear staining - it's very common when they're teething. I would avoid using any tear staining products at his young age. Wait until he's spayed and had any remaining baby teeth removed. Until then just wash his face every day. Bonnie had horrible staining and it cleared up by the time she was a year old.


----------



## allheart

Oh sweetheart, the most important thing is that your baby is healthy. I didn't read all the post, but it helps to know, the breeders line and how big they get. But if your baby is on the larger side, and is healthy, do the happy dance


----------



## SuziLee

Charlie is sooo adorable!! :Cute Malt:

Duggy, who is just shy of 11 months, also had a really big growth spurt around that age but his weight leveled off after that and he has probably only gained about a pound in the last three months. (He's approx. 7 pounds now.) I think it just seems really hard to determine what size they will end up being!


----------



## Bonnie's Mommie

Bonnie's Mommie said:


> He's adorable! And I agree with Marj on two points:
> 1. His size is great for rough-housing and a little rough playing. Bonnie and I play rough sometimes, and I think I would be a little cautious if she were smaller (she's just under 8 pounds)
> 2. The tear staining - it's very common when they're teething. I would avoid using any tear staining products at his young age. *Wait until he's spayed* and had any remaining baby teeth removed. Until then just wash his face every day. Bonnie had horrible staining and it cleared up by the time she was a year old.


Can you tell I have a girl?:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley:


----------



## Rocky's Mom

My little guy is only 5.5 lbs and he can rough house till the cows come home. He loves playing rough with my husband...yet he is careful not to hurt him..he bites every so gently. He throws his toys across the room and growls. It's the cutest thing. So it doesn't matter if they are 5.lbs or 10lbs. they are Maltese...and that's the BEST!!!!!!:dothewave:


----------



## Maglily

Jodi is about 9.2 lbs, and has been a little heavier. Although he's still small, I like that he is a little sturdier than a standard sized malt. At 4 mos. he was 4 lbs.


----------



## LGR

Thank you so much for all the replies everyone! I could spend hours just looking at the pictures of your precious boys and girls. They are all so insanely adorable.

Charlie was neutered today so he's lying calmly beside me with his little cone on. He usually is non-stop action so this is very different for me.


----------



## Ladysmom

LGR said:


> Thank you so much for all the replies everyone! I could spend hours just looking at the pictures of your precious boys and girls. They are all so insanely adorable.
> 
> Charlie was neutered today so he's lying calmly beside me with his little cone on. He usually is non-stop action so this is very different for me.


Oh, gosh, poor Charlie! My Bailey was neutered yesterday and Madison's Mom's Paxton was neutered today. 

Enjoy the peace and quiet tonight. Bailey woke up raring to go this morning! LOL!


----------



## shellbeme

Rocky's Mom said:


> My little guy is only 5.5 lbs and he can rough house till the cows come home. He loves playing rough with my husband...yet he is careful not to hurt him..he bites every so gently. He throws his toys across the room and growls. It's the cutest thing. So it doesn't matter if they are 5.lbs or 10lbs. they are Maltese...and that's the BEST!!!!!!:dothewave:


Your Rocky and my Rocky sound very much alike in personality and stature! :HistericalSmiley:


----------



## bellasmummy

I agree, before i had maltese i always thought the ''5-7lb rule'' was more or less law but 10lb isnt that uncommon. My bella is normally under 5lb sometimes she hits 6.3lb, mya goes from 6 and a half to 7lb but flora (who is bellas niece) is normally about 9lb. I always used to think toy breeds who (going by AKC/KC rules) were bigger must just be overweight but its so obviously not the case/ floee actually eats LESS than bella yet is so much heavier. she is however also a bit longer. The vet says shes not fat just bigger but obviously to keep an eye on her incase she keeps getting bigger and does end up over weight


----------

