# I saw the funniest little Malt the other day



## Lissa (Aug 25, 2004)

Last Friday I saw sweetest little Maltese on the street. I had to stop her owner because I was laughing so hard...he was attempting to walk her and she was just not having it. She threw her front legs straight out and plopped her butt right down on the pavement. This alone would have done it for me because I related the stubborn behavior to my Rocco's behavior. But, on top of that, when she would walk, she was prancing along like a rabbit. All this puntuated by the fact that her ears were sticking straight up like a puppy's ears would.

When I stopped the gentleman to ask how old his puppy was, he told me she was a year and 1/2. I asked about her ears and if she was a mix, but he told me she was indeed a purebred, but had "neutral ears". Has anyone else heard of this? She was just ADORABLE and really did look like a bunny rabbit. And so lovable... ^_^


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Haha! Lexi does the sitting thing when she doesn't want to walk. I can usually get her going though. She does the bunny hop sometimes. One of the trainers in the class thought it was hilarious because when Lexi goes through the tunnel and shute she does the bunny hop.

Never heard of "neutral ears". I have heard of some maltese puppies with ears that stick up but as they get older they fall down.


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

Hehe that is too funny. Caesar does the same thing when hes done walking


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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

Tuffy is a bunny hopper, but not on walks.. just when he's running down the hall or something.. I remember seeing this cute little maltese at petsmart a while back that would sprawl out on the floor with her little legs kicked out behind her.. totally adorable. I've never heard of neutral ears before either..


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Mystify79_@Sep 27 2004, 02:00 PM
> *I remember seeing this cute little maltese at petsmart a while back that would sprawl out on the floor with her little legs kicked out behind her.. <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=10145*


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my jong-ee does that all the time..whenever she lies down her back legs are kicked out behind her..when her hair was almost full coat she looked like a white rug on the floor.. :lol: 

i uploaded a photo of her like that in my gallery when she was about 5 months old


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Mystify79_@Sep 27 2004, 02:00 PM
> *Tuffy is a bunny hopper, but not on walks.. just when he's running down the hall or something.. I remember seeing this cute little maltese at petsmart a while back that would sprawl out on the floor with her little legs kicked out behind her.. totally adorable.  I've never heard of neutral ears before either..
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=10145*


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Ditto to Mystify79.
Brinkley does the bunny hop when he is playing with the cats...he also sneaks up on the commando style...HILARIOUS!
He lays on his belly with his back legs out straight when he is busy with a greenie or another bone or chew toy. This seems to be most comfy for him...as he lays this way for a long time...


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Lexi does the leg stretch after she's been playing for while and is tired. She does it mostly outside in the grass.


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## zsazsasmom (Nov 1, 2004)

You know, I cant get ZsaZsa to walk on a leash PERIOD! She is 5 months old and as soon as i put her leash she will not budge 1 inch. Not even a little. Any clues on how I can get her to take to her leash? I havent checked into obdience class yet, maybe I better?! :wacko: And she also lays on her belly with her legs stretched out behind her, she does alot of sleeping on her back with her paws up in the air, too cute :lol:


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## kodie (Aug 24, 2004)

Kodie would go for walks every hour if you let him! He always tries to run! I never heard of ears sticking straight up either...i know its cute though because Kodie's sister had straight ears too! She was under a pound and did not make it further than 6months before passing away from health problems from being too tiny. She looked like a kitten with her ears straight like that..haha


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i used to drop tiny tiny bite sized treats on the ground while i walked. that helped me for a little bit....but they they started pulling anticipating the next treat. lol. just keep trying


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Try putting the leash on her when she is inside and let her drag it around for a while, so that she gets used to it. Once you get her walking around outside you can try it outside. Try using treats to get her to come to you. Make sure you use lots of treats.


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## Maxismom (Mar 24, 2004)

maxi totally walks me if he doesnt want to go in a certain direction he sits also
i just let him lead me i fond the walk is more pleasant if he is having fun


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Mystify79_@Sep 27 2004, 02:00 PM
> *Tuffy is a bunny hopper, but not on walks.. just when he's running down the hall or something.. I remember seeing this cute little maltese at petsmart a while back that would sprawl out on the floor with her little legs kicked out behind her.. totally adorable.  I've never heard of neutral ears before either..
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=10145*


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Abby lays like that alot!!







Especially when she has just stuffed herself silly with dinner! LOL

And she does this funny little hoppy thing too, when you are playing with her or she's playing with her toys or when she's running toward you.







My parents call her a little lamb because they say she jumps off all fours instead of like a normal dog!! LOL


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Often a dog with luxating patellas will develop a hopping gait in the back like a rabbit. As far the ears, Maltese ears are supposed to hang down. Ears that stand up are not the standard and I'd be suspicious if the dog was purebred.

You really have to be careful with Maltese. Lots of times unscrupulous breeders will mix Maltese with a larger breed to get more puppies and safer, easier (cheaper!) pregnancies and deliveries. I believe they think many of the Hollybelle Maltese seized aren't purebred despite their hefty price tags. Very often Bichon or Westie is mixed in which accounts for a lot of those "giant" Maltese out there.

My neighbors just got the cutest little Maltese puppy. They were on a waiting list with one of the top breeders here, but got tired of waiting. They got Zero from someone she felt comfortable about. Although this breeder was just starting out, she had state of the art outdoor facilites (heated condos) for the dogs, both parents on premises, etc. My neighbor very much wanted a dog with the proper straight silky coat and about 5 pounds full grown. All this breeder's dogs fit that description so she bought a puppy.

Well, Zero is just 4 months old and already is about 6 pounds! He just got neutered last week and he was a little cone head and I was petting him and looked into that face and, my heavens, he looks just like a Westie! You couldn't tell before with all his hair down, but the cone pulled some of it back and his snout is twice the length of my 9 pound Lady's, plus his whole face shape is squared off like a Westie. Of course, I didn't say anything, but I think they got ripped off.

He is just totally adorable anyway, but they got rid of the last one at age 2 because he marked and had a cottony coat that got matted all the time. I hope they still love him anyway.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

She said the main reason they got rid of him was because he marked and they couldn't handle it (even though it was their fault for waiting too long to get him neutered, in my opinion). Why oh why they went out and got ANOTHER male, I don't understand.......

I think the coat was a big part of it, too. She talks more about how awful his coat was and how it got matted all the time and they had to keep him "too short" than the marking.

She has this vision of the perfect Maltese, 5 pounds and a flowing coat. Little Zero will not be that, but he is as cute as he can be! I hope they can accept him just the way he is.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I know. I can't imagine giving up my baby when there is an alternative. Many people have resorted to belly bands and swear they save their sanity. 

You should have seen the look on her face when I told her I give Lady insulin shots everyday. She looked at me as if I'd lost my mind!

I am also amazed that any breeder would sell her a puppy, especially another male puppy knowing what happened to the first dog. Somehow I'm not surprised that this puppy looks Westie-ish....


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by zsazsasmom_@Nov 4 2004, 10:24 PM
> *You know, I cant get ZsaZsa to walk on a leash PERIOD! She is 5 months old and as soon as i put her leash she will not budge 1 inch. Not even a little. Any clues on how I can get her to take to her leash? <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=14974*


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My trainer told me how to get Catcher to walk. Put him on the leash and have a few treats with you. The treats should be teeny tiny pieces of something yummy. Then have Zsa Zsa by your left side. Start walking and have the treat at her nose so she can smell it and keep the treat in front of her so she will walk to get the treat. Praise her to high heaven as she walks and then give her the treat and then keep doing it until she will walk without the treat. The trainer said never to pull or tug on the leash. Hope this helps... good luck!


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## Gizmosmom (Oct 21, 2004)

Gizmo lies on his Belly alot too, especially when he is hot. He will lie on the tiles because they are nice and cool. This morning he did the bunny hop for the first time. He was playing with me on the bed and kept hopping to my hand. I was laughing hysterically. Also, when he doesn't want to walk anymore, he doesn't lie down, he jumps up at me, but he hasn't done that in a while. It seems the colder it gets the more time hewants to spend outside (and the less time *I* want to spend outside). We have a major conflict of interests here!


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## pico's parent (Apr 5, 2004)

I caught that, too, Nichole. I hope as that couple gets older they don't develop any habits or problems that annoys their spouse







They're likely to find themselves being "gotten rid of".

They don't sound like good pet owners to me.....

So, what happened to the poor cottony coated marker?


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Gizmosmom_@Nov 9 2004, 10:05 AM
> *Gizmo lies on his Belly alot too, especially when he is hot.  He will lie on the tiles because they are nice and cool.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=15555*


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Caesar does this too, its pretty cute


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## zsazsasmom (Nov 1, 2004)

Thank you for all the tips on walking Zsa Zsa, I will try the treat thing, that sounds like it may work! I did buy one of those retractible leashes, it is a bit lighter on her than the nylon one I had. But she is just still so stubborn! But I love her anyways and I just try not to let her see me laughing because she really is adorable


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## Theresa (Mar 10, 2005)

Summer does the samething flops down and looks at me like I'm not even going that way so pick me up lol but she does love to walk on the lease . and hop







are you kidding she's like the energize bunny :lol:


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## Sylphide and Shrek's Mom (Dec 4, 2004)

> _Originally posted by LadysMom_@Nov 6 2004, 02:56 PM
> *Very often Bichon or Westie is mixed in which accounts for a lot of those "giant" Maltese out there.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=15173*


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I'm convinced Shrek has some Westie in there. Something about him is very Westie-ish (and not just his size). I saw both parents, and they are both very Maltese (his dad is a little tiny guy, his mom much larger), and I have Shreks AKC papers. 

He has a Westie stance and something in the face looks very Westie-like, although he has a beautiful silky Maltese coat that is so easy to care for (I'll have to post photos soon, before we decide to chop it off for the summer), long Maltese ears, a Maltese plume tail, Maltese eyes, and a very Maltese personality. 

I think that a grandparent or other ancestor was a Westie, and suspect that the whoever that breeder was put a Maltese down as the parent. My suspicions is that as you suggest, Lady's Mom, it isn't uncommon for some of the larger breeders to do this. Didn't Hollybelle also have Westies housed in the same space as Maltese?


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## Carol Ann (Dec 5, 2004)

> _Originally posted by LadysMom_@Nov 6 2004, 12:34 PM
> *She said the main reason they got rid of him was because he marked and they couldn't handle it (even though it was their fault for waiting too long to get him neutered, in my opinion). Why oh why they went out and got ANOTHER male, I don't understand.......
> 
> I think the coat was a big part of it, too. She talks more about how awful his coat was and how it got matted all the time and they had to keep him "too short" than the marking.
> ...


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Oh, wow. How can folks can DO that? They seem to be more interested in the standards of characteristics of the dogs, rather than the dogs themselves. This is so sad, to me.


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