# Sister thinks her maltese is not really a maltese



## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

My sister purchased a maltese from 2 familes who bred their pets together. She bought the dog at 8 weeks old at it was 2.5 pounds. They told her it was a pure bred maltese. Beautiful face. Zero tear stains and all white. The dog is now 6 months and does not look 100% percent maltese. It looks like a malti-poo. Her fur is wavy not curly. Her fur has a very faint apricot coloured stripe and her ears have some apricot colour in them. The vet said the dog looks like a maltipoo as well. It looks like the seller lied to her. Also, the 6 month dog weigh 6 pounds and the seller told her the dogs adult weight would be 6 pounds. The dog is great and loved by all . Could this dog be pure bed maltese even with the wavy hair and faint apricot colour to its back?


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

To tell you the truth, when you're purchasing a puppy from people just putting their pets together, who knows what you'll actually get....do the parents have pedigrees? Most likely the pup has some kind of mix in it's past....maybe the owner's know it....maybe they don't. 

The most important thing is that the pup is loved.


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## myfairlacy (Dec 28, 2007)

I've seen tons of Pet quality maltese (bought from petstores or backyard breeders) that have a wavy coat. A lot of them look like they could be mixed with poodle or bichon somewhere down the lines and that's a possiblity but seems like a lot of poorly bred purebred maltese end up with wave to their coat too. When people are just breeding two dogs together without any thought to how well they conform to the standard, you're going to have purebred dogs that don't always look like the ideal for the breed.


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

It is probably pure bred. The poorly bred Maltese do have curly coats. When they are short and are growing back out they can look wavy. When the weight of the coat gets longer it will straighten out. I've seen some really poorly bred Maltese with perfectly straight coats too. 

Tina


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## Dora's Mom (Nov 7, 2009)

Dora's hair was perfectly straight until I had her groomed a few weeks ago and now it's wavy. The waviness could be due to the length of her hair. I would tell her she's very lucky her baby has no tear stains! 

It could still be a "pure bred" maltese in the sense that both its parents are maltese, but maybe it's just not the best example of the breed standard. As long as she's loved it's not so important.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

QUOTE (poochie2 @ Mar 1 2010, 02:51 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=891539


> My sister purchased a maltese from 2 familes who bred their pets together. She bought the dog at 8 weeks old at it was 2.5 pounds. They told her it was a pure bred maltese. Beautiful face. Zero tear stains and all white. The dog is now 6 months and does not look 100% percent maltese. It looks like a malti-poo. * Her fur is wavy not curly.* Her fur has a very faint apricot coloured stripe and her ears have some apricot colour in them. The vet said the dog looks like a maltipoo as well. It looks like the seller lied to her. Also, the 6 month dog weigh 6 pounds and the seller told her the dogs adult weight would be 6 pounds. The dog is great and loved by all . Could this dog be pure bed maltese even with the wavy hair and faint apricot colour to its back?[/B]


I don't know if anybody has really paid attention to what OP is saying. It seems to me that she thinks that Maltese should have curly hair. Maltese up to standard DO NOT HAVE curly hair. Now about the waves, how many show breeders use flat hot irons to straighten the hair before a show ? There are a lot of "pure breed" maltese that weigh more than 6 lbs. That's the preferred weight for the standard. For the apricot colour, it might disappear when the adult coat comes in.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

WHEN I STATED "HER HAIR IS WAVY AND NOT CURLY" THAT WAS A TYPO (SORRY) .............MEANT TO SAY "HER HAIR IS WAVY AND NOT STRAIGHT'.

AT FIRST WHEN SHE BOUGHT IT, IT LOOKED LIKE A MALTESE BUT NOW I REALLY THINK SHE LOOKS MORE LIKE A MALTIPOO. SHE'S GORGEOUS AND BABY DOLL FACED AND WE ALL LOVE HER ! SHE GETS ALONG AMAZING WITH MY MALT.


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## jodublin (Sep 27, 2006)

could you post a few photos of your sisters dog please ?


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## 08chrissy08 (Sep 19, 2008)

Honestly, it could go either way. There are some pretty poorly bred maltese out there from repeated breedings with malts that have undesirable traits. That said, if the dogs that were bred came froma pet store or any puppymill sort of place, it is just as likely that there is a mix in there. Probably bichon as they are a little larger and help millers get larger litters that way. It's really hard to say.


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## puppymom (Jun 13, 2005)

The "apricot" color is also an acceptable Maltese trait. It is called "lemon" (I have no idea why, it is actually light tan). Both my pups have it; one is from a back yard breeder and the other from one of the best breeders. So it's presence does not mean her pup is not pure maltese.


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## EmmasMommy (Jun 2, 2008)

I am sorry that you are doubting the "purebred" lineage of your sister's dog, but this is a pet right? I am assuming you guys are spaying her and obviously not in the show ring so why does it really matter?

As the coat gets longer the weight will make the coat somewhat straighter and certain groomers can make a Maltese "look" like a poodle by making the muzzle fur shorter and not letting the fur on the tail & ears to be long and flowing. You can even flat iron if you are really wanting straight hair.

My Emma has a very wavy coat when she is in a puppy cut and is quite straight when its long........as seen in her ears and tail.

Just focus on the great companion they have and how smart and loving she is. Afterall she is a pet.


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## jodublin (Sep 27, 2006)

i read that one maltese in ten maltese born now have lemon markings ,in most cases it grows out first year of puppys life 
as the puppy coat grows out .


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

Napoleon is a purebred Malt with a long line of pedigree. With his adult coat that started to come in when he was about 10 months, he now has a patch on his back that's really wavy, almost crimpy. As your sister's puppy grows her coat may change and the lemon may or may not go away as well. As long as she's healthy then that's a great start. Tell your sis to enjoy her.


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## wolfieinthehouse (Dec 14, 2007)

Wolfie is pretty darn tootin wavy and he is a Richelieu guy. Hey! just look at my older sig pic. Now, his hair is much longer and STILL waves like crazy!


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## jodublin (Sep 27, 2006)

One of sholohs puppys born last christmas has a wavy coat i think shes adorable .

sweet little susie aged 7 weeeks ....

[attachment=62368:tmpphpuHJpri.jpg]


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## bellasmummy (Apr 8, 2009)

to be honest its very hard to say from what you have told us. it still sounds like it could be a maltese as others have said. Does he/she have a pedigree? or are the parents KC reg (sorry not sure of the name in america?) if so you can go online and at least check out the parents from the kennel club website - or you can in the UK so id imagine you can in america too 

Do you have any photos you can post?


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## bellasmummy (Apr 8, 2009)

jodublin - omg that puppy looks sooo cute! what a little sweetie. How did her coat turn out in the end do you know?


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

I believe there are dog breed DNA kits on the market now...just swab towards the back of the mouth and send it out and they will tell you genetics


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## llf060787 (Nov 19, 2007)

My Bianca is a maltese/poodle mix and yes her coat is wavy. After getting Bianca I knew I wanted a maltese. I also knew I was going the rescue route when I did get one. When we adopted Bitsy in December they weren't sure if she was a true maltese or how big she was going to get. Well, guess what....we didn't care. We loved her llittle face and she was going to be a family pet after all. I didn't care if she was a mix or that she could grow up to be on the large side (now 6.5 lbs at 6 months). We love her just the way she is. She's a member of our family and that's all there is to it. Bitsy's coat is straight, although she recently went to the groomer's and we had it cut down quite a bit, there's a slight wave now.


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

QUOTE (llf060787 @ Mar 4 2010, 12:39 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=892358


> My Bianca is a maltese/poodle mix and yes her coat is wavy. After getting Bianca I knew I wanted a maltese. I also knew I was going the rescue route when I did get one. When we adopted Bitsy in December they weren't sure if she was a true maltese or how big she was going to get. Well, guess what....we didn't care. We loved her llittle face and she was going to be a family pet after all. I didn't care if she was a mix or that she could grow up to be on the large side (now 6.5 lbs at 6 months). We love her just the way she is. She's a member of our family and that's all there is to it. Bitsy's coat is straight, although she recently went to the groomer's and we had it cut down quite a bit, there's a slight wave now.[/B]


AMEN!!!! It's all about the love they give, isn't it?


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## llf060787 (Nov 19, 2007)

QUOTE (MaltLoverEileen @ Mar 4 2010, 11:41 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=892360


> QUOTE (llf060787 @ Mar 4 2010, 12:39 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=892358





> My Bianca is a maltese/poodle mix and yes her coat is wavy. After getting Bianca I knew I wanted a maltese. I also knew I was going the rescue route when I did get one. When we adopted Bitsy in December they weren't sure if she was a true maltese or how big she was going to get. Well, guess what....we didn't care. We loved her llittle face and she was going to be a family pet after all. I didn't care if she was a mix or that she could grow up to be on the large side (now 6.5 lbs at 6 months). We love her just the way she is. She's a member of our family and that's all there is to it. Bitsy's coat is straight, although she recently went to the groomer's and we had it cut down quite a bit, there's a slight wave now.[/B]


AMEN!!!! It's all about the love they give, isn't it?
[/B][/QUOTE]

It never ceases to amaze me how much love these little fluffy cotton balls can give!


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

QUOTE (EmmasMommy @ Mar 3 2010, 10:43 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=892040


> I am sorry that you are doubting the "purebred" lineage of your sister's dog, but this is a pet right? I am assuming you guys are spaying her and obviously not in the show ring so why does it really matter?
> 
> As the coat gets longer the weight will make the coat somewhat straighter and certain groomers can make a Maltese "look" like a poodle by making the muzzle fur shorter and not letting the fur on the tail & ears to be long and flowing. You can even flat iron if you are really wanting straight hair.
> 
> ...


I'm sure "EmmasMommy" you were not trying to be rude or sarcastic, but did you forget to read the line where I clearly stated 'She is loved by all". ...and that she is adorable.....
My sister was just curious if maybe she did have some poodle mix but by all means her love for the dog was never in question. We all love her very much. And come on, flat ironing her hair if she 's wanting it straight, that is a ridiculous suggestion!!! Oh and bye the way, thank you so much for your concern. LMAO !


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## iheartbisou (Feb 13, 2007)

QUOTE (poochie2 @ Mar 5 2010, 10:26 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=892535


> QUOTE (EmmasMommy @ Mar 3 2010, 10:43 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=892040





> I am sorry that you are doubting the "purebred" lineage of your sister's dog, but this is a pet right? I am assuming you guys are spaying her and obviously not in the show ring so why does it really matter?
> 
> As the coat gets longer the weight will make the coat somewhat straighter and certain groomers can make a Maltese "look" like a poodle by making the muzzle fur shorter and not letting the fur on the tail & ears to be long and flowing. You can even flat iron if you are really wanting straight hair.
> 
> ...


I'm sure "EmmasMommy" you were not trying to be rude or sarcastic, but did you forget to read the line where I clearly stated 'She is loved by all". ...and that she is adorable.....
My sister was just curious if maybe she did have some poodle mix but by all means her love for the dog was never in question. We all love her very much. And come on, flat ironing her hair if she 's wanting it straight, that is a ridiculous suggestion!!! Oh and bye the way, thank you so much for your concern. LMAO !
[/B][/QUOTE]

I don't think anybody was being rude/sarcastic in their replies to you. Everyone was just trying to help. You posted asking questions and people just replied and offered solutions/options to your issue in the nicest way possible.


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## bellapuppy (Dec 1, 2008)

My Maggie Bella has curly hair with a lemon stripe down her back. She is in a puppy coat. Her hair was straighter when her hair was growning out when she was a baby. She came with papers from the Continental Kennel Club. La de da...Not of the same caliber as the AKC from what I have learned since buying herAnyway, she is a purebred. Trixie Rose was a rescue who had originally been purchased from a pet store. Her hair is cottony straight. She is also "pedigreed" according to the pet adoption agency I got her from. So, I have to agree with the others. She probably is purebred. But like the others have said also, it isn't important when she is so loved and brings so much joy.


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