# How do breeders know which puppies will have silky hair?



## cindy6755 (Mar 20, 2005)

I was just wondering how breeders know which puppies will have nice silky coats when they still have their puppy coats? Do puppies have silky coats to start with? Or is it because both parents have silky coats so they just know?









Cindy


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## jude'n'jools (Apr 6, 2006)

Good question, i've been thinking about that too


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Responsible breeders who breed to the standard, which calls for a straight, silky coat, can predict their puppies will have the correct coat. Puppy mills and BYB's, whose breeding stock may be way off the standard, can't predict what type of coat their puppies will have.

Many unscrupulous breeders mix a little Bichon in their lines to produce larger females who will have more puppies and less complicated deliveries ( more $$$ in their pockets). That's why you often see pet store and BYB puppies grow to be 12 pound adults with curly coats.

Josymir has a wonderful section in her webpage about the difference in "pet quality" puppies from a show breeder and a BYB. (I would love to see it pinned in our Breeders section.)

http://www.josymirmaltese.com/whypaymore.html


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## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

> Responsible breeders who breed to the standard, which calls for a straight, silky coat, can predict their puppies will have the correct coat. Puppy mills and BYB's, whose breeding stock may be way off the standard, can't predict what type of coat their puppies will have.
> 
> Many unscrupulous breeders mix a little Bichon in their lines to produce larger females who will have more puppies and less complicated deliveries ( more $$$ in their pockets). That's why you often see pet store and BYB puppies grow to be 12 pound adults with curly coats.
> 
> ...



I, too, would like something like that posted for others to read, and perhaps Josy, who is a member of this site could contribute. However, the information she has on her site is outdated, and even states that pups from reputable breeders are not released to new homes until they are at least seven weeks of age. In my reading of this information, it appears that this information originated from a person who bred larger breeds than the Maltese.

I keep hearing that people mix Maltese with Bichons to increase the number of pups in the litter. I have a friend who did breed Bichons, and the size of her litter was not that much larger than the Maltese litter. Of course she was breeding hers to standard, and not breeding giants either.

Not all Maltese who have a cotton coat are a mixture. The cotton coat is discussed within the lines of our breed. I would hate for members who have dogs with a cotton coat to think that they got shortchanged by getting a dog that is mixed. In fact, I know one member who has mentioned her dog has a cotton coat, and it is from a champion male. I dare say this sire would have finished his championship if he had cotton coat, and the breeder is savy enough to choose females with the correct coat for her breeding program. Genetics here probably put that cotton coat back out from time to time with something recessive in the lines.

Now, as to the coat. A reputable breeder will take two dogs with a coat they want to reproduce or improve and expect the pups to have that. I have two little girls who are six weeks old today. I can pick up their hair and feel the texture now to tell me that they will most likely have the correct coat. What I do is take the hair and hold it out from the body and rub my hand through it. The silky coat will be cool to the touch. If it were a cotton coat, it would not.


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## msmagnolia (Sep 8, 2004)

Sadie and Sassy were littermates, from a beautiful champion male and a lovely female. Sadie's hair is so different from the way Sassy's was. Sassy had long, luxurious silky hair. Sadie's coat is thinner. I would not say that she has a cottony coat but it is not anywhere nearly as nice as Sassy's was. Their breeder had carefully selected the male and female for certain characteristics that she was trying to get. She had a litter of 3 pups - a male and two females (Sadie and Sassy). Right off the bat she could tell that Sadie wasn't going to be show quality because of her coat and pigments on her pads. Sassy ended up coming to us because of her bite and the little male had an undescended testicle that the breeder hoped and prayed would drop. It didn't so he went to a pet home too. My point is that these pups were from very good lines, carefully selected to produce certain characteristic, a nice coat being one, and none ended up in the show ring.......


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## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

> Sadie and Sassy were littermates, from a beautiful champion male and a lovely female. Sadie's hair is so different from the way Sassy's was. Sassy had long, luxurious silky hair. Sadie's coat is thinner. I would not say that she has a cottony coat but it is not anywhere nearly as nice as Sassy's was. Their breeder had carefully selected the male and female for certain characteristics that she was trying to get. She had a litter of 3 pups - a male and two females (Sadie and Sassy). Right off the bat she could tell that Sadie wasn't going to be show quality because of her coat and pigments on her pads. Sassy ended up coming to us because of her bite and the little male had an undescended testicle that the breeder hoped and prayed would drop. It didn't so he went to a pet home too. My point is that these pups were from very good lines, carefully selected to produce certain characteristic, a nice coat being one, and none ended up in the show ring.......[/B]



And, knowing your breeder, she was very selective in her choice for this mating.

One needs to remember that not all dogs who are champions produce champions, and some dogs who are not champions do produce champions. My Weaver is a champion, and a number of his siblings are too, yet his mother was not shown, and neither were any of his grandparents. His mom is just an excellent girl who has what it takes to make champions. I'm sure her owners, on hindsight, wish they had shown her, but at least they had the knowledge to use her in their breeding program to produce quality pups.


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## Carole (Nov 1, 2005)

My girls are from two different show breeders but have the same sire. Bella's coat has always been awesome....amazingly silky and thick.........Krista's coat was more cottony and much thinner when I got her...as she is getting older Krista's coat is getting a bit more silky and thick....but will never be as wonderful silky as her sister's.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

It's also important to know that strong cool silk coats were not that prominent in years gone
by. It's only in recent years with more silk coats coming up to breed silk to silk that there
are more so it's not unusual to see a soft (or rather cottony) coat pop up here and there in the
best of breedings. There are some soft coats that are not kinky or curly and indeed are
shown to their championships. In some cases I see reason for it as why omit a dog with
everything else going for it because of a somewhat imperfect coat. Bred to the right one
that coat can be corrected.


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## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

Interesting reading for sure, thank you all that have added to this from their knowledge.

enJOY!
Melanie


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## cindy6755 (Mar 20, 2005)

This is why I love this site, I learn so much!







I love and adore my babies even though they have cottony coats.







Thank you everyone for your responses.

Cindy


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Here's a very informative article (with pictures) from Foxstone Maltese about disreputable breeders mixing Bichons with Maltese:

http://www.foxstonemaltese.com/maltesesize.htm


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## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

Thank you Faye and Brit for posting their insight. I personally really appreciate it.


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## Zoe and Bella's mom (Jan 23, 2006)

[attachment=12469:attachment]
When I bought Zoe ( 6 months old) she had the most beautiful silky straight hair (see above picture) but around 13 months of age I noticed her new hair had a wave to it and now her hair is wavy enough that when I try to grow it out she looks like a puff fish (a precious puff fish)

Below is a picture of her hair now. I had no idea their hair could change from straight to wavy. The texture remained silky.

[attachment=12472:attachment]


ginny & zoe & bella


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