# Did maltese use to be cream too?



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

I was talking to a breeder on the phone today and she was telling me about her dogs. (black point, faces, colors, etc.)
She said that some of her dogs did have some cream, especially on their ears. (I know this is normal and permissable, even in the breed standard.) She said it often fades, but then she said that many people did not know that maltese use to be both white and cream and that the cream was bred out. She also said that you have to have the cream gene in there to make the black points.
Just wondering if anyone else knew this? I have learned ALOT since researching and learning about the breed, but never heard this.


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## Chelsey (Dec 17, 2004)

I read in the Maletese popular Dogs Series magizine the following.

"Malteses in times past apparentlycame in colors other then white.
It wasn't until the 19th century that the all white Maltese became favored and was developed to the exclusion of othr colors."


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




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## FannyMay (Nov 18, 2004)

what is the black points? I have heard this before and it's on Fantasia's papers but I never knew what it meant.


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## adorableaccentsdogbows (Aug 9, 2004)

I have found that pups that have a little lemon on the ears initially have much darker point in the long run. It has always turned to white on my babies by the time they were 5 or 6 months. Some dogs that I have seen have carried it into adulthood.


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

Thanks! I guess I have just missed that somewhere...


Fannymay-blackpoints are the dark(black) rims around their eyes, and their mouths and then their all black noses...(isn't that right?)
And I think their paw pads are supposed to be all black too.


I am sure someone will correct me if this is not right...







But that is the way I understand it.


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## saltymalty (Sep 14, 2004)

What I was told was that cream coloring on the ears and "cow spots" on the belly, and back skin (under the hair) all are good signs of pigmentation. My puppy does have cream colored ears, however, they have really faded lately and I can see that the newer growth hair is pure white. It's like the tips of the hairs have been dipped in cream, but what is close to the skin is pure white. I don't know about other colors and their history, I hadn't heard that before.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

tlunn is right. The black points are the rims around the eyes, the nose, the mouth and paw pads. Alex does not have "cow spots" on his belly, but he has plenty of them on his back.


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## Chelsey (Dec 17, 2004)

I would have been cool if they had kept at least one other color. But I guess that what makes them so special.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Maltese did use to come in a variety of colors. 

She may have meant that coloring in the coat often coincides with good pigment. However, breeders have to be careful with this as you have to be sure the color is very minimal (on the ears), light, and any on the body fades. A dog with cream remaining in its body should not be bred.


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## FannyMay (Nov 18, 2004)

OK so I guess I am confused then because Fantasia had the "cow spots" when she was younger and still has a couple on the bridge of her nose (you can see it in her part on her nose). She also had the cream on one ear but it faded. So these are all GOOD things right? But she is a puppy mill dog, how did a puppy mill get these black points so perfect? Oh well all except her paws, she has some cream in her paw pads, they aren't all black. But it's only one small pad (a small part of it) on one of her back legs. All her other pads are all black. All of her "cow spots" are gone except the ones on her nose.

I love her black points because when she was a puppy John and I used to say that she looked like an ewok because they had black lips and black around their eyes.


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