# Pink eye Rims



## Morkie4 (Oct 13, 2006)

Hi everyone,
Have a quick question and hope I get a lot of good answers.

We are looking at a 4 year old female maltese being sold locally. Her coat is not cottony like Kallie's hair and Kallie has the really dark black eye rims..........soooooo, my question is, why and what do you know about the rims of a maltese that are pink??? Her coat is very thin and she is about six pounds. Any feedback would be appreciated. THANKS in advance.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Pink eye rims are just lack of pigment. Lady has them. It's no problem unless you are planning on showing.

I would be concerned about the thin coat, though. That can be a sign of hypothyroidism which is pretty common in Maltese. It's no big deal to treat, Lady has it (what doesn't Lady have?







), but it's something she would have to be on medication for.

Why are they selling her?


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

The pink eye rims are from lack of pigment which sometimes happens....just like some Maltese for whatever reason are missing black pigmentation on their pads. The thin coat could be several reasons....some coats are just thinner than others, poor breeding, illness, etc. If you are looking to adopt a family pet and she is healthy then I would not worry myself about the lack of eye rim pigment nor the thin coat. Some really great silk coats are thin....others are thicker. ie, Malts can have thin silk, med. silk, or heavy silk.....cotton or even a combination of the two. Let us know what you decide about the adoption.


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## Morkie4 (Oct 13, 2006)

> Pink eye rims are just lack of pigment. Lady has them. It's no problem unless you are planning on showing.
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> I would be concerned about the thin coat, though. That can be a sign of hypothyroidism which is pretty common in Maltese. It's no big deal to treat, Lady has it (what doesn't Lady have?
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They have a job change. They are selling all of their malts......a 2 yr old male, 4 yr old female and two male pups! They did breed the two dogs and the females is still nursing the pups so it would be another week before she could be adopted. Could nursing affect the thin hair? She has the silky hair unlike the very thick and cottony hair of Kallie as you can see in the pic of her below. She is only asking $200 for her but she will need spayed and a dental. My husband went to see her as he was in the area (they are about 2 hours away) and said she was very sweet. They said she is very calm and quiet for the most part. Kallie is very much that way too. But he said the dogs looked clean and well kept. The female we are looking at is in a full coat so I know they had to be giving pretty good care to have it long and a litter of pups. Thanks for your input!


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

At four years of age she should be placed, not sold. Maybe you could offer to have her teeth cleaned and spayed if needed. People don't SELL dogs that old no matter what the reason. 

The pigment could be lost due to a thyroid problem, just as the thin coat could be, or it may be she never had it. You could always ask to have her checked out with your vet before taking her if that is a concern.


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## Morkie4 (Oct 13, 2006)

> At four years of age she should be placed, not sold. Maybe you could offer to have her teeth cleaned and spayed if needed. People don't SELL dogs that old no matter what the reason.
> 
> The pigment could be lost due to a thyroid problem, just as the thin coat could be, or it may be she never had it. You could always ask to have her checked out with your vet before taking her if that is a concern.[/B]


Thanks for your feeback. When hubby told me of her thin hair, thyroid problem was the first thing that came to mind but I know that it can be worked out with meds ( I have thyroid problem and am on meds, lol). These people are not breeders as "breeders" go if you know what I mean! They are just ridding themselves of the dogs and trying to make some money off of it. But I do like the suggestion about offering to do the spaying and teeth cleaning. But I don't think they will change their minds about the price, they need the money. A vet check is a good idea.......talk that over with the hubby! THANKS


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

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It is natural for a female to "blow" her coat from the stress of pregnancy. You will probably have to give her a serious trim and regrow the coat if you want it long. Did the owners help the female whelp the pups or was she at the vet's office? I was just wondering if she had the naturally or is she had a c-section?


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## Morkie4 (Oct 13, 2006)

> The pink eye rims are from lack of pigment which sometimes happens....just like some Maltese for whatever reason are missing black pigmentation on their pads. The thin coat could be several reasons....some coats are just thinner than others, poor breeding, illness, etc. If you are looking to adopt a family pet and she is healthy then I would not worry myself about the lack of eye rim pigment nor the thin coat. Some really great silk coats are thin....others are thicker. ie, Malts can have thin silk, med. silk, or heavy silk.....cotton or even a combination of the two. Let us know what you decide about the adoption.[/B]


Thanks Pat............she would definitely be a house pet.........no breeding for me! I guess I am just so use to my Kallie's super thick coat that she looks super thin coated! If I can figure out how to post a pic I will. They've had her since she was six months and hubby didn't get into where the original owner got her from.



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I don't know anything about the birth of the pups but Hubby actually held her and wouldn't he have noticed if she had a c-section? He didn't say anything about that. I'm clueless. I just saw the ad in the paper and gave them a ring up and then next day hubby went and saw her and they emailed pics that night to me.

Okay here are a couple of pictures of her that they took last night! Please tell me what you think by what you see.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

I would have your vet check her out. She may be older than what they are saying. Do they have papers for her you can see to verify her age? She looks as if she was caged since her feet appear to be so orange. I hope that's not the case.


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## Morkie4 (Oct 13, 2006)

> I would have your vet check her out. She may be older than what they are saying. Do they have papers for her you can see to verify her age? She looks as if she was caged since her feet appear to be so orange. I hope that's not the case.[/B]


I know







that is the first thing I thought of when I saw the discoloration on the feet. And they did say she was crate trained and is in it for most of the day except for a potty break at lunch and when they are home. They said they have papers on her but we haven't got that far into the process yet but I will ask.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I would definately want to see all her vet records. Since they've had her since she was six months old, that shouldn't be a problem. I'd want to know how many pregnancies she'd had, any c-sections, complications, anything that could affect her future health.

I do agree with Brit. Adult dogs are usually adopted, not sold.


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## Morkie4 (Oct 13, 2006)

THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT ...................GIVES ME "PLENTY" OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!!!

I will let you all know what we decide...........we have a week before we can even have her vet checked due to the nursing. There are a lot of things I didn't think about to be asked about her and I intend to do just that. Thanks again!


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## Puppylove17 (Oct 9, 2006)

> At four years of age she should be placed, not sold. Maybe you could offer to have her teeth cleaned and spayed if needed. People don't SELL dogs that old no matter what the reason.
> 
> The pigment could be lost due to a thyroid problem, just as the thin coat could be, or it may be she never had it. You could always ask to have her checked out with your vet before taking her if that is a concern.[/B]



I have to disagree about her being placed instead of being sold. The price seems very reasonable and it is not a good idea to just give away purebred dogs (especially unspayed females) unless you know the person you are giving them too. There are too many people who would take this dog for free and let her spend the rest of her life having litter after litter. Some sort of placement fee or having her spayed before delivery would weed some of those folks out. Also brokers watch for ads for free dogs and then turn around and sell them. I personally would do everything possible not to give up a dog that I had for that long but peoples circumstances do change sometimes and if I ever HAD to, it wouldnt be free for the reasons stated above unless it was to a friend or family member or someone I knew and trusted. JMHO


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

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I said for the price of a dental and spay..maybe I didn't make it clear. I would definitely demand she be spayed right away.

Often breeding females that have had litters do not live as long as other dogs. Being four yrs old is one third the average dog's life. I would not have the nerve to ask for payment for a dog that old.


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## May468 (Dec 5, 2006)

Cotton has Thin ( I would consider thin) Hair, it is silky, Great Hair. And her right eye on the bottom is without pigment. She doesn't have a thyroid problem. 

When I bought Moppy II and III I was thinking of Black nose, eye rims, pads, Good hair, etc. This time when I considered Cotton I was thinking mainly of HAIR! I don't know anyone who has the perfect Maltese. 
(those that don't show) Given the dog you are considering is Healthy, I wouldn't think pink pigment too important. 

Maltese aren't like other breeds. It's almost imposible to find a Perfect Maltese.


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## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

I can't view the pictures for some reason, but it makes me very sad to hear she has been in a crate soo long and only out for potty and food breaks.





























For the love of God I can't understand how people can be so horrible and greedy.
I hope you adopt her. It sounds like she needs you.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

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I agree. the "norm" is placing them for the cost of uodating shots, a dental and the spay. This involves a commitment of several hundred dollars so you are not giving the dog away. You are requiring a financial commitment and insuring that she won't be bred in the future.

Since she wasn't spayed before her first or second heat, she is at a much greater risk for mammary and some other types of cancer. I agree with Brit. Selling a four year old dog doesn't say much about her owner IMO.


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