# For all Maltese Trainers To Help Me With?



## Guest (May 19, 2008)

Hi, my name is Jonathan.

I been with my girlfriend for about a year, not to be off topic but I spent alot of time with them and now they were interested on purchasing a dog (Yorkie) after I lost my mixed dog (Labrador Retriever and German Shepperd dog) which he was very loyal and obedient to every command. I had him for 16 years, and he pasted away this year on February. Not much of a happy story, but it goes on. So a month later, about I belive we went to a puppy store because of my girlfriends little sister wanted to see dogs, and we saw our Maltese that was about the size of her arm! More then a teacup but an toy Maltese. The only one in his family of four, all girls but this one boy.

We got him two days later, we fell in love with him. And to this day I'm like his father because out of my girlfriends family he refuses to bite me unless I play with him "ruff"  Well, he bites them alot, on the face, hair, and everything. He just reached 3 months, and all he needs now is his rabbi shot, and im glad hes fine. He vometed four times this week, which had us all scard and we never knew why. But he stopped and even after would still run around play and eat!! WE was happy. 

Now, I wanna train him. I brought a book about Maltese and it came with a DVD but this one is a little out of hand to teach. I'm not sure were to begin, but I need some step to step advice on what to teach him. We had him for 2 months, and so far he gets sit after I say it two times.. IM working on it, but thats why im here. I plan to stay active here because this is what I was looking for, so please advice on what to do and teach him. 

~Jasper~


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

You got him at 4 weeks of age? 

If he is 3 months old, he still needs to receive another DHPP vaccine at/after 16 weeks of age. His rabies can be given 3 weeks after that. 

If he has not been checked for parasites and dewormed recently, you need to follow up with the vet for that. It is a common cause of upset tummy in puppies. 

I suggest Jean Donaldson's book Culture Clash. It has a technical part that teaches you how dogs see their world and learn and a practical part about training basic behaviors, including potty training. 

Puppies explore their worlds with their mouths. They don't have hands. When he bites inappropriately, yelp loudly, get up and ignore him. If you can see he's going to start getting mouthy, provide him with an appropriate chew toy (you should have lots around) and praise him for chewing on it. 

There is no such thing as a teacup or toy Maltese. The breed comes in only one size. Our breed standard says dogs should be under 7 lbs with 4-6 being preferred.


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## carolicious (Feb 25, 2008)

I agree with everything Jackie (JMM) just said. 

I don't think you should think your puppy biting people to be cute. It could become a serious problem later on especially since you mentioned that he doesn't bite you but bites everyone else. Little nipping during play is fine, but when it gets to be aggressive biting and you don't teach your puppy that biting hurts humans (he was not able to learn since pet stores sell puppies who have been taken away from their mothers way too early to know what biting too hard is and isn't) it could lead to injury and if he bites people outside of the home, that's an immediate death sentence for your dog required by law.

you should teach him that biting hard is a nono, and get everyone involved with his care so he will not feel so attached to you and feel the need to defend you against others. He also needs to learn the basics like stay and come. Those are the most important tricks that any dog should know and obey on command, it could end up saving their lives. Since you have not had a small dog, you need to understand how fragile they are. You cannot use a collar on him. You can choke him and cause the trachea to collapse in these very tiny dogs. They need to be in a harness, not a collar if going for walks outside.


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## Guest (May 20, 2008)

What I meant by "toy" is that he will not grow like the average maltese, accourding to the VET and Pet store(s) we asked about. He is teething yes, and last week he's received his DHPP accourding to the paperwork now. I just wanna know how should I train him, thats my major concern about the bitting. The toys are helpful, I just don't want him to get use to biting EVERYTHING around him since he loves the toys. :bysmilie: 



> You got him at 4 weeks of age?
> 
> If he is 3 months old, he still needs to receive another DHPP vaccine at/after 16 weeks of age. His rabies can be given 3 weeks after that.
> 
> ...


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## Max & Rocky (May 20, 2004)

I'm having a really hard time understanding what you are trying to say.

I will stay out of this except to say that you always have to keep in mind this is a dog and dogs are going to chew things no matter what we might want. So in addition to what has already been said about teaching him not to bite humans... you have to also provide him a varied set of safe chews for him to munch down on just as hard as he wants. You or I might read a book or what TV... but a dog is pretty limited and chewing is literally something for them to do to pass time.

Now... having said that, you have to be careful because there are many chew things out there which are not all that safe, but I will let you do your on research on this.


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## carolicious (Feb 25, 2008)

> What I meant by "toy" is that he will not grow like the average maltese, accourding to the VET and Pet store(s) we asked about. He is teething yes, and last week he's received his DHPP accourding to the paperwork now. I just wanna know how should I train him, thats my major concern about the bitting. The toys are helpful, I just don't want him to get use to biting EVERYTHING around him since he loves the toys. :bysmilie:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



so if he won't grow like the average maltese.. then how will he grow? bigger? smaller? and don't trust anything pet stores (that sell dogs) tell you. they don't know anything and are unethical people who should be put out of business. Maltese are in the "toy dog" group, however there are no size differences such as toy or teacup within the breed itself. People who tell you otherwise don't know what they're talking about and are not knowledgeable. One lady asked me if I had a teacup maltese the other day because hers was a teacup maltese. I just stared at her and said "no, there is no such thing as a teacup maltese, please go educate yourself on this subject matter," and walked away.

when you are training him not to bite, if he starts biting on something or someone, you say "No bite" and replace whatever he was biting with a chew or a toy. You also should not try to yank your hand away and give him more attention. You have to stop moving your hand and say no bite and ignore him, otherwise he will think you are playing a game. However you're going to have to accept the fact that he's going to want to chew and will chew on a lot of things you don't want him to. That's just what puppies do.


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## Kutsmail1 (Dec 26, 2007)

I don't think the concern is what size your pup will be as an adult, but that you have a healthy little boy. Also, another concern sounds like discipline. I am not following the age of your baby, but once you validate he is up to date with his shots, maybe you can check into obedience classes. The reading selections suggested by forum members would also be very helpful if you are a reader, and maybe have some experience with training.

Also, I am very sorry to hear about your baby who recently died.


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