# How do I keep my Maltese pure white?



## mandym (Jan 15, 2014)

I have seen and admired many beautiful fluffs on here and would love to know the secret of keeping them WHITE  I bathe him at least once a week and use whitening shampoo. I am having an issue with him chewing his paws so his feet have turned a red color. His beard is a little discolored and the very corners of his eyes are a little stained. I have used the whitening cleaning pads and nothing seems to work. How do you get them to stay so perfectly white? I even keep him in a puppy cut (except for his ears and tail..I can't bring myself to cut them) to help keep his coat white. His ears are a little yellow at the ends but not bad. I don't know what else I should be doing to get him that bright white. He does play A LOT (inside and outside). Any suggestions? here are some pictures of him to help show what I'm talking about


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Do a search on tear stains (black button above)---lots of good info there.


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

It definitely sounds like staining to me, and once the stains are there basically you have to let them grow out. Lots of things seem to cause this, including food, water, treats, and allergies.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Some Maltese are whiter than others. Even though my Laurel doesn't have a nice silky coat, she is stark white. Dewey is more of an off white. Some have a bit of lemon or beige on their ears. I use a human eye cleaner with boric acid each day, squirting in the corner of the eye and allowing it to run down the face. I comb through with a mustache comb. I use Spa Lavish Facial Scrub two or three times a week. Cooper is a doll. His staining doesn't look bad.


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## Mallen600 (Oct 27, 2012)

Some people on here do have some amazingly white fluffs! I've though about just using photoshop on my pics of Henry LOL


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

mandym said:


> I have seen and admired many beautiful fluffs on here and would love to know the secret of keeping them WHITE  I bathe him at least once a week and use whitening shampoo. I am having an issue with him chewing his paws so his feet have turned a red color. His beard is a little discolored and the very corners of his eyes are a little stained. I have used the whitening cleaning pads and nothing seems to work. How do you get them to stay so perfectly white? I even keep him in a puppy cut (except for his ears and tail..I can't bring myself to cut them) to help keep his coat white. His ears are a little yellow at the ends but not bad. I don't know what else I should be doing to get him that bright white. He does play A LOT (inside and outside). Any suggestions? here are some pictures of him to help show what I'm talking about


Please do not use a whitening shampoo once a week. I think the maximum for most whitening shampoos should be once a month. They tend to be harsh. They dry the coat and I imagine could also be drying to the skin. Also, I do not find they do a lot to remove the kinds of stains you describe.

If he is chewing his feet, this is a common sign of allergies. You may try seeing if there is something in his environment or his diet that could be a factor there. Although, for some dogs it is habit. 

Yellow ears could be his natural coat color, lots of Maltese have lemon on the ears, or it could be he dips his head into his water or food bowls. 

Most Maltese will have some discoloring at the corners of the eyes, it seems you are doing the right thing with that, just keep it as clean and dry as you can and again if there may be allergens in his environment try to avoid them.


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## Cyndilou (Jan 24, 2013)

Ace chews and sucks on his paws too. The vet explained it away as a baby/toddler sucking their thumb.
He also has some cream or lemoning down his back. His mouth and mustache I'm pretty sure is from chew sticks.


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

Although Izzy isn't pure maltese, she has spots all over and I find that where her spots are, is where her hair is not white, it is a little tan. Most people don't notice it, but I can tell.


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## mandym (Jan 15, 2014)

Thank you for all of your great advice! The whitening shampoo I use doesn't seem to be harsh..he doesn't have dry skin or itch anywhere. I always use PLENTY conditioner to prevent the dry skin. I wouldn't say his ears are lemon colored..they are white at the top and the ends are yellowed a little..probably because they are long and get wet when he drinks water. His stains really arent bad on his face. It's just a little discolored at the very corners of his eyes. I have used the tear stain liquid but it doesn't seem to help any. It never was a problem until recently. His stains are not down his face at all so it's definitely not a serious issue. With him chewing on his feet I'm not real sure what the deal is. When I was cutting his nails last night I could see some brown residue on his nails close to his paw. I could scratch most of it off with my fingernail. Not real sure what this is or what it's from. Maybe that's why he's licking/chewing his paws? Overall Cooper is pretty white..just gets a little dingy sometimes. I was just wondering if there was some secret ingredient or special shampoo that everyone uses to keep their babies so white..or if it is just how the dog is. This is a picture of Cooper about 3 months ago..so you can see that the staining is only recent


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## luvnmymaltese (Dec 14, 2011)

What food are you feeding? That may be the issue.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

There is a fungus that can grow on the end of the nail-bed (it is scrapeable). I had a pup once that was prone to it. I used "dettol" & it helped to clear it up. But I also would think about starting a grain-free diet to see if it helps. 
I don't know what people in the US would use instead of dettol? Maybe CC's Peace & Kindness as it is against fungus & bacteria.


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## mandym (Jan 15, 2014)

I feed Taste of the Wild which is grain free and poultry free


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## elly (Sep 11, 2006)

The whitening shampoos can make your dog grey. I do not use them. I usually use CC Spectrum 10, Pure Paws Silk Elements and Dove go Fresh. I dilute all brands of shampoo and conditioner. With the conditioner I just lightly rinse. On the face I use Spa Lavish and a eye rinse with boric acid. Both pictures are of my girls after a bath on Sunday. The little one Whitney is all white and Mercedes has a little lemon on her ears. Little Whit has some stains around her mouth from allergies last fall.


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## NYCHelloKitty (Jun 28, 2013)

The boric acid you use is that the boric acid for roaches? Or is something else?


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

NYCHelloKitty said:


> The boric acid you use is that the boric acid for roaches? Or is something else?


Oh no! It's a human eye cleaner that contains Boric acid.


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