They adore humans and like to be very close to them—either right underfoot, cozy in your arms, or cuddling in your lap. Because they like attention and closeness so much, they can be prone to separation anxiety. You can help avoid separation anxiety by crate training your Maltese dog.
This gives your little friend a safe and cozy place to rest when you have to leave them home alone. Maltese dogs typically make for great family dogs and are good with older children, but can be snappish with younger children. You can help prevent this behavior by socializing your Maltese dog early and by giving them lots of exposure to small kids. Since they are such people pleasers, they can be trained fairly well and pick up new tricks easily. However, you may need a little extra time and patience to housetrain them.
They are also known to be picky eaters, and may require more than a simple can of dog food. In addition, they are very alert and tend to react to unfamiliar noises or people with a flurry of barking. As with any dog, you should check their eyes and ears regularly for abnormalities, trim their nails when they get too long, and take them to the veterinarian for annual checkups, which can be covered by an ASPCA Pet Health Insurance plan.
They also need to be groomed every few months and get an occasional bath—maybe once every two to three weeks unless they get into something particularly messy. Can you give a dog a bath without getting all wet? Check out these tips for bathing your dog. This breed is prone to tear staining where the area around the eyes turns dark. You can use a soft washcloth or cotton ball to get the job done. Maltese dogs also tend to have a lot of hair in their ears, which needs to be trimmed by a groomer.
Maltese dogs are prone to dental issues, so regular tooth brushing is especially important. In addition, they should have their teeth examined and cleaned professionally by your veterinarian at least once a year. You can offer them safe chew toys to help promote healthy teeth and gums.
Since they are small dogs, they have lower activity needs than larger breeds. They typically do fine with about 20 to 30 minutes of exercise a day.
It can be easy to overfeed a small dog, so be sure to measure out food portions at meal times. They have often bred Maltese for years.
They know how to correctly raise the puppies so that they are well-socialized and healthy. Puppies raised by breeders often receive high-quality health care, including vaccinations and various health checks. Many even offer health guarantees. Most breeders also do health testing on their adult dogs before breeding them. This prevents the dogs from passing down potentially dangerous diseases to their puppies, resulting in healthier puppies.
Without this testing, puppies with genetic predispositions can easily be bred, which often leads to higher vet bills in the future for you. This adds to the price of the puppies, but it also helps ensure that the puppies bred are healthy.
Luckily, the Maltese breed as a whole is pretty healthy. The AKC requires two health tests: a cardiac exam and a patella evaluation. A cardiac exam is required to rule out congenital cardiac problems, which are often genetic. There are several heart conditions that fall in this category, including shunts and problems with the valves. Only vets with advanced training in cardiac diseases can perform this test, which can raise the cost substantially.
It depends on if there are any potential problems that call for more tests, such as a heart murmur that ends up being benign. A patella evaluation helps ensure that the kneecap is sitting in the right location. Patellar luxation is a common disease in smaller breeds and involves the kneecap slipping out of place. This can be caused by injury, but genetics can cause dogs to be predispositioned to it. The kneecap typically sits in a groove. Due to some genetic problems, though, this groove may not be the right shape or size.
This can make the kneecap more likely to become loose. Generally, this test is also quite simple. If it can move a bit too much, then it is a sign that it may not be seated in the groove properly.
Fasting is required for this test, including treats and chew toys. Twelve hours is typically the recommended fasting time before the test. A blood sample is collected after the hour period, and then the dog is offered food. With that said, most dogs with a defect will have a raised sample. False positives are more common than false negatives. Therefore, the test is still recommended. Because these dogs are smaller than most, they are typically cheaper to take care of.
If your dog develops any health problems, the cost can quickly double or even triple. For this reason, it is important to get a high-quality puppy from a breeder.
Otherwise, your costs may be a lot more than we estimate. This will cover their three trips to the vet, as well as vaccinations and fecal examinations. You may want to consider spaying or neutering your dog. You can find clinics that do it even cheaper, but the waiting list is often longer.
This visit will often include a heartworm test, vaccinations, and any necessary blood work. Heartworm and flea prevention medication is also included in this annual cost. While these are the average costs for preventative care, health conditions can raise the cost substantially.
Dogs on the lower end may only need supportive therapies, like pain medication and supplements. Typically, this disease must be managed with medications, which is where the bulk of the cost comes from. Diagnostics are often expensive for this disease, which is one reason the base cost is so high.
Like many small dogs, Maltese often fight having owners using a nail grinder. Puppy food also tends to be more expensive since it is designed to meet the unique needs of a puppy. This assumes that your dog is eating a normal, high-quality, commercial diet. If your canine develops any health conditions, they may need to eat a specialty food, which will cost far more. While this dog is small, we do recommend training. If you have ever trained a dog before, you can likely train your Maltese yourself.
If you decide to take your Maltese to classes, we recommend group classes. The cost does vary quite a bit depending on the trainer, as well as what is included in the class. There are many factors that can affect the price of a Maltese puppy. If a breeder has been breeding these dogs for a long time and is known for producing high-quality puppies, then you can likely plan on spending more.
Puppies with champions in their bloodline and pedigrees will likely cost more as well. These puppies are more likely to perform well in the show ring, which means that breeders are more likely to pay more for them. Many breeders get their puppies extensive health care.
Some may even perform certain health screenings on their puppies to rule out any potential defects. All of this will add to the price of the puppy.
Some breeders provide training and socialization for their puppies, which helps them adapt better to their new home after adoption. If your breeder does this, the puppies might be more expensive because of the extra time involved.
Training a bunch of puppies can be time-intensive. Simple supply-and-demand also plays a role. If there is only one breeder in your area, the price of Maltese puppies may be higher due to the lower supply. Female dogs tend to be a bit more expensive than males, as they are generally more sought after.
However, not all breeders price this in. Some charge the same amount for all their puppies, while others will adapt based on the dogs, gender, coat color, and markings. After the initial purchase of a puppy, the Maltese are pretty inexpensive to take care of. This is especially true if you purchase a higher-quality puppy that has undergone the proper health testing.
The biggest consideration is often vet bills. These can easily sneak up on you when a simple surgery costs thousands of dollars. For this reason, we highly recommend having an emergency fund of some sort set aside in case your puppy gets sick. Remember purchasing a cheaper puppy is often only the down payment since their vet bills will be more expensive.
Be sure to budget for this if you decide to purchase your puppy from someone besides a qualified breeder. Puppies with better pedigrees will often cost more than those that were simply bred to be pets. Your puppy will need more vet care than an adult dog, such as more vaccinations and frequent vet visits.
This will add up fast. Some of these can cost thousands of dollars. Be sure to invest in an emergency fund so that you have the money to pay for these potentially expensive vet bills. Legge-Calve-Perthes Disease LCPD is another orthopedic concern to be aware of and affects the hips of Maltese puppies, though it is rarely seen in pups older than a year old. Maltese owners should speak with their vet about health concerns and to find out if there are preventive steps they can take to keep their pup happy and healthy for years to come.
Your Maltese breeder should conduct all health tests recommended by the OFA before selling puppies. If you're adopting your Maltese, ask the rescue for all available health information. They're just playful, they're vigorous, they're cute, and they're affectionate. As her name states, the Maltese hails from Malta, an archipelago located below Sicily. While it's not entirely clear how the dog originated, it's known that the Greeks and Romans who occupied the area in ancient times revered the small white pooch, elevating her to status-symbol levels.
Ye Ancient Dogge of Malta , as the Maltese is known in breeder circles, has been sitting in the lap of luxury for thousands of years. The Melitaie Dog has even been etched into ceramics from the Golden Age. Even Aristotle had an opinion of the Maltese, referring to the breed as " perfect in its small size.
The AKC officially recognized the breed in , and the breed has risen in popularity amongst American families and dog show aficionados alike. Though a Maltese has never taken the top show prize of Best in Show, these beauties have won the Toy Group multiple times.
Maltese Breed Photo. While their flowing white locks draw attention, Maltese are especially beloved for their smart, gentle nature.
Learn more about living with the Maltese. By Kate Silver Updated May 04, Breed Group Group Breed Group herding hound hybrid non-sporting none sporting terrier toy working. Dog Size Size Dog Size extra large lbs. Other Traits Traits Other Traits apartment-friendly cold weather tolerant easy to groom easy to train good for first-time pet owners good hiking companion high potential for weight gain high prey drive highly territorial hot weather tolerant hypoallergenic loves water low prey drive prone to health issues requires lots of grooming strong loyalty tendencies tendency to chew tolerates being alone.
Temperament Temperament Temperament aggressive aloof anxious friendly gentle outgoing playful protective timid willful. Long-haired white Maltese stands on blue bench outside during winter. So glam! Most owners choose to keep their Maltese's coat cut short. Not only is it adorable, but it's much easier to groom! Living Needs. White maltese puppy approaches camera.
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