Need Advice/Info About Maltese Puppies

[tarawood]

Hi Guys,

One of my friends has a maltese puppy that she needs someone to pet sit while she is gone for an entire month. I told her I would check into some things and get back with her. I know nothing about the breed and was wondering if anyone can offer any advice. Are they good with kids? Any special care things? Can they eat the same food my yorkies do, etc. I know some of you have malteses too, do they get along well with your yorkies? Any info would be great.

[Yorkie_GirL]

I own a maltese! they are sweethearts let me tell ya! i'm not so knowledgable about the breed as much as other's on here.. (Brooke from Imapreciouspup) you might want to PM her

She helped me with TONS of questions about Maltese's when I first got Cloey!

[Mystify79]

I have a Maltese and they are very similar to Yorkies. One thing that I would say is that Maltese are a little more fragile than Yorkies.. their legs and knees are very delicate so try to keep him from jumping off of high things like the bed. Also they need to have their eyes checked for boogies everyday because they can really discolor their fur. Washing their faces also keeps the fur from staining. Depending on the hair type the Maltese has they need to be groomed everyday. My Maltese has a very cottony type coat and he mats just walking around so he needs to brushed out every day when he has a longer coat. They can eat the same food a Yorkie does but I would suggest feeding him whatever your friend had him on to keep him from having tummy issues or slowly changing his food to what yours eat.. changing his food suddenly could cause him to have diarrhea. Yorkies and Maltese get along great.. at least in my experience. But it really depends on the dog.. my sister's Maltese is very aloof and kind of rude so he tends to be stand offish w/ other dogs until he gets to know him. They are good w/ children but you have to be careful that they don't play too roughly with them or let them jump out of their arms.. that's usually how most injuries occur. Keep an eye on his ears because since they are a floppy eared breed they are susceptible to ear infections..you can wipe down the inside area of their ear w/ a cotton ball w/ some hydrogen peroxide on it. If the ear starts to smell bad or you see brownish crud in it that can mean an ear infection. If you take him outside you need to watch that his skin doesn't turn red because since they are white they can sunburn really really easily. That's also an easy way to see if they have any problems going on because their skin should always be a pinkish color. Like Yorkies, Maltese are prone to hypogycemia so have some Nutrical or honey on hand and watch his gums to make sure they are pink and not white. You really shouldn't have any major problems because they are very similar to Yorkies.. the hardest part is going to be having 3 puppies in the house. Feel free to pm me if you need any help or have any questions.