The Maltese is a small toy group dog breed with silky white hair that is lively and cuddly and intelligent, so makes a great pet for city living. Though if living in an apartment, you should give them regular walks or use professional dog walkers such as London dog walking  The hair will grow long, so those with busy lives often give them a puppy cut, otherwise the single coat of shiny hair is heavy and can drape down to the floor and be unmanageable.
The Maltese have large rounded dark eyes. Whilst it is small, about eight and 10 inches tall, it is solid and weighs between 3 and 7 pounds (1.5 to three kilograms). The dog care of a Maltese is relatively straightforward. They are fairly long lived, living to about 15 years.
 
The Maltese is often faithful to its owners, which means they have a reputation for barking a lot. Their high activity level can also lead to them snapping. So it is crucial to socialise them at an early age. They are bold and will approach dogs far bigger than themselves, being secure they mix well with other dogs.
They suffers from a few health issues, that includes problems with the skin, eye and teeth. As well as respiratory problems and risk of sunburn on the top of its nose.
A routine of brushing is required with the Maltese, otherwise they will get matted fur. As well as brushing daily, one ideally should also clean the Maltese after every meal, to reduce staining of the hair. Tear staining is also a common problem which is due to the size of the tear ducts and how much the dog’s eyes water.  Tear stain can be removed or minimised by use of a fine-toothed metal comb that is dipped in lukewarm water and pulled through the hair below the eyes. This ideally should be done every two days.
Whilst they have thick hair, they do not shed too much and like the similar Havanese and Bichon Frisé   can be considered practically hypoallergenic, with many people not showing allergic reaction. A lot of will keep the hair out of the eyes by the use of a ponytail to ease cleaning the eyes. It is important also to regularly clean the Maltese’s ears.
You might think the Maltese comes from Malta!, its origins are not clear, though many experts believe they come from Italy / Greece. The Maltese is sometimes called a Maltese Terrier or the Maltese Lion Dog ( a reflection on its character), though its official kennel name is “Maltese”.

The Maltese origin may have been either from the Asian Tibetan Terrier or the Swiss Spitz dog. Records show that they date back to around 500 B.C. when found on a Greek amphora and is often mentioned in Greek / Roman writings.

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Related posts:

1. A Guide To Maltese Pets
2. Reasons why border collie dogs are the ideal working pets
3. Dog Chew Toys – Will Please Your Companion And See Them Smile
4. Tips About Grooming A Dog
5. Dog Grooming Home – Is It For Us?

Tags: dog care, dog sitting, London dog walking, Maltese, Maltese Terrier

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Dog Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.