Do maltese dogs make good family pets?
My friend is getting a puppy soon and she wants a Maltese She has a 1 year old niece and an 8 year old niece. She has asked me to train it so any information on obedience, energy and friendliness would be greatly appreciated.
Good answers…no puppy mill, BYB’s or pet store pups (the pet stores sell mill dogs..or brokered dogs…which are mill dogs). You do NOT want to take on a puppy that may have social or medical issues UNLESS you know what you are getting into and are doing a rescue. I myself have adopted 2 mill rescues…they required very intense medical treatment and social intervention, but with appropriate fostering and care they are now doing well, and only one has an ongoing medical condition secondary to its birth line.
As for the question of will this be a good pet…it is all about what the family puts into it, is what they will get out of it. I would recommend reading My Smart Puppy by Brian Kilcommons. Very informative and will be a good resource throughout training. It will tell you the basics of what you need to know for not just obedience training but introducing your puppy to the world around him so that he knows who he is and what his place is. You must remember that the puppy you get will be a blank slate…he will know NOTHING but his own instincts and it is up to you to show him how to get along in the world.
Maltese are generally trainable, have a medium to high energy level depending on the dog. They are as a breed..fairly friendly and social…but that is really up to the owner. My personal experiece with friends who owned Maltese is not great. They were overindulged, undisciplined yappers who bit me on more than one occasion. But I know that is my friends’ fault…it is the result of pampering and not demanding good manners from your pet.
Good manners is entirely up to you. Start from day one to raise your pup to be calm, to not jump, to approach others when asked, to not beg…and that is the dog you will get…a well behaved sweetie that is welcomed everywhere. Maltese are great for trick training…and that will be fun for the family.
The family should ALL be involved in the raising of the pup. Including the kids. The 8 year old is old enough for some supervised responsibility. Even the one year old needs to be taught respect for the animal…and not to treat it as a toy. Of course all interaction should be supervised and you should NEVER leave your dog alone with the baby. Even if it is a small dog, it is still an animal.
A Maltese is a good choice for a family pet, as long as you raise it within these parameters. And be sure not to let the pup choose ONE family member to call "master"…a family pet should belong to the entire family and be obedient to all.
Good luck and have fun!
Absolutely
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Maltese are the most gorgeous fluffy little dogs , i used to have one and that little man really touched my heart , he understood what i was saying to him, he was intelligent and very very playful, i have never seen a dog play with a ball like this little man, he would toss it in the air then catch it, he loved every toy that made lots of noise, he used to sing to Home & Away every night, he loved Kylie Minogue he would go crazy when Can’t get you out of my head came on the stereo or TV and he loved Enyas A moment lost in time, so you can see he really was a fun little man but also bold my daughter had a great dane and a german shepherd, and he would be chasing them around the yard it looked so funny. They have lots of energy are vocal and so friendly and easy to train.So don’t hesitate he will love you so much.
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Hi from France ♫
All dogs / breeds are good ! It only depends HOW you raise it !
Have a great day,
Cat.
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I have a maltese and he is so sweet! He has a great nature.
Because of how small maltese are – kids could easily hurt them by playing too rough – so always need to be supervised.
Mine is 19 months old and I kept him in full coat up until last week – it required daily grooming with a good pin brush (I recommend the madan brush – pink or light blue) and weekly baths.
I would suggest to keep the dog in a puppy cut – but that requires often trips to the groomer.
So, either way grooming is a tough job.
The most important thing is to go to a reputable show breeder!!!!
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Very important post from Orla. "Go to a reputable show breeder" is absolutely right. Unfortunately Maltese dogs, along with chihuahuas and Yorkshire and West Highland terriers, have become very popular with puppy mills and backyard breeders. Small = cheap to feed and easy to sell via pet shops or other dubious channels.
To Hannah R.’s friend. If you approach reputable breeders and enquire about a pet-quality puppy, you will be able to get a puppy with excellent bloodlines and first-class genes for no more than the price of a sick and genetically defective puppy mill animal. If a top quality puppy is beyond your means, adopt a maltese from a rescue. Please don’t give money to puppy mills and backyard breeders.
You can find a suitable breeder, and loads of information about the breed, at http://www.americanmaltese.org/
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Good answers…no puppy mill, BYB’s or pet store pups (the pet stores sell mill dogs..or brokered dogs…which are mill dogs). You do NOT want to take on a puppy that may have social or medical issues UNLESS you know what you are getting into and are doing a rescue. I myself have adopted 2 mill rescues…they required very intense medical treatment and social intervention, but with appropriate fostering and care they are now doing well, and only one has an ongoing medical condition secondary to its birth line.
As for the question of will this be a good pet…it is all about what the family puts into it, is what they will get out of it. I would recommend reading My Smart Puppy by Brian Kilcommons. Very informative and will be a good resource throughout training. It will tell you the basics of what you need to know for not just obedience training but introducing your puppy to the world around him so that he knows who he is and what his place is. You must remember that the puppy you get will be a blank slate…he will know NOTHING but his own instincts and it is up to you to show him how to get along in the world.
Maltese are generally trainable, have a medium to high energy level depending on the dog. They are as a breed..fairly friendly and social…but that is really up to the owner. My personal experiece with friends who owned Maltese is not great. They were overindulged, undisciplined yappers who bit me on more than one occasion. But I know that is my friends’ fault…it is the result of pampering and not demanding good manners from your pet.
Good manners is entirely up to you. Start from day one to raise your pup to be calm, to not jump, to approach others when asked, to not beg…and that is the dog you will get…a well behaved sweetie that is welcomed everywhere. Maltese are great for trick training…and that will be fun for the family.
The family should ALL be involved in the raising of the pup. Including the kids. The 8 year old is old enough for some supervised responsibility. Even the one year old needs to be taught respect for the animal…and not to treat it as a toy. Of course all interaction should be supervised and you should NEVER leave your dog alone with the baby. Even if it is a small dog, it is still an animal.
A Maltese is a good choice for a family pet, as long as you raise it within these parameters. And be sure not to let the pup choose ONE family member to call "master"…a family pet should belong to the entire family and be obedient to all.
Good luck and have fun!
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