Owning dogs, in particular providing care for the maltese, is old hat for humans across the globe. Some zoologists say that dogs were domesticated sometime between twelve thousand and 25,000 years ago—and that all dogs evolved from the wolf. Since then, people have selectively bred more than 400 different breeds, ranging in size from 4-pound teacup poodles to Irish wolfhounds, who have earned the distinction of the tallest pooch. However, the most popular pooches are non-pedigree dogs—the one-of-a-kind dogs known as mixed-breeds. The maltese is another favorite choice with canine owners. Many owners are misinformed, however, of some of the most important maltese care tips.
General cost of care for your maltese
The annual budget for raising the maltese—to include nutrition and treats, to veterinary care, toys and license—could vary between four hundred twenty and $780. This figure doesn’t include capital costs for sterilization operations, dog collar and a leash, carrier and a dog crate. Note: Be sure you have all of your supplies before you bring your maltese home for the first time.
General maltese Care
Feeding the maltese
- maltese pups between 8 and 12 weeks old need 4 meals each day.
- Feed maltese pups three to 6 months old 3 meals every twenty-four hour period.
- Feed puppies 6 months to one year old two meals every twenty-four hours.
- When the maltese reaches his or her 1st birthday, 1 feeding in a twenty-four hour period is sufficient.
- Sometimes malteses, however, do better with 2 smaller servings. It is your job to adapt to your maltese’s eating habits.
Excellent-quality dry food ensures balanced nutrition to grown malteses and may be mixed with water, broth, or canned food. Your maltese may also love cooked eggs, cottage cheese, and fruits and vegetables, but these dishes shouldn’t result in more than 10 pct of her daily nutrition. maltese puppies need to be fed top-quality, name brand puppy food. You should limit “people food”, though, since it can result in mineral and vitamin imbalances, tooth and bone issues, and may cause extremely finicky food choices and obesity. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times, and make sure to clean food and water dishes very frequently.
maltese Care Tips: Your maltese needs exercise daily
malteses need daily exercise to stay healthy, recharge their brains, and maintain good health. Daily activity also tends to help malteses fight boredom, which often leads to naughty behavior. Getting out of the house will satisfy many of your maltese’s desires to dig, chase, herd, chew and retrieve. Activity needs can depend on your maltese’s level of health and her age—but 10 minutes outside and merely a couple of walks down the street every day probably is not enough. If your maltese is a 6 to 18 month adolescent, her requirements will probably be much more.
maltese Grooming Tips
Regular brushing will help reduce shedding and keep your maltese clean. Inspect for ticks and fleas every day during the summer or other warm weather. Most malteses don’t need to be bathed more than a few times during the year. Prior to giving him a bath, comb or cut out all mats from the maltese’s coat. Rinse all soap out of the coat, or the dirt will stick to soap residue.
maltese Handling
Pups, as opposed to adults, are obviously the easiest to handle. To carry the maltese puppy, take 1 of your hands and put it beneath your dog’s chest, either with your forearm or other hand supporting her hind legs and rump. Don’t ever try to lift or grab your puppy by her forelegs, nape or tail. When you have to pick up a larger, full-grown maltese, pick it up from underneath, bracing her chest with one of your arms and rump with the other arm.
Housing the maltese
Your maltese needs a cozy quiet spot to be able to relax apart from all breezes and away from the ground or floor. You might want to think about buying a dog bed, or make one out of a wooden box. Place a clean comforter, blanket, or pillow in the bed for cushion. Wash your maltese’s bedding often. If the maltese will be spending a lot of time outdoors, make certain he has access to shade and plenty of cool water in the summer, and a dry, warm, covered area during the winter.
maltese Licensing
Make sure to follow your city’s licensing rules. Be certain you affix the license to your maltese’s collar. This, together with an identification tag, may help you recover your maltese if she happens to go missing.
maltese Temperament Info
Training malteses
A well-behaved, companion maltese can truly be a blessing. But left untrained, your dog can be trouble. Training your maltese on the fundamentals—”Come”, “Down”, “Heel”, “Off”, “Sit”, “Stay”, and “Leave it”—strengthens the relationship both with the maltese as well as the relatives. If you’re the owner of a pup, start teaching him the right behavior as soon as possible! Treats should be used as a lure and recognition. Pups can commence obedience class when they have been sufficiently vaccinated. Call the community humane society or SPCA for details about training schools. You should always keep your maltese on a leash in public, even while a puppy. Be sure your doggie will come to you at all times whenever you tell her to. A disobedient or aggressive maltese cannot play with others.
About your maltese’s Health
Your maltese should see the veterinarian for a full screening, innoculations and heartworm test each year, and ASAP if she is ill or injured.
About your maltese’s Oral Health
Although we might object to our maltese’s foul breath, it’s important to be aware of what it might indicate. Bad breath usually means that your maltese is in need of an oral check up. Plaque , which is a result of germs results in a foul smell that requires professional treatment. Once your maltese has had a cleaning done by a professional, his gums and teeth can be kept healthy by brushing the teeth regularly, feeding a specially formulated dental diet and treats, and avoiding table scraps. Your veterinarian can supply you with other guidance for reducing oral problems and bad breath. You can use a baking soda and water paste or a dog toothpaste once or twice per week to brush your maltese’s teeth. Clean them with a gauze pad, nylon stocking stretched over the finger, or a soft, child’s toothbrush. Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, often affects malteses. Often, loss of teeth happens as a result of periodontal disease. Infection can also spread to the rest of your maltese’s body. Veterinarians can sometimes clean her teeth as a regular part of your maltese’s health physical.
malteses with Bad Breath
If your maltese has smelly breath, gum disease may not necessarily be the only disease, as other diseases have that symptom. Diseases of the liver or intestines sometimes cause halitosis, whereas a pleasant, even sweet smell may often be a sign of diabetes. Kidney disease might be the reason if your maltese’s breath smells like ammonia or urine. When you find your maltese has smelly breath accompanied by other indications of ill health, such as diminished appetite, vomiting or nausea, loss of weight, bad mood, increased drinking or urinating, set up a consultation with his or her doctor.
maltese Flea and Tick Issues
Daily, regular inspections of your maltese for fleas and ticks during the summer are important. Use a flea comb to find and remove fleas. There are many new technologies of flea control. Speak with your maltese’s doctor about his or her options.
malteses With Heartworm Issues
The heartworm is a parasite that resides in the heart and passes from an infested dog to your maltese by mosquitoes. Heartworm infestations are potentially fatal. It is extremely important to make sure your maltese submits to a blood screening for heartworms annually in the spring. A monthly pill given throughout the warm, wet time of the year can help to protect your maltese. Your maltese should be on heartworm medication throughout a winter trip to a warmer climate. There are some locations, usually the places with hotter temperatures, where the vets recommend heartworm tablets be given all throughout the year.
Toxins and Medicines
If you’re contemplating giving your maltese medicine that was not prescribed for him by his veterinarian, don’t even think about it. One little ibuprofen tablet is known to initiate stomach ulcers in malteses. Keep rat poison and other rodenticides away from your maltese. Make sure to immediately call your dog’s vet if you have cause to believe your maltese has ingested a toxin. You could also contact the ASPCA Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 for twenty-four hour help.
Spaying and Neutering malteses
It is recommended that female malteses be spayed—which is the extraction of the ovaries and uterus—and males neutered—extraction of the testes—by six months of age. You usually will greatly diminish your female’s breast cancer risk by spaying before maturity. Spaying also eliminates the risk of an infected uterus, a very serious problem in more mature females that requires intensive medical care and surgery. Neutering male malteses helps prevent testicular diseases, certain aggressive behavior and some hernias.
maltese Immunizing
- maltese pups should be immunized with a combination shot (called the “five-in-one”) at 2, three and 4 months of age, and again once annually. This innoculation protects your puppy from parainfluenza, parvovirus, leptospirosis, hepatitis, and distemper. The maltese must be vaccinated for at least the first 4 months of her life.
- If your maltese has not been immunized and is older than four months, he will need two innoculations as soon as possible, 2 to three weeks apart. After that you must vaccinate annualy.
- maltese pup innoculation and socialization should go together. You may bring your maltese pup to socialization classes by 8 to nine weeks old, according to many vets. They should have received their first vaccinations by then.
Because regulations are so different around the country, call a community doctor to get information about rabies innoculation. For instance, New York City laws declare that pets older than three months be immunized for rabies. After the original innoculation, she must get another vaccination the following year, and then every three years after that. There are several innoculations, many of which are appropriate for your maltese. There are others that are not, however. Ask your maltese’s vet for his recommendation. You should be aware, if your maltese happens to get sick because she is not innoculated, the shots needs to be administered after your companion animal has recovered.
Roundworms in malteses
malteses are commonly exposed to worms and possible infestation—especially in rural areas. Eggs that carry hookworms are transmitted through a dog’s feces. Most pups, even from healthy mothers in good homes, carry hookworms or roundworms. The key to treatment is early diagnosis. Early, accurate diagnosis maximizes the possibility that prescribed treatment will be effective against your maltese’s worms. A dewormer that eradicates roundworms, for example, will not kill tapeworms. Your maltese’s doctor can best determine the culprit—and decide the effective medication.
Additional maltese Care Tips
Checklist of maltese Supplies
- High-quality dog food and snacks specifically for malteses and similarly-sized dogs
- Food dish
- Water bowl
- As many safe toys as you can provide, especially chewable
- Brush and comb for grooming, including a flea comb
- Collar with license and ID tag
- Quality leash
- Carrier (for puppies)
- Crate for training
- Box or dog bed with sheet or towel
- Doggie or child’s toothbrush
Warnings to be Heeded
The following items should never be fed to malteses:
- Alcohol, beer, wine or liquor
- Coffee, tea, or chocolate
- Grapes and raisins
- Spoiled or moldy food of any kind
- Onions, garlic or chives
- Bones of chicken, turkey, or any other animal (choking hazard)
- Salt or salty foods
- Tomato leaves, stems or unripe fruit
- Yeast dough
The scoop on poop
Retain your maltese on a leash whenever you are outdoors, unless you are in a secured, fenced-in place. And please, when your maltese defecates on your neighbor’s grass, take care of it! Don’t forget to check out these other articles about malteses
Was this post helpful? If so, please take a minute to Tweet and Share below on Facebook. I would also love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment 🙂
Follow