Dog Breeds > Maltese
The Maltese
The Maltese is a delightful little dog that captured the hearts of so many people worldwide. This breed is one of the most famous toy breed because of its long and fashionable hair.
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Fascinating Facts
The Maltese is a breed of dog renowned for its very smooth and long hair. This breed exists even during the Roman times. This dog was once called “Canis Melitaeus” meaning “ancient dog of Malta”, “Bichon”, and many other names. Only in the 19th century this breed was formally called Maltese by the The Kennel Club.
This breed was owned by royal family of many kingdoms all over the world. Women used to put the dog under their sleeves or place them on their beds for additional heat especially during cold winter seasons.
Physical Appearance
The Maltese stands and weighs about 8 – 10 inches and 6 – 9 pounds respectively. The Maltese is easily recognizable because aside from its small size, the hair grows very long all over its body. The head is round with medium-length muzzle or snout and dark nose with large nostrils. The feathery soft ears are hanging closely to the head. The eyes are round and dark and are set upon large eye rims.
The coat of the Maltese is long, soft and smooth. The color of the coat includes white and ivory. There are owners/trainers/handlers that let their Maltese grow long hair and there are owners/trainers/handlers that trim the hair for fashion’s sake and for easy management of the coat.
Grooming
Whether you let your Maltese grow long hair or not, make sure that you comb its hair regularly. Gentle combing or brushing would help maintain the coat in top condition. Shampoo the long coat to retain the natural smoothness of the coat. After bathing, make sure that you use dry towel to warm the dog. You can choose whether or not clip the long hair.
Mood
The Maltese is an active, lively and gentle dog. This breed is also trustworthy, loyal and devoted to its master. The Maltese is a wonderful companion. This breed barks loud and responds quickly to the sound of alarm and any other suspicious sound around the house. This makes them very good watchdogs. This breed is also sensitive to the tone of their master’s voice.
This breed can become picky eaters if you feed them with table scraps. Because of its small size, many people treat this dog like a baby; a practice that induces Small Dog Syndrome. They would think that they are the leader of the house and whenever they are in foul mood, they would pick a fight with other larger dogs or animals. Moreover, do not over-pamper the Maltese because it may develop huge attitude problems such as being jealous, overprotective and negative attitude towards strangers.
With Children
The Maltese is very good with children. This breed is exceedingly gentle as long as it thinks that the humans are the pack leaders. Warn your children not to mistreat the Maltese because this breed is very sensitive.
Training & Exercise
This breed is an intelligent dog and very quick on the uptake. Just beware of your tone because this breed is sensitive to your voice. Gentle and calm instructions help a lot especially if you are teaching the Maltese some tricks. This breed also responds well to food-reward training techniques.
Like other dogs, exercise should be an integral part of their development. Short daily walk outdoors would help a lot rather than being confined and restrained indoors. Under exercised dogs exhibit negative traits and this scenario should be avoided as much as possible.
Health & Life Expectancy
The Maltese’s normal lifespan is about 15 – 18 years. Although this breed has long hair all over its body, it is still prone to sunburn. The common health problems of the Maltese are eye problems, respiratory problems and slipped stifle.
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