How to Care for a Maltese

Maltese are toy dogs known for their friendly, affectionate, clever nature, and make great pets. Despite their small size, they are good protectors of the home due to their keen sense of smell. Maltese are a hardy breed and tend to be free of the genetic disorders associated with other breeds. With the proper care, your Maltese can live well into the teen years. The following are some steps to making it happen.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Take your Maltese for regular medical checkups, including eye exams. You can also do a monthly home exam of the skin, eyes, ears, nose, teeth and gums. Stay current on vaccinations, flea and heartworm preventative.
2. Clean your Maltese’s teeth regularly, including a professional scaling. Ask your vet for a recommended schedule. The breed is prone to tooth decay and gum disease, so it's very important to stay on top of dental care. An infection can spread from the gums to vital organs such as the heart and kidneys if left untreated. Preventative dental maintenance can include dog biscuits as treats and safe tartar-control chew toys.
3. Spay/Neuter your Maltese. Spaying females before the first heat prevents breast cancer and decreases the likelihood of uterine infections. Neutering males before the age of four prevents testicular cancer, helps maintain a healthy prostate and curbs aggression.
4. Feed your Maltese a quality dry dog food with meat being the first ingredient. You can mix it with canned or moist, but make sure there is enough dry to help prevent tartar build-up. When choosing a food, keep in mind that some Malteses tend to have digestion problems and their coat is healthier from food with a higher protein and fat content. Holistic and natural brands or a balanced homemade diet are best. Tailor the diet to their activity level and avoid overfeeding high fat treats.
5. Walk your Maltese regularly. They make great apartment dogs and are active indoors, but need extra exercise and a certain amount of sunlight, so that their nose doesn’t pale. Besides, they enjoy walks.
6. Comb and brush your Maltese’s long coat daily to prevent matting. If you have trouble managing the long hair, take your dog to the groomer to keep it short. Keep the nails trimmed to a comfortable length.
7. Bathe your Maltese every few weeks because a white coat dirties easily. Clean the beard after meals to prevent staining. Check the eyes and ears regularly and clean if necessary. There is a special lotion for cleaning a Maltese's "tear" stains. You can use baby oil or an ear cleaning solution for dogs to clean the ears and a damp cotton ball to wipe the eyes.

Tips & Warnings

• The Maltese doesn’t shed, therefore is a good pet for people with hair allergies.
• There are shampoos made specifically for white coats that are free of chemicals that could color hair.
• Special rubber bands and bows are available at pet supply stores to keep hair in a top knot and out of your Maltese’s eyes.
• Malteses are naturally obedient toward their guardians. Basic obedience training will usually do the trick.
• Malteses love car rides and just being with you.
• See Resources below for a link to adopt a Maltese in your area.
• Malteses may get the chills in cold weather and experience discomfort in hot weather. Keep them out of damp areas to prevent respiratory problems.
• Malteses are prone to sunburn where their hair parts.
• Malteses are not the best pets for small children. Because of their tiny size and friendly disposition, kids tend to want to play with them as they would a stuffed toy. Due to their delicate bone structure, rough play can easily break their bones.
• NEVER BUY A MALTESE FROM A PET STORE. Malteses and "Teacup" Malteses are often bred at puppy mills and sold at pet stores—which is why it's important to get your dog from a rescue, shelter or directly from a reputable breeder. Never buy one from a breeder without visiting in person to see how the dog's parents live.
• Teacup Maltese is not a real term. They are merely runts of the litter that are bred at puppy mills or by "backyard breeders" and are often unhealthy.