GROOMING
To groom are not to
groom. It is difficult to grow their hair out, especially if they have a life outside of home. If you decide to
grow your pups hair out, you might consider buying a Mason Pearson Brush, the one with boar bristles and nylon tips.
They're not cheap either folks, $75 or more. It is easy on the hair and skin though and gets knots out easier.
Give WoodPeckers a call at 1-800-597-6342, they might have better price on the brushes. Use a wide tooth comb.
We use all types of shampoo and conditioner, basically what ever we use on our hair, we use on the dogs hair. Seems
to work. We use Coat Handlers 15:1 concentrate leave in conditioner for MaryAnn and Ginger since their hair is longer.
When bathing them, keep water away from their noses, unless you want to freak them out. Use a wet cloth for the face
and try not to get too much water in their ears. Pat them dry with a towel, if you rub them with a towel the hair will
tangle. They hate to be cold, we have a ceramic heater we use in the room when bathing the dogs and pups. It is
best to cut hair away from their anus. Hair around the boo hole can cause boo to catch up in the boo hair. Which
then creates a chain of boo reactions. OK seriously now, if feces clings bad enough around the anus this can cause the
puppy to strain and this can cause hemorrhoids. If this happens, GENTLY wash the feces off with running water.
If the anus is puckered GENTLY put Preparation H around the area. GENTLY cut hair away. At this point the poor
boo hole is tender and painful and the puppy really doesn't want to talk about it and surely does not want you poking around
down their with a sharp pair of scissors. But it is your responsibility to help the po' fella. Remember that.
NAILS
Clip their nails, you can get clippers
at any pet store. BE CAREFUL when cutting the nails, some Maltese have black nails and it is hard to see the nerve endings.
If you cut into the nerve endings, it will cause your puppy great pain. If this happens, wait a bit then start over.
You need to end on a good note or the dog will associate grooming with pain. This is true with any training.
Or how 'bout this -
Groomers can do this for you, generally will cost $15 for haircut and up to $50 for the whole SHAGALICOUS LOOK.
EYES
Angel Eyes works well
for tear staining around the eyes. Some of our dogs have staining and some do not. When Lovey first arrived here,
her eyes were leaking horribly. Angel Eyes helped a lot. You can get it from WoodPeckers or any where on the Internet.
You have to use it or it will not work - duh huh. We use it about 3 times a week, just a little less than called for
and it is doing the job. Angel Eyes is concentrated liver that acts like an antibiotic. We have heard of no problems
with this product and our Vet. stated it was OK to feed to the dogs. Keep the hair cut away from their eyes, another
KEY ELEMENT with controlling eye staining. Hair causes watering which breeds the normal bacteria and fungal flora found
on your pup. The reddish/brown staining you commonly see on Maltese may be unsightly but is common with this breed.
Watch out for mucous - yellow, white, green discharge - if the discharge is not too bad pull the bottom eye lid down, check
for debris, clean out with sterile saline or water and put Terramycin in the bottom eye lid (this might not be easy to acquire).
Of course, if it appears that your pup's eyes are moderate to severe bring them to the Vet. When the puppy is teething,
tearing of the eyes can be worse. If the puppy's ears become nasty, this can lead to eye tearing. July, 2010 UPDATE
- Our Friend has a Maltese that had staining around her eyes. Well, Jane (our Friend) gives Maltese Lilly Girl only
BOTTLED SPRING WATER now and it it WORKING GREAT.
EARS
Watch their EARS for
collection of nastiness. Some brown discharge in the ears is normal but if it gets out of control it can take a long
time to get back under control. Profuse brown drainage from the ears can and will lead to more staining around the eyes.
If you keep extra hair out of the ear canal, this will help with the health of the ears. Flip the ear back, you really
have to flip it back good - to the point that you can see down the ear canal. We use a light that goes on your forehead
to see down into the ear canal. Try to hold the ear at an angle you can see the canal, usually out and down. A
lot of people, vets and groomers miss the little corner of the ear that leads to the canal. Clear all the hair from
this area - If there is a lot of hair around this part of the ear, take your time with the ear maintenance and pluck the ear
hair over days, weeks, etc. Clean the ears with an ear cleanser if needed. Put a little BABY POWDER in the ear
- this helps the ear hair come out easier. Then pluck the hair with your finger tips. The puppy might resist at
first but eventually they become use to it if you are persistent. If you use REVOLUTION FLEA AND TIC protection, your
puppy will be protected against ear mites. Some people feel their is no concern for ear mites - Think of this though,
how would you like it if bugs took up residence in your ear canal?
TEETH
If the baby teeth do
not fall by the age of 8 to 10 months, you should have them removed by a vet. You can check to see if the tooth is loose
-We were going to bring Skipper to the vet. to have his baby teeth removed but his baby teeth were loose, so, we kept an eye
on them and they fell by 1 year of age with no problems. We wipe the dogs teeth off with a wash cloth with just water
on it. We find that most of the dog toothpaste has some form of sugar in it - Now does that make sense? Keep natural
chews around the house for them, this helps with dental care. Watch out for chews - some have sugar, some are from China,
some are rawhide, etc. Dogs cannot digest rawhide, you could be setting your pup up for surgery for the removal of rawhide.
We use natural pig ears, the brown ones. The white pig ears, bones, chews have been bleached out. Even pig ears
could cause problems. If the pup swallows a big piece of the pig ear it could get lodged in the intestine. This
is true with any thing they put in their mouth. We have had no problems with the pig ears and will let you know if we
do.
You have to remember Maltese are small, thus every organ in the body is small which
can lead to situations. The Maltese are NOT known for health concerns. But they usually need maintenance and IF
YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN MAINTAIN A MALTESE THEN DON'T BUY ONE.
We will take the puppy
back if you can not handle the situation. Not every one needs a dog, read up on the breed first. God did not put
Maltese on this planet for every one. They are odd little dogs. Always looking for your undivided attention.
If they do not receive your attention, they will look for it in negative ways such as marking your furniture, chewing your
things, etc. They need the right discipline. If they receive the right discipline, the rewards of your successful
training is shown in this dogs face with such respect. You will not receive their respect if you do not treat them with
respect. They are easily trainable with proper guidance.
Please do not get a
dog or any animal if you are going to physically or mentally hurt it. That is not right.
