Is a Maltese Puppy right for me?

Is a Maltese puppy right for me or our family?  That is definitely a question you will want to research before buying a Maltese pup or older dog.  We have a 2 1/2 year old girl named Tinker.  Here is our experiences with her.

There are many, many great qualities to a Maltese dog.  I will go through a few as well as some of the downfalls to these little spirited pets.

Maltese dogs are a very loving bunch.  They are people dogs.  They like to be with their people at “all times”.  While they do love the company of other dogs they are especially close to their owners and close family members.  It does appear that a majority of Maltese can pick a favorite owner the man or the woman but if you get them as a pup this may be a trait you can avoid as we did.  I am sure it is by accident but our puppy seems to love each of us equally.  But there are definitely times when Tinker prefers Daddy over Momma or whatnot.  These times are noted as during camping trips, she is all over daddy and doesn’t want to hang with momma.  But come bed time at home she is momma’s baby, she will not sleep with daddy anymore.  We have an odd sleeping arrangement due to hubby’s late night job so I am sure that the sleeping thing came about because I am the one home when we go to bed   But sleeping in the camper is a different story.  She absolutely will not sleep with one or the other so we can’t nod off at TV or reading time because she gets noisy until we are both in the bed together with her.

Are Maltese aggressive dogs?  Well I’m sure they may have a mean bone in their little bodies when provoked but I’ll be darned if we’ve found it yet.  Tinker is so sweet and loving but even as a little girl we rough house with her and let her play, lick, bite (gently), jump on us, growl at her toys when we wrestle them from her so we allow her a little puppy aggressiveness there but she knows when we are done and usually follows with loving little licks.

Which brings me to a big point.  If you don’t like dogs licking body parts or putting body parts in their mouth then this is probably not the dog for you.  For some reason the little Maltese love to lick and they lick everything and it appears the hand, fingers, wrist in mouth thing may be a way of saying, “hey is that you?”  She does it both all day long and especially if I have been gone a while but then it can get a little rougher as if she is telling me she’s mad because I left her.  But let her get it out of her system and she’s just happy as a lamb.  My father had problems with this licking and putting his fingers in her mouth until his neighbor told him it was very common and that their Maltese does it too.  He has chilled now and does not yell at her for licking him.  I told him to just go wash his hands or pet closer to the back because if his hand goes near her face she will lick and put your hand in her mouth.

Is the Maltese a good watch dog. NOPE not really.  Oh she will bark at the noises outside to tell you something is out there but the minute a person on 2 legs or another animal appears she is like butter.  Her butt and tail goes to whippin’ in circles, bounces up and down like she never sees anyone and barks to get your attention.  She would totally run off with an intruder.  As well, if I take her for a ride in the car I must lock her door when I leave because she would go with anyone who would think to steal her.

If you have a full time job I would definitely NOT recommend the Maltese for a pet.  They hate to be alone, period!  End of story!

Care of a Maltese can also be a little time consuming.  Boy they have mounds and mounds of hair.   Beautiful hair that needs constant attention but they seem to like the attention   Her nails seem to grow like there is no tomorrow but boy does she hate the water.  Bath time is not her strong suit.

How about temperament?  She is a very spirited ornery little thing.  She likes to dig into everything like a 2 year old child that will never grow up. While she does like to please she is mischievous and ornery, we call her the thief in the night, day and all day long.  Watch your gum in your purse along with checks, you’ll never seem either again oh and don’t forget the lip balm, darn pooch eats the stuff then smells like grape, he hee.  Otherwise like I said very sweet, loves kisses and then will nibble your nose.  Loves to lick your face then jump on your chest for her daily rub.  She never asks for her rub until she has given you her kisses, she’s fair that way…. Ask my hubby!  I swear to pete she is smiling all day long when I play with her, very cute.

And lastly, what if you have allergies?  Well this may be the perfect pet for you.  I have bad allergies towards dogs and killer ones with cats, can’t breath when cats are aground.  Now with Tinker I do not break out, I do not sneeze, I don’t get any mysterious rashes or anything.  However, one area I still itch is my eyes.  If I pet Tinker I can NOT rub my eyes or they will start itching.  Weird I know, she can give me little licks on my face but not near my eyes and she can lick my entire body and cuddle with me all night long and I have no problems.  I simply cannot get anything from her on my eyes.  And I’m hear to tell ya that is not a big deal.  I simply wash my hands before scratching my eyes or rubbing them because I’m tired or use a tissue or napkin.  Every other dog I have ever come into contact with makes my arms and neck break out in itchy terrible bumps.  Now I can pet them and so can hubby but we both wash our hands before touching me.  So allergy wise a Maltese seems to be made just for me.

I know god put her on this earth just for me.  What to know how?  She was born on my birthday. 

Boy we love our baby Maltese.

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Tagged as: allergies, dogs, maltese, pets, puppies