[mommy of 2]

i just recently bought 2 maltese puppies and both have developed completely different personalities...minnie--the female is more aggressive than dude--the male...i think that dude is very intimidated by minnie... should i keep them separate while their puppies?? it seems that minnie always wants to play even when dude doesn't feel like it...i just don't want dude to get stressed out... pls help

 

[joe]

are they brother and sister?

 

[Luvmypupster]

I have never had 2 at the same time but I know that you are always going to have one that is more dominate than the other. Guess your little girl is going to be the aplha dog. How old are they? If you feel that the female might harm the other one I would keep them seperate when you are unable to keep an eye on them.

 

[Colette'sMom]

I don't know if this will help, but when I got my Maltese just over a week ago, I asked the breeder how I should handle the fact that I have 2 Chihuahuas. Actually, the male Chihuahua was never my concern with our new puppy; my concern was with the female. My breeder's response was that dogs are pack animals...no matter what their make or model may be. They will (and we can't help) work out who will be the Alpha dog. There may be a bit of nipping. You have to be sure that there is no injury. The only control you have, from what I have gathered, is to make sure one does not harm the other. They will be doing the deciding. Secondly, you must make sure that you are the Alpha parent of all the doggies. Make sure you can turn your puppies gently on their backs and hold them that way for a good 5-10 seconds. Petting and stroking is allowed.
Colette'sMom

 

[Guest]

thanks for all you posters

they're brother and sister and i just couldn't separate them when it came down to buying them! i've been keeping an eye on them and the female is a little bit "gentler" with the male... thanks again...

 

[Colette'sMom]

I just lost one Chihuahua. I had 3 and 2 of the 3 were the litter. They were as different as night and day!! Bear is a wimp and always has been. Fudgie was a loving little heck raiser.
Colette'sMom

 

[mommy of 2]

^sorry to hear about your chihuahua...

i have another question

because of their personalities, of course one is more playful than the other one... i sometimes feel bad coz the other one just watches... do you think this has the possibility of depressing the other dog?? don't get me wrong, i still play with the timid one even more so than the other but sometimes he just sits there and watches...what do you suggest??

 

[Luvmypupster]

I want to get a yorkie and I wonder if it will bother my little maltese. Want to see what the other posters with more than one have to say about this. Maybe while playing with one you could put the other in your lap for some cuddle time.

 

[Colette'sMom]

My female Chihuahua who is about 6 years old, is extremely loving. Even though we've had Colette for over a week, there is still major jealousy on the part of my Chihuahua. I make sure that I greet her first when I walk in the door...cuddle time often with Colette means that I'm also petting Mignonne (Chi) behind Colette's back.

It's going to take time. Just remember that they will be fine and that you are doing your best to meet their needs. Please also keep in mind that some dogs just naturally are more dependent than others. If you feel your little Maltese is holding back due to fearfulness, you will have to go out of your way to show that all are loved. This is not an easy task....I'm living with it now. Mignonne is getting used to Colette, but there are times that she just looks so sad. Just when we think life is going to be easy....

Colette'sMom

 

[joe]

Originally posted by mommy of 2@Aug 25 2003, 03:37 AM
i sometimes feel bad coz the other one just watches... do you think this has the possibility of depressing the other dog??

wouldnt we love to get into the heads of our dogs i think if he just sits there and watches it may very well be what he likes to do, I would spend an equal amount of time with both, they will know you are not favoring one or the other, I was worried about getting a second Maltese because Sampson is very jealous if other dogs or even people get too close to me, if he see me and my wife kiss he is on my lap in a second and between us but when we got Maggie it took a couple of months for them to get used to each other, Maggie would irratate Sampson bad, he is very mellow and laid back like me and Maggie always wanted to play, but after a while they came to understand each other, Maggie will leave Samspon alone when he wants and Sampson will play with Maggie "most of the time" when she wants, after almost a year now they are inseperable, best buds, I'm glad we did it, once my wife gets out of college next year, we may get a third one

 

[joe]

Originally posted by Colette'sMom@Aug 25 2003, 11:01 PM
Mignonne is getting used to Colette, but there are times that she just looks so sad.

we went through this with sampson, for a few weeks or so he had this look in his eye like "how could you do this to me" and it would make me think we did the wrong thing, but i am like you, i always greet Sampson first in the morning and evenings when i get home, he gets the biggest treats and he still has "his" spot in the bed at night between me and my wife, Maggie sleeps at Kims feet, each will come to learn "their place" and all will soon be well again in the house

 

[Colette'sMom]

Thank you so much for response, Joe....now I know that the wait can be longer than I thought. We don't fully understand the feelings that these furry people have. When I lost one Chihuahua in May, the other two moped for several weeks. It was so very obvious. Mignonne was always jealous when we held Fudge...our Chihuahua that passed away. The morning when she was dying in our arms, Mignonne left us alone to cuddle Fudge....she understood that something was happening and that it was not just a normal day. Animals are truly amazing.
Colette'sMom

 

[mommy of 2]

Thank you for all the valuable information!! i love this forum! People are so much friendlier and u don't have to wait forever for your replies to post!!! i've never been much of a forum participant but this site is really user friendly!! and it's good to learn from other people's first hand experiences...

wondering if this has ever happened to anyone...

my parents also have a maltese, he's 8 years old and the first time i brought my two babies, 8 weeks old today, he started salivating profusely!! he was very curious and his anxiety level was really high...he just kept salivating like water coming out of a faucet!!

 

[Colette'sMom]

Hi Mommy of 2,
I just did some research on Google, "Maltese salivating", and found that it can be a symptom of anxiety. Perhaps the 8-year old Maltese felt that he was about to lose his place in the household with the arrival of your 2 babies on his territory. I would think that's likely the answer. If he is doing this often, I would certainly have a vet check into it.
Colette'sMom

 

[Luvmypupster]

Don't know about the salivating but I had a sheltie at one time and when he would get around other dogs he would drip from his nose. Never could figure out why, he didn't seemed to be stressed or anything. I post on a few other forums and this is quickly becoming my favorite. Like you said , it's user friendly and the people are nice, and we don't have to wait forever to see if our post make it thru. Best of all we can share more info to help one another of just to enjoy our malts.

 

[Maltese Dad]

My wife and I got our first Maltese in 1975 and over the years have had as many as 3 at one time. Everytime that we have had more than one, the female has been the more agressive dog, to the point of pulling the male off the couch by the ears when she wanted to "wrestle". They will adjust to one another (at least that has been our experience), but it is good to keep a watchful eye on them. They all have their own personalities and they will interact, and they should get used to each other over a period of time. Currently we have a 9 month old female Maltese (3.5 lbs.) and our son's 2yr old Yorkie (7lbs.). Once again the little girl is the most agressive even though the Yorkie is big enough to "pin" her to the ground at will. They have been together for 3 months now and seem to get along well, but they did go through stages of toleration if you know what I mean.

 

[Colette'sMom]

Thank you Maltese Dad for that's the exact way my dogs act toward one another. Sometimes it's acceptance, other times it's jealousy. Of course, it has only been 3 weeks, and I feel we have made progress.
Colette'sMom