[missiek]

Long time no see! Our family has been busy this summer including helping my Mom move from the UP of Michigan to KY and a week-long trip to TX for my husband's Army reunion. (That was a great time seeing old friends!)

But something happened while I was away. My whole family went to my Mom's in Michigan to help her move (she has MS and is wheelchair bound so we basically did all the packing and moving). We were gone 5 days and in that time my neighbor was watching our pets and malts. She let them outside to play and the grass was dew-filled...so Triniti became so matted that by the time I got back...it looked like it would cause too much pain to try to brush it all out...so I ended up giving him a haircut. :-( He had a floor-length coat and now it is short...everywhere. :-( So my daughter's Junior showmanship is put on hold until his hair regrows. Which is probably for the best since Mom's move was paid for by us and the finances need to be better before we show again.

Anyway, I also have my show-quality female, Terra who has been extremely shy. I have been working with her all summer and took her to puppy class and still she won't go near strangers, will submissive pee when I pick her up, and doesn't seem to be improving. So I talked with my breeder and she said that showing a shy dog is extremely difficult (esp for a newbie). So she suggested I breed her and get a "bred by" puppy who has a better temperment.

So I decided to cut her hair as well...sniff sniff, and since she just turned one and just finished her first heat, we are now waiting for her to mature to breed her (not for another year). Now to mull over potential studs... :thumbsup:

I am also homeschooling my 4 kiddos so that is time consuming but fun! We are going on a field trip with our homeschool group to a pumpkin patch next week! I love LOVE the fall!! I am going to take some pictures of my newly shorn malts with the pumpkins and fall leaves. I am going to try my hand at sewing them some fall outfits...so if that works out I will have them in their new attire for the photos.

Take care all!

 

[PreciousPrince]

Oh no sorry you had to cut him! Some people are just clueless I guess. You sound like you're taking it ok though. I hope your daughter is too. Who is their breeder?

 

[missiek]

They both come from Midis Maltese...Stacy's Caira and Caddy are both Midis as well! Caddy was shy as well and Stacy used her as her foundation bitch. That is what I am hoping will happen with Terra (as well as all the success Stacy has had! lol)

 

[Johita]

Aww that's just too bad that you had to cut off all that beautiful hair, but there's a time for everything and next year will hopefully be a much better year. Good luck

 

[jmm]

Please be sure you've done your research on temperament and genetics before you take that leap.

 

[bellaratamaltese]

They both come from Midis Maltese...Stacy's Caira and Caddy are both Midis as well! Caddy was shy as well and Stacy used her as her foundation bitch. That is what I am hoping will happen with Terra (as well as all the success Stacy has had! lol)

I was lucky with Caddy though - she's not really scared of strangers, she just didnt' like approaching the judge (which she later got over, when we showed her this past year) I don't think I'd describe her as a truly shy temperament - just a wary one! But it IS hard to show a dog with a shyer temperament as newbie, that is very true!

Is Terra shy at home? Caddy sure isn't! She is sooo full of personality :wub:

Good luck with your future puppies!! I hope you get one that will be the perfect show pup for you. I now have champion offspring from both Caira and Caddy - I am very happy about that!

 

[Ladysmom]

Please be sure you've done your research on temperament and genetics before you take that leap.

:thumbsup: Temperament is just as important as looks when evaluating a dog for breeding, isn't it?

 

[Katkoota]

Welcome back. We missed you guys:chili:

Just wanted to wish you the very best of luck!!!

hugs
Kat

:thumbsup: Temperament is just as important as looks when evaluating a dog for breeding, isn't it?

For me personally (this has nothing to do with shows, just me as an individual wanting a 4 legged companion), temperament ranks#1 ...followed by looks which ranks#2 :thumbsup:

 

[missiek]

Yes that has crossed my mind as well JMM. I have plenty of time and will research everything I can. If Terra isn't the show-type and her personality would be passed down, then I will reconsider.

Stacy, she isn't shy at all at home. I have been taking her out to Petsmart and those classes as often as I can and she at least walks on a lead without freezing now, but is still very shy of strangers. I will talk to my breeder some more about her temperment.

She's an awesome little furrbaby though and my husband just adores her! She is always hopping all over him wanting to be picked up. When he get's in the recliner at night, she always is there sitting with him. I just love malts!

 

[bellaratamaltese]

Yes that has crossed my mind as well JMM. I have plenty of time and will research everything I can. If Terra isn't the show-type and her personality would be passed down, then I will reconsider.

Stacy, she isn't shy at all at home. I have been taking her out to Petsmart and those classes as often as I can and she at least walks on a lead without freezing now, but is still very shy of strangers. I will talk to my breeder some more about her temperment.

She's an awesome little furrbaby though and my husband just adores her! She is always hopping all over him wanting to be picked up. When he get's in the recliner at night, she always is there sitting with him. I just love malts!

In my case, the shyer temperament didn't pass down. But it's definitely something to consider when choosing a stud.

With home schooling and everything else you have going on - you're a busy lady!! BTW, Marina started showing Lucy when she was still in a pretty short hair cut - so for experience alone, if there are any local shows, Malaya could possible still show Triniti. She probably wont' do well but the experience is invaluable - esp when they move up to the next age group (12-15)

 

[jmm]

Certain personality traits are more heritable. Shyness is one of them. So it is key to be able to evaluate true temperament traits vs. lack of socialization.

Temperament traits often skip a generation, so getting one generation with good temperament doesn't mean you should let your guard down.