[melissajean]

hi. my name is melissa. me and my boyfriend and our 21 month old son are close to buying our own house and when we do we would like to get a dog. a maltese is one of them on our list. we are not an active family, well my son is. he has been gentle with all the criters he has been around so far (rats, cats, dogs, and a tortise) he would never be unsupervised with the dog, and he would never be alowed to tease or poke or pinch the dog ever, and the only time he could have the dog on his lap is if he is sitting on the floor. I would love to know about maltese. there temperment, health problems, do they have any potty training issues? thank you very much. I am looking forward to meeting all of you and your maltese

 

[joe]

the maltese is a very good "family" dog, however some are a little jumpy around small children, Sampson has never been hurt by a small child but he is VERY leary of them for some reason, he'll growl and snap at them, not bite or anything but he just doesnt like small children, under close supervision your Malt will most likely come to love and treat your child great, just remember most of the time neither may be at fault for upsetting the other but both will learn what is right or wrong from you

welcome to SM, good luck and we're glad to have you

 

[k/c mom]

A big WELCOME to SM!

 

[littlepeanut]

Welcome to SM!

 

[Caesar's Mommie]

Hi and welcome

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Welcome!!!

I have two kids, (5 and almost 8)
Brink is pretty good with them...but he does get snarky when he has had enough. He growls often as a warning and then will follow up with a nip if they don't get the hint. Often they are just wanting to play/love/hug etc...and he is resting or not in the mood.

(he takes after his skin-momma!

)
As far as other kids go, it depends on the child and how they approach him to be honest...he is kinda quirky.

He was very easy to wee-pad train and that is the way he does his business...he doesn't go out to potty.

As far as temperament...I have found him to be very eager/willing to please. He wants to make us happy.

He is fun and playful, but can also chill out on my lap for a good nap or lay in the floor with his stinky bone (edible bacon Nylabone) for quite a while. He loves to play ball and fetch and hide and seek. He LOVES his mommy, and definetely has chosen me as his favorite, although he loves and adores the rest of the family as well. He is a good watch-dog and very yappy when people come over which drives me

. About the only thing that I REALLY complain about is that he doesn't get along well with other dogs.

At all that we have found.

But others on here are GREAT with other dogs, so maybe it is just him. -_-

I have probably rambled enough. I hope that answered some questions from ONE of us. I am sure you will get many different points of view!

 

[melissajean]

thanks guys

I dont mind rambeling. I learn alot that way lol. I also ramble

 

[Scoobydoo]

Hope you enjoy this site and all the great people

 

[puppylucy]

welcome~!!!!

i hope the maltese breed works out for you!

 

[Ladysmom]

Because of their size, a Maltese is generally not recommended with small children. They are just too fragile. One of our posters here recently had a near tragedy here when a family member dropped her little Maltese, Nibbler. Her vet bill ran into the thousands for the orthopedic surgery.

I'll pass along the advce my vet gave to me when my children were little and we were ready to get our first dog. I really wanted a Shiz Tsu or an English Cocker, but my vet gave it the thumbs down. He said the smaller the child, the bigger the dog. He also said mixed breed dogs have the best temperaments. So we adopted Petie as a puppy from the local SPCA. He was a Golden Retriever mix - looked exactly like one except he was only 40 pounds full grown. He was the best dog we could have chosen to be our family dog. Bomb proof personality around kids and FUN for them! No worry about hurting the dog, they could play together. Petie got zipped into tents for camp outs in the backyard, chased sleds down hills endlessly and never tired of paying tug of war with his knotted sock.

Now that I am an empty nester I finally got my little fru fru dog and Lady is perfect for me now.

 

[kodie]

I dunno about all Maltese but Kodie is VERY leary around children. When a child goes to pet him he backs up and basically doesnt want to be bothered. I have noticed children pet dogs in a different matter than adults. Sometimes a child will pet HARD and kinda rough. Kodie is used to my family and my touch... which is gentle. I dunno if Kodie's size has to do with it either but Kodie is only 3.2lbs. Hes very tiny. The funny thing is our next door neighbor has a maltese too but its close to 15lbs and its nothing personality wise like Kodie... so the bigger maltese would be better with a child. I know this for a fact because there is another person I know that has a BIG MALTESE (hahaha).. its 15-20lbs!! They have 3 children and they are very rough with their dog. I'm sure some people on here have children with their babies so every case will be different... but for the most part... Maltese have issues with small children. They are not like a Lab.

 

[LexiAndNikkisMom]

Welcome! Lexi is 8.5lbs and loves kids. They problem is that sometimes they forget how small she is and get a little too rough. My cousin was thinking of getting a Maltese last year and her kids would have been great with the dog. I adviced her against getting one though because she does daycare out of her house. It would have been so easy for one of the daycare kids to trip and fall on her.

Since you will be having kids (your son and his friends) around the dog I would recommend getting a dog no smaller then 10lbs. Maybe even 15-20lbs.

 

[dhodina]

I notice alot of those that say "leary of kids" don't have kids. So I wonder how much of it is truelly a breed trait or a learned behavior. I know alot of lil dogs that adore kids but they have all been raised around them. My daycare provider has a lil yorkie who is just the cutest thing. Babs is around 6lbs and loves each and every one of the kids she plays with them and sleeps with them at nap time. The only thing she does that is frowned on is steal the good baby toys to play fetch. Marcy watchs normally about 4 or 5 kids that range from baby to 4 and Babs has never been injured or tormented.

 

[Ladysmom]

"Maltese, What's good About 'em, Bad About 'em?"

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/maltese.html

A good read for anyone considering the breed. About children, it says this:

Maltese are NOT suited to children, no matter how well-meaning the child. Children cannot help being clumsy, and that a child meant well is little solace to a Maltese who has been accidentally stepped on, sat on, rolled on, squeezed, or dropped onto the patio. Most Maltese feel overwhelmed by the loud voices and quick movements that children can't help making -- and stress and fearfulness (even defensive biting) may be the result.

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Probably a lot different if you are considering a malt Kodie's size or almost 10 pounds like Brink. If I was to go looking for a second, I would definetely look outside the breed standard in size again because I feel like Brink is pretty sturdy...he holds his own during rough play with the kids and sometimes I have to call play-time off because of HIM, not because of them.

 

[ButterCloudandNoriko]

Gentle with RATS?!?!?!? LOL I would RUN from them! LOL

WARM WELCOMES TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! Maltese are the best breed EVER!

 

[melissajean]

yea if I got one it would be a larger maltese or a a maltese mix from a shelter. my son pet animals very gentley. I woulnd not let him pet any animal very hard. yea we have 15 rats. my sisters male goto ut one night and we found him with my girl and well yea

but rats are great pets. very cute. thanks agian for the info. I love learning

 

[Teddyandme]

Melissa,

I see both sides of the issue - small dog with children. My Teddy absolutely loves children, babies are his favorite. The only time he truly pulls me on the leash is if it is a baby and he spots them from a distance and goes right for them...as they are trying to walk. I must say it is a mutual admiration society most of the time.

Now, I had a little yorkie (which is about the same size as a maltese) when my daughter was small and we both loved sammie to pieces...and I never had any problem with my daughter taking care with him...however, our children have friends and you never know what your going to get with that. I had a little girl who was told not to pick up the dog repeatedly...and sure enough she picked up the dog and immediately droped it and guess what...sammie had a cast on his little leg for 6 weeks or more. Terrible.

They are a lot more delicate than people think and a lot more able to do things also...you and only you know your situation so you will have to make the call....but please be careful with both your son and your furbaby.

Susan

 

[abbey]

I think, like the others suggest, a bigger maltese would be good or a bichon frise. My Abbey is alittle over 5 months and weighs 2.14 lbs now. She is expected to be 4 lbs, so she may get sturdier but I watch my 4 year old daughter with her constantly. And if I have to shower, rules are Abbey stays in the crate. But my daughter has let her out without my knowledge a few times! My 4 year old loves her! More than I think Abbey wants her to!!

My 4 year old tries to hold her and if she doesn't want held or wants me, she will growl and snip at her

~ I am working on this! I insist that there is No running in the house (which my girls have always been good about!). My 9 year old is great with her and helps out alot. I would say Abbey is not a typical "boys" dog. My husband has two sons from previous marriage and although they like Abbey, they like a dog that plays much "harder". She is not one they can "wrestle" around. Just wanted to give you something to think about, because your dog will be with you 10 - 15 years. You might also think about if you are going to add on to your family. Abbey seems to want so much attention ~ I don't know how it would work out with a baby around!

Best of Luck to you in your choice! I think every kid should have a dog! and that's why I "fought" hard with my hubby, and won!!!!

Now I might have to fight for outside dog for the boys!!

 

[melissajean]

thank you guys.

I had a yorkie and my son was great with him, and he loved my son. but I dont have oliver (my yorkie) any more. I would glad to tell you why if you pm me, but its a hard story for me. but he is the reason I am buying a house before I get another dog. I also belive all children should be raised around dogs, but only if the parents are willing to teach the children to behave with the dog. this will most likely be my dog, and will be pamperd and such lol