[bmoore14]

We have found a litter that we are excited about. I get lst pick of 3 females and 1 male. The mommy is just over 6 lbs. (nursing). The father is about 5 lbs. (as is "Grandma and "Grandpa). We don't have weight on mommy's parents. We are wanting a small female (around 5 lbs. as adult). I know this is all a guessing game. What do I look for since I get lst pick? Can one tell about the pup's coat at that age? Should I pick the smallest female if she looks healthy and has a good temperment, since we REALLY want a smaller dog. Would the smallest female be as healthy-looking as the others? The owner asked that I pick her out by 5 weeks so the other buyers can pick out theirs. We won't bring her home until around 8 weeks. Any thoughts are welcomed!!!!

 

[sweetpea]

Originally posted by bmoore14@Aug 29 2004, 10:15 PM
We have found a litter that we are excited about. I get lst pick of 3 females and 1 male. The mommy is just over 6 lbs. (nursing). The father is about 5 lbs. (as is "Grandma and "Grandpa). We don't have weight on mommy's parents.  We are wanting a small female (around 5 lbs. as adult).  I know this is all a guessing game.  What do I look for since I get lst pick?  Can one tell about the pup's coat at that age?  Should I pick the smallest female if she looks healthy and has a good temperment,  since we REALLY want a smaller dog.  Would the smallest female be as healthy-looking as the others?  The owner asked that I pick her out by 5 weeks so the other buyers can pick out theirs.  We won't bring her home until around 8 weeks.  Any  thoughts are welcomed!!!! 

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[Maxismom]

When i got my Maxi they sold me on the fact that he wouldnt be more than 5 to 6lbs 11 months later he varies between 8 -9 and i am the happiest mother in the world . Don't adopt one if you are set on a weight limit because its not always what they tell you. I wouldnt care at this point if maxi got to 100lbs i love and adore him he is the light of my life. My Maxi is also long for a maltese but he is absolutely gorgeous he has a face on him that people stop me to compliment his looks he has a beautiful coat that i keep short and all his black points with a plume tale that is extrodinary ( not partial lol) buy your baby because you plan on loving him regardless. I feel lucky to have maxi !! The smaller they are the more fragile they are so you have to keep that in mind
Good luck

 

[Maxismom]

one other thing 8 weeks is very young to bring her home make sure you have a vet on hand and you know what you are doing with a baby that young i got maxi and 10 weeks and when i brought him home he had an upper respitory and coccida thank god i brought him to my vet immediately and we cured this i wasnt that savvy at the begining and didnt know much so every minute i had him at the vet until i was comfortable it cost me alot of money but i wouldnt have done it any different because i pride myself on taking good care of him, now 11 months later i know when something is serious or not and i know what too do. THis is like having a child, maltese breed in my eyes are like human babies so you need to treat them like one.

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Glad you found a pup!!!

I know some will say that they brought theirs home at 8 weeks and things went fine, but in my own opinion...and that of the puppy books...LOL...they need those few extra weeks with their mom.

Good luck! Once you find one..the waiting is the worst!!! Trust me!!!

 

[sweetpea]

i agree 8 weeks is young to be taken from mom,i have a male and female the weight of the maltese is hard to fiqure my female the breeder felt would be 4 to 5 pounds well she is over 7 pounds,my male they felt would be bigger than the female he is so tiny 3lbs6 oz they look very different my female at 12 weeks had very cottony hair its still cottony my male has very silky hair,but i love them for them,and yes i agree they are like babies,my babies love alot of attention,if your getting the puppy at 8 weeks i would immediatly take the puppy to the vet, .i wish you lots of happiness.they are a joy,sweetpea and snuggles mom

 

[Brittany Lot]

The puppy coat is often so different from the adult coat that it can be hard to judge the quality of their coat at such a young age. As for trying to pick the smallest female...it really doesn't matter how big they are at this age...all Malts (and dogs for that matter) grow at different rates. You could pick the biggest pup and end up with the smallest adult dog of that litter and vice versa but there will be stark differences in tempremants so just go with the pup that you feel drawn to.
I would really quiz your breeder on her weaning techniques. Mine started weaning the pups at 9 weeks so they were ready to go between 12 and 14 weeks, depending on how well they developed away from their mother. Eight weeks seems awfully young...the vast majority of people whom I have spoken with that took their malts home at this young age have had some complication, some minor and some major, so be very prepared to deal with the troubles that could arise from having a young puppy.
Good luck.

 

[Joeybz]

My first Maltese, Jasmine I got at 7 weeks. She was just a little over a pound, but never once did I have a single problem. I was told what to look for but she did great. I will say she DID NOT have many teeth until 9 to 10 weeks. About 5 months of age she got thin and her hair turned to poo poo, but right now she is feeling more solid, and her adult coat is coming in and is improving so much! In November she will be 2 years old. She is our love! She can bark with every bit of energy going through her, but her favorite thing is to chuddle me and just love me. She's now 3.4 pounds. Maybe more. I should weigh her.

Then we got Chester at 12 weeks. He was such a baby at 12 weeks. I think they mature to a point they do better at the older age and for some Maltese they need that. I think Chester did and maybe he needed longer because he seems to mature slow at everything. Jasmine was full of it at that age. She had to look at everything and her eye was always on us. She is the same as an adult. Chester on the other had was like a baby. He never noticed anything even though it was older. He just was cute!

My neighbor got a half brother of Jasmine's 7 weeks after I got her. He was 7 weeks old and the runt of the litter. They thought he needed to get away from the rest the puppies because they never let him eat. He weighed .8 when she brought him home. That was too little! He is 1 1/2 now and he is almost 4 pounds. He has done great and his personality is a bit like Jasmine. He is a cutie!

 

[LexiAndNikkisMom]

Sorry, Joeybiz but 7 weeks is WAY to young. Isn't it illegal in some states to get a puppy so young? I saw Lexi when she was that young and she was so small.

I do agree with you that some dogs could make it away from the mom before 12 weeks. Lexi is one of them. My breeder said that Lexi would have done fine if she had to leave at 9-10 weeks but we both agreed that it was better to keep her at the breeders until 12 weeks.

According to Bhe Jei's Puppy Development a 7 week old Maltese puppy should be around 2 lbs. So you really lucked out! That is just too young to be away from its mom. A puppy that is that small is also way to small to be going to a new home.

 

[Caesar's Mommie]

Bmoore- Just curious, what state are you getting your new baby from? I am asking this because I keep in touch with Caesar's breeder and she just told me Caesar now has 3 new sisters and one new brother, as of about 3 weeks ago. It may just be coincidence but it would be really neat if u were gettin him from the same family...they are really great people. We got Caesar at 9.5 weeks.

 

[carrie]

Sorry, Joeybiz but 7 weeks is WAY to young. Isn't it illegal in some states to get a puppy so young? I saw Lexi when she was that young and she was so small.

Actually some breeds are fine away from their mother at 6 weeks (larger dogs)- a good breeder will keep the pups with their mother for at least 9-10 weeks. I know kittens are fine at 6 weeks. However I agree Maltese should stay with their mothers for a longer period of time. They are so small and delicate and something could go wrong and they might not be able to recover. I was uneducated about the Maltese, and apparently so was the breeder I received Massimo from- since she allowed me to take him at 8 weeks. I also found she wasn't a very big help on other subjects as well. Massimo has spots on his belly, I wondered what it was, she said it was from too much sun..

This was a little odd to me since when I got him it was in MARCH and much too cold for him to be outside so i never had him there. Then I found out that it was genetic (her dogs have them also). Actually that's how I happened on this site, I was doing research on the breed. THANK GOODNESS I found you guys!!

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Brinkley has some cow spots on him. You don't really notice them unless I shave his belly hair short, or he is wet. According to a thread on the "other" site, this is common in Maltese.

 

[Joeybz]

Sorry, Joeybiz but 7 weeks is WAY to young. Isn't it illegal in some states to get a puppy so young? I saw Lexi when she was that young and she was so small.

I agree. I didn't know much about Maltese when I got her. She did fine though and we never had one problem at all. I wouldn't trade her for the world. Jasmine is just a little girl anyway. She is about 3 1/2 pounds now. When I got Chester he was older and I think older for this breed is so much better, and I can see where Chester might not have done well earlier. That is just his personality too. My neighbors dog did very well too. I was concerned about him. He was just too little (.8) and I didn't understand why she let him go so little. His head was the size of a golf ball and he fit in her hand. Never a problem with him either. I guess we were lucky. I do agree the older the better.

Joanne
Jasmine, and Chester

 

[LexiAndNikkisMom]

When I was looking for a breeder I went to this "breeder's" house. When I asked at what age does she let the puppies go she told me this mom "stop" feeding them at 5 weeks and that she likes to keep them maybe another week. I was so shocked that she would let them go at 6 weeks. From what I have read a lot of puppies are still being feed by the mother at 7-8 weeks. Needless to say I didn't get a puppy from her. When I asked another breeder about it they said at 6 weeks is when you start giving the puppies shots so that might be why she lets them go so early. She would not have the expense of the meds.

 

[Brit'sMom]

CONGRATS! Im so happy for you! LOL

Well, I am a first time maltese owner myself, but I can tell you I got Britn'y at about 2 months (8 almost 9 weeks) and she was fully socialized, weaned and ready to go! She was about 1 1/2 pound when I got her. She is over 4 months now and she is about 2.2-2.5 pounds, but like they all said, she may grow to be as big as a house for all we know! I know I will love her like I've never loved anything before!

But I do know what you mean about wanting a small dog. I too included size in the list of things I wanted for my new dog. I would PREFER if she stayed under 5 llbs. I love to travel a lot and the only way she would go with me is if I could put her in the passenger seat with me. No dog of mine is going in the plane's belly!

But if she does get too big, we will work around it!

You are lucky getting the pic of the litter! Just get the pup that is fun, smart, and happy to see you. Worry about size later, afterall this is a toy breed so they can't get BIG anyway!

 

[bmoore14]

Thanks, Brit's Mom! That was helpful AND encouraging for me to read! We are anxiously awaiting her coming home. It will be difficult to pick which one out of 3 girls without actually living with them. I have a feeling all 4 pups of this litter will be extremely friendly and social because their mom and dad are. We will see when go back. I am like you---if the smaller female is sweet, friendly, and good temperment, I might as well go for her. (Even though she may not stay as small as her mom and dad!) Thanks again for your help.

 

[Maxismom]

Maxi has some of those spots on his belly i asked the groomer and she said thats normal that there skin . Anyway as long as you feel you can take care of a newborn at 7 & 8 weeks well than do it but make sure someone is with your baby at all times , this is a very vital time of there life

also when does the breed get there adult Coat
Maxi will be a year old on september 16th

 

[2happymalts]

I can tell you that we have two different size Malts. Our "little" boy is about 7-8lbs and the "little" girl is about 5lbs and very small structured she stands in our boys shadow, she is a pretty solid 5lbs now. She is a year old now, and has just in the last few months filled out and looks sturdier. The big difference for me is she seemed/seems more fragile (you can't tell her that

she thinks she is an 80lb pit bull) and the boy is a sturdier bone structure and I know with having them around kids I felt more comforable w/ our boy around kids then the little girl. I love having the variety, and when we get our next one (yes I am going to get another one) I don't care what size it is, they are just amazing. We let our first one pick us, and then we let him pick his "girlfriend". You can't go wrong no matter which one you get. Boy,Girl, Big,Small--love them all

You will never regret getting one!

 

[Brit'sMom]

Anytime bmoore, anytime... LOL!

I just know you will get the pup of your dreams, no matter what!

2 happy malts, your babies sound perfect as well, and I feel the same way you do! I would love to get another, but as long as it is taking to potty train this one, I may be dead before we can get a new pup LOL!