I've wanted a puppy for ages and ages and have nagged and nagged but I never actually did a lot of research and for a long time the Australian Terrier/Silky Terrier has been my dog of choice.
However, at the beginning of the week my mum said that we might get the last puppy from a litter that her work friends' dog had. Which would mean we're getting a Maltese/Shitsu cross.
I've read stuff about nasal problems due inbreeding (I don't think that's a problem with this puppy) but are there any other things I should know about - I'm hardly a dog expert.
AND the main thing, we have a cat. Although I did read on this site that Maltese can get along with cats. If I introduce them properly there shouldn't be any major dramas should there?
Thanks so much for reading the ignorants questions,
Donna
P.S. He'll be called Javier (har-bee-airr) if we do get him
Should have actually said something about myself in that mammoth post!
My name is Donna, I'm 17, doing my final year of school (all's going well so far) and I live in Australia.
I've NEVER had a dog before but I have helped two of my friends train their dogs and I have dog-sat while friends were away so I'm not completely clueless although I've never done the puppy caper before.
Originally posted by ladee_sarah@Jul 16 2004, 12:01 AM AND the main thing, we have a cat. Although I did read on this site that Maltese can get along with cats. If I introduce them properly there shouldn't be any major dramas should there?
We have had Brinkley three weeks now. We have three VERY spoiled cats and they are fine. Thre was MUCH drama the first few days. He doesn't constantly "yip" at them anymore...one of them even lets him bite and jump on him now. He has received a FEW swats with the claws out, but that is his cue to leave them alone...(he doesn't pay attention to the hissing)-the good thing is, when the cats have had enough, they can go to higher ground and he can't get them....makes him very mad...LOL
Well congratulations Donna! You will love you're new puppy! Our little puppy Caesar who is 7 months is my first puppy. We have a boxer who is 7 years, but I wasn't with my husband when he got him as a Christmas gift ( the boxer isnt living with us right now, because we are in an apt and a 65lb dog isnt allowed so he is staying with my father inlaw for the time being until we get a house...hopefully next june after I graduate college). We have 2 cats, a female and a male. The female won't put up with Caesar's teasing, she just ignores him. Caesar will usually find her when she is sleeping and lay by here, its pretty sweet. Our male cat will tease and chase Caesar about as much as Caesar teases and chases him. The only thing that makes him really mad is when Caesar bites his tail. Those two will run all over chasing each other thought its funny.
Grooming is a major issue with Maltese! Casper has a coat that is about 1/2 way grown out. When I give him a bath it takes me about 1.5 hours to brush his teeth, wash his face, trim his nails, clean his ears, trim the hair in the feet pads, shampoo, condition, brush, puta bow in his hair, and blow dry! He has learned to tolerate this really well. Maltese must have the hair that grows in their ear canals plucked because it can lead to ear infections.
Make sure to have Nutrical ready for hypoglycemia. Sometimes they don't want to eat the first couple of days. Give your new dog a few drops of Nutrical until they are eating regurlarly.
I have one more question. The pups only four weeks old at the moment so there's a little while to go before we get him. There's only one thing that has been bothering us. I've just come back for another term of school so when we get Javier he'll be all alone after the first weekend.
Is this ok, or should I start begging my grandparents to come and puppy-sit?
How long will he be left alone for after that first weekend? We started leaving Brinkley for 1-3 hour intervals after the third or fourth day he was home...just to start getting him ready before school starts and I go back to work, and also to see how he would react. If you can come back and check on the pup inbetween classes etc, it will probably be alright. Ideally this would probably be better until he adjusts more...it probably won't be so traumatic for him. Brinkley usually sleeps while we are gone. I like it b/c that means he is more playful when we are home.
Of course if your grandparents are willing to puppysit, by all means, take them up on it.
No, I can't check on him inbetween classes my school is 30 minutes away on public transport and even then classes back onto each other and lunch is only 50 minutes - no time to do that.
I'm crossing my fingers that it will be ok. Get the puppy on Friday. That leaves Friday night, Saturday and Sunday to adjust. Then if we orchestrate it so that it's the right week in my timetable on Monday I won't have to go into school until twelve and then I'll only be gone four hours. But my brother should get home an hour before me.
Hi ladee_sarah! Congratulations on your new puppy!! I too will soon be a new maltese owner... My guy is only 7 wks today; so 5 more wks until he can come home!
Well, the grandparents will definitely be called in if he cries a lot at night. I plan on digging out one of my soft toy dogs for him to sleep with and we'll give him a hot water bottle to make him as comfortable as possible. I've had mixed comments from my friends, one stayed home with her puppy for an entire week and my other friend left it by itself for six hours a day after its first weekend with her grandparents checking in at lunch time.
It's 100% confirmed that I'm getting Javier now. We'll pick him up Friday night in two weeks time. He's the one on the far right in the photo below.
i tried having a life when i first got sprite. so i had my mom take care of her. sprite bonded with my mom---it made me really sad. anyway, so i took a week and played and fed sprite. took her everywhere with me. she finally bonded with me, but still wanted to be with my mom a little.
thats the problem i would have if javier was with your grandparents. do you always have classes on the weekends...maybe wait a week more or something. you want to spend at least to days with the dog. he's going to be super traumatized.
I never have classes on the weekends. The problem is weekdays.
Like I've explained (probably not very well) I have class Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 3:40pm which means I leave home at 7:30am and get home about 4:15pm on an average day.
We've organised with the person we're getting Javier from that we'll get him on a Friday night, so we'll be with him constantly on the following Saturday and Sunday then we've timed it so it's my Monday where I don't have class in the morning so I'll only be gone from 11:30am until 3:30pm and my cousin was very excited when I asked her to come and puppy sit.
Currently Tuesday is going to be a nasty shock for him... I think I'll ask my grandparents to look in on him around lunchtime to make sure he's ok. How he manages really depends on how much time he spends with people the week before we get him - it's possible that he spends full 6-8 hours with just his mother already...
Im happy for you! Im sure you will get the time schedule worked out! Just remember to give him LOTS of attention when you are with him, and he will be fine
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