Maltese

The Maltese is a small breed of dog in the Toy Group. It descends from dogs originating in the Central Mediterranean Area.

- Maltese puppy info: Maltese puppies are very social little dogs and love to play with other dogs, especially larger ones. They also get along well with children and other household pets. Maltese puppies can be difficult to housetrain because they tend to form habits at an early age, making them hard to retrain once they've formed a habit for doing something that's not appropriate such as going on your carpet or eating food off the floor. Maltese do best when they're raised in a home where they receive plenty of attention from their owners and aren't left alone for long periods of time. Maltese puppies may be more difficult to train than other breeds because Maltese tend to have very strong personalities and can be stubborn. Maltese puppies are small enough that they can easily become injured so you need to make sure you pick up your puppy all the time, avoid letting your Maltese play with larger dogs such as Rottweilers, and supervise their interactions carefully. Maltese love attention and socialization but don't like being forced into a situation where they feel overwhelmed; too much at once will cause them to shut down. Maltese puppies must be housebroken right away or they'll quickly form bad habits such as urinating on your carpet or eating things off of the floor.

- Maltese info: Maltese are very playful, intelligent and highly social dogs. Maltese are one of the most popular breeds in the world; Maltese have been depicted in paintings, books, movies and TV shows. Maltese are extremely devoted to their owners but they may be too much for small children because Maltese can be difficult to housetrain, they're very yappy if not trained to bark only when necessary and Maltese tend to be less tolerant than other small dogs such as Chihuahuas. Maltese need a lot of attention from their owners or they'll quickly become depressed or develop separation anxiety. Maltese do well with other dogs if they were introduced at an early age but Maltese are NOT good guard dogs because Maltese don't like strangers approaching them.

Maltese need to be groomed regularly because Maltese shed a lot. Maltese were bred to hunt rats but Maltese are too small and yappy for this purpose. Maltese are NOT good guard dogs; Maltese do not like strangers approaching them and they're more likely to bark at you than bite if you approach them without permission. Maltese are prone to several health issues, including the following: Legg-Calve Perthes disease (which affects a dog's hip), allergies of the eye, bladder stones, collapse trachea (which is often mistaken for bronchitis or asthma), digestive problems such as bloat – where food travels up the airway rather than through the esophagus which can cause death if action isn't taken to correct the problem, Maltese hypoglycemia (which occurs when blood sugar drops rapidly), Maltese hyperlipidemia (where there are high levels of lipids in your Maltese's blood), and Maltese seizures. Maltese tend to live between 12-15 years.