Quote:
|
Originally Posted by StewiesMom Adria - What kind of problems can Malts have. Where did you get Tuffy? |
Malts are prone to a lot of the same problems that Yorkies can get. My sister's Maltese had to have a really costly surgery to correct a Level 4 luxating patella.. he's perfect now but that was scary. Also Malts have the white coats so they have grooming issues.. they can get tear staining which is probably the #1 issue Maltese owners have. I've been lucky that my guy doesn't really suffer from that. There are also the potential for liver shunt and collapsing trachea and a disease called White Shaker's Syndrome that hits white dogs. It's rare, but happens. My Maltese came from a backyard breeder.. in my case a less than great one. They pretty much breed for the money and not the love of the breed. Tuffy is great, I love him to pieces but he's not breed standard. He's almost 8lbs, really long and skinny and his coat is very cottony and not silky like it should be. My sister got her Maltese from the same breeder and he had the luxating patella as well as being very very small. They let a very tiny little Maltese (probably around 4lbs) get pregnant and that is just something a good breeder wouldn't do.. I'm surprised she made it w/out any problems. And the breeder kept telling us how we were getting such a deal on him because she could sell him as a teacup and make lots of money (huge RED flag there). We really didn't research a lot before we got our dogs and probably would have gone another route had we known better. Another thing to consider is that Maltese are usually more expensive than Yorkies.. I've found that a really good quality Maltese from a top of thel ine breeder can run you over $2000 but it is not quite as much for a Yorkie. But overall, if you are aware of the issues that are common in Yorkies and know what to look for in a good breeder, you are prepared to face what can occur in Maltese.. and overall the breed is just a wonderful one, very loving and sweet.. even my little independent Tuffy can be sweet too.
