Maltese

argentum

Hi
Im looking for some information about the above breed.My kids have seen these in other peoples houses and they seem to be the one that we all want to get.However I really dont want to have to go through the whole puppy phase of the dog and would prefer one that is older and already house trained.I have seen two being advertised as only being sold together as they are brother and sister and the woman who owns them will only sell them as a pair.They are one year old fully house trained,neutered,chipped and fully vacinated.The price to me seems cheap €450.00
Are there any questions I should be asking the seller when I meet up later,

ABajaninCork

Yes. I'd be asking several questions:

• E450 is NOT cheap for year old dogs. Do they have papers?
• Why is she selling them?
• I would be offering half the price if you're still interested. I think 450 is cheeky to say the least.
• What is the history of the dogs?

If you're looking for an older dog, I'd try the rescues and the pounds. Check Dogs Trust too. They certainly wouldn't be looking for E450 for grown dogs!

Did you see the advert on Done Deal? I'd be very wary TBH OP.

toadfly

Gotta agree with the other poster. Its seems dodgy. The owner should be more worried about finding good home for the dogs rather than getting some money back.

Are they neutered? If would be a nightmare keeping them seperate while she is in heat. Just be aware of the other costs to you before you shell out €450. Neutering them would be approx €100-150 each.

Loads of adult toilet trained small dogs in rescue. Bishons come up regular enough in rescue and would be a similiar dog looks and size-wise.

ABajaninCork

Maltese are great little dogs, but do require a lot of grooming. Is that something your kids could get into? To get a Maltese clipped and groomed by a professional will be about E30-45 every six weeks to two months.

Get a slicker brush, pin brush (for blow drying the dog), and a comb as the dog needs to be brushed daily. They're fairly inexpensive to buy. eBay has some great bargains. That's where I got a lot of my dog's grooming tools.

They don't need a lot of exercise. A half hour walk twice a day should do it.

Perhaps you could tip off the pounds/rescues to let you know if they get a Maltese in?

If I think of anything else, I'll post it up.

andreac

TillyGirl wrote: »

Gotta agree with the other poster. Its seems dodgy. The owner should be more worried about finding good home for the dogs rather than getting some money back.

Are they neutered? If would be a nightmare keeping them seperate while she is in heat. Just be aware of the other costs to you before you shell out €450. Neutering them would be approx €100-150 each.

Loads of adult toilet trained small dogs in rescue. Bishons come up regular enough in rescue and would be a similiar dog looks and size-wise.

Tilly, they are neutered, it says it in the post

toadfly

andreac wrote: »

Tilly, they are neutered, it says it in the post

I didnt get much sleep last night, not exactly on the ball this morning

argentum

Thanks for all the replies to date.The reason i'm weary of this is because they are on Done deal as someone asked.When I put the phone number from the ad into Google,they have also sold two cars and advertise a window cleaning business on Done deal .In fairness to the woman she also states in the ad that she wants the two dogs to stay together and only into a good home .When my wife spoke to her last night she told her that the two dogs had t go as she also had a showdog and hadnt got time to mind 3 dogs anymore and that the two also kept on messing up the coat of the showdog so they had to go

ABajaninCork

Oh dear. I was really hoping it wasn't so...

If I were you OP, I'd steer clear. I don't believe her story for a minute. If she can mind one (show) dog, then she can take care of three. Doesn't take too much more effort. I'd also question why she got them in the first place if she knew she couldn't take care of 'em.

Get in touch with the rescues/ pounds if an older dog is the way you want to go. Tell them you'd like a Maltese and let you know if they get one.

Another great non-shed dog is a Shih Tzu. Fantastic dogs also (I have to say at this point I have one!). Seems to be a fair number of those looking for homes too.

kylith

Definitely go to a rescue. I'm sure there's a breed rescue associated with the Maltese breed club, there usually is.

argentum

Thats the problem ,I can't find a Maltese club in Ireland.When you look up the IKC ,its gives a mobile number for a person that hasn't answered the phone to me yet.Thats one of the reasons I'm getting all the info here and thanks once again to everyone for your help

andreac

Have you left a voicemail? Are you calling from a private number?

argentum

Just got the person thats looks after the Maltese club in Ireland.Wouldn't you know he had a very trying last 10 days trying to house 9 dogs that wre left when a member of the club had died.He has all my details and hopefully he will come back to me if he gets any more.

Thanks

alroley

They're a brilliant breed but need A LOT of regular grooming/washing.

They're small and delicate so no being rough with them.

Patella's(knee's) are a common issue with them - they're very prone to something called luxating patella which is where the knee cap pops out by itself.

Teeth is another thing - daily brushing(or at least a few times a week).

Please go to a reputable show breeder and don't get one from Donedeal etc.

PM me if you want details of reputable breeders -yes, you'd be paying more but it's so worth it! I promise!