Is it safe to adopt a Maltese?
noplainjanie asked:
I currently have a two year-old silky terrier/shih tzu male who weighs 10 lbs. He’s very sweet, but he does love to play rough sometimes (ex: he likes to roll/tumble with the cat). I would love to get him a canine “sibling”, and I’m drawn to the maltese as a breed, but I hear they are very, very fragile. Is it safe to introduce this breed into a small dog (and cat) household? (PS–my cat would likely ignore the new pup).
I currently have a two year-old silky terrier/shih tzu male who weighs 10 lbs. He’s very sweet, but he does love to play rough sometimes (ex: he likes to roll/tumble with the cat). I would love to get him a canine “sibling”, and I’m drawn to the maltese as a breed, but I hear they are very, very fragile. Is it safe to introduce this breed into a small dog (and cat) household? (PS–my cat would likely ignore the new pup).
Tags: Breed Dog, Cat Household, Love, Maltese, Pup, Shih Tzu, Sibling, Silky Terrier
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November 17th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
My sister has 3 currently, they can get pretty rowdy when they get playing. Only one has had any healt problems, he fell off the couch when he was little, and now has a gimp rear leg and has had serious back problems requiring surgery. They do have a pretty delicate bone structure, but they can be rowdy little guys….
November 19th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
yes this is fine. if the maltese is less than 2years it will get bullied a bit but will grow used to the rough ways of your other dog.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:55 am
Sure you can get a maltese. A young puppy will likely want to play just as much as he does and will give as good as he gets. You can always monitor the play to make sure nothing gets out of hand, but dogs can usually work out their own place in their world.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 am
My maltese and german shepherd run and wrestle all the time. They are a fragile breed but they love to play and I am sure they would be fine together!!
November 24th, 2008 at 4:08 am
It really matters what the dog acts like when you go to see him (or her), don’t worry that it’s adopted.
November 24th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Totally. Dogs will tell each other when they play too “ruff” (lol) and will back off.
November 25th, 2008 at 6:44 am
I have three maltese at this time! They can be very fragile breed but not in all cases. My baby girl is 6.5 pounds while one of my males is just about 10 pounds and he is not fragile at all. My other male puppy we just got will only make it to 4 pounds if that. So if you are worried about the playing part get a maltese that is not very tiny. But all in all they are a great breed to have and are very open to other dogs and cats. Most of the tiny dogs love to play rough anyway to just keep a close eye out if you feel things are getting just a little to rough and they should be just fine.
November 28th, 2008 at 3:11 am
I have a Shih Tzu/Maltese cross dog who is now three. She is probably the roughest of all our dogs and loves to play with any dog. Our border collie has rolled her quite a few times and she jumps back up and plays again. I would definitely recommend and Maltese!