Pet - Breeding - Show

Are you wanting a puppy as a pet or companion?  Are you wanting to breed your puppy in the future?  Are you planning on showing your puppy?  There are different qualities you will be looking at for each purpose.

As a Pet?

If you are wanting a puppy as a pet or companion only, you will be able to find a good Maltese puppy at a reasonable price.  The puppy categorized as "pet quality" will have some flaw that would prevent either breeding or showing. This is usually something that will make no difference to you.  These flaws might include:

• Bad Coat -  the coat may be too curly or may be wooly or cottony instead of silky.
• Bad Pigmentation - The nose, rims of the eyes, and the footpads should be black.  Any deviation is considered a fault.
• Overbite or Underbite
• Bad tail set - tail may not curve over the back properly but may be held straight up or droop down.
• Bad top line - the back is not level but slopes
• May be too large -  the standard is from 4-7 pounds but 4-6 is preferred. 
• Testicles (in males) may not have dropped properly.

Puppies sold as "pet quality" are usually sold with a limited registration (meaning they are registered but their offspring cannot be) or sold with a spay/neuter agreement.

For Breeding?

There is a fine line (if any) between breeding quality and show quality.  A dog sold for breeding should have none of the faults listed above.  However, it may be some minor flaw that would prevent pup from winning in the show ring.  No really small females should be used for breeding.  Often a breeder will sell a prospective show quality dog as a breeder between 3-6 months of age. 

To Show?

If you are interested in a show quality dog, it is wiser to wait until puppy is 6-7 months old.  At 12 weeks of age the puppy can be sold as "prospective" show quality but true determination cannot be made until at least 6 months.  By this time their 2nd (or permanent) teeth are in and all possibility of overbite or underbite can be ruled out.  You will be able to fully assess it's movement, structure, and coat quality and determine how closely it adheres to the breed standards.  You can determine if it has the outgoing personality needed for the show ring.  Remember that no dog is perfect but you can tell at this point if it's future in the show ring is promising.

Updated June 13, 2008

CONTACT:
Terrie Canada
Angel-Lite Maltese
Attalla, Al 35954-7273
Email:  TeraC99@aol.com
Ph: 256-538-7408

Updated May 18, 2006