Email Opal at puppppyluv@aol.com 417-831-9105
Join our free Newsletter list to be notified when we add something new CLICK HERE. 

Bathing Your Maltese

Before beginning, brush and comb your Maltese thoroughly to eliminate dead hair, knots and mats (as described in Removing Mats).

Have everything necessary towels, shampoo, conditioner etc. ready before you put your puppy in the tub.

Clean your puppy's ears if necessary and place a small ball of cotton in the ears to soak up any water accidentally entering the ear canal (a common cause of infection).

Place a rubber mat or towel on the bottom of the sink or bathtub. A hand-held rubber spray attached to your faucet can make things much easier.

Make sure your Maltese is completely wet to the skin before applying shampoo. A good quality shampoo and conditioner. After bathing, the natural oils will quickly return to the skin and coat. Apply dabs of shampoo to the back, each leg and under the tail of your puppy. Work up a good lather down to the skin, proceeding from back to front.

Take special care to clean the anal area and paw pads.

Rinse the coat thoroughly and shampoo again. Rinse again.

Wash your puppy's face with a washcloth. If using a non-tearless shampoo, take great care to avoid the eyes. Tip the head up to rinse. RINSE every part of your puppy's body until all traces of soap are gone and the water runs perfectly clear. This step is very important because any remaining residue will irritate your Maltese skin and make the coat dull.

At this point, you may add a conditioner. If you choose to use "coat handler", this is a 'leave in' conditioner, it is also a detangler, antistatic and fragrance--all in one. Work it into the coat well.

At this time, any minor knots can be relaxed with a little extra conditioner. Using your hands, squeeze the excess water from the puppy, paying particular attention to ears, tail and legs. Run your hands down your puppy's body to "squeegee" water from the rest of the coat. Cover your Maltese with a towel.

Use as many towels as are needed to get your dog to the "damp-dry" stage. During colder weather, you may want to dry your puppy in a small room (bathroom or laundry room) with a space heater.

Make sure your puppy does not get chilled and is perfectly dry before you let him outside in cool or cold weather. You might want to use a hand held dryer. The noise may scare the puppy at first so this method may or may not work for you. Or, better still, except for the noise at first) use a free-standing canine dryer that leaves your hands free.

Make sure the dryer is not too close to your puppy and temp is set on WARM and the dryer temperature is NOT TOO HOT.

Using a pin brush, brush the coat carefully in the direction the coat grows while blowing in order to straighten any waves or kinks and reach all layers of the coat. Do small sections at a time, making sure each section is dry before continuing on to another.

Continue brushing and blow drying the whole body, taking special care to completely dry ears, feathering and feet.

Credit: Information provided and used with permission of Clive Forrester of Maltese Breeders United.  THANK YOU for letting us share this information.

Thank you for visiting our puppies.

***NEW Fully Automated Program for making Personalized Holiday Letters***
DOZENS & DOZENS of letters and personalization options.
Bigger & Better than anything currently on the market.
Personal Use OR Home Business Opportunity
A MUST see to believe item!!  Also get a FREE Child ID Safety Kit!!