Basic Maltese Grooming 101

Training To Be Groomed

Train your Maltese/puppy to lay on his back and/or side and being groomed when he is young. The best time to train is when he is tired and willing to lie quietly or rest. Even though a young Maltese puppy does not require a lot of grooming, you need to train him when he is young, before his coat starts getting mats and tangles so he will accept the grooming that will become a necessary part of his life. If he gets used to it at an early age, he will be more cooperative during grooming sessions, and you will both.

Grooming Supplies

Do not under estimate the importance of using good supplies and equipment. Most of the products I'm going to discuss usually cannot be bought at the mall-type pet stores. Since I am regularly asked where to obtain supplies I have compiled a rather extensive list that you can find at my Dog Shopping & Services Page.

Grooming Supplies you will need include:

pin brush
There are two types of pin brushes I like -- the best sources of these are Traleigh, # 1 All Systems and Vellus; all three have good deep pins to penetrate a Maltese coat. (see dog shopping & services page to buy these)

combs - small & large greyhound, rat-tail
I use several types of combs; most basic is a Belgium greyhound comb. Avoid the cheap ones and use the good steel ones -- they glide through the hair much better and break less coat. I use both a large and a small one of these as well as having a rattail parting comb from the beauty supply. 

slicker brush
#1 All Systems makes the best slicker brushes I have found. I really like the small one and am particularly fond a triangle shaped one with a pointed nose for getting those difficult places like the underarms. 

scissors
A  pair of 6 inch straight edge scissors made for dogs or human hair cutting is a good basic scissor; you could supplement this with a smaller curved blade pair and a longer blade pair

nail clippers 
There are several varieties of nail clippers but I prefer the guillotine type. 

rubber bands
The rubber bands I use are the small orthodontic types for holding the hair out of the face of the Maltese.

grooming/conditioning spray
a spray bottle can be purchased many different places; place a small amount of conditioner and dilute with water to mist in the coat

Brushing Techniques

Brushing your dog is the single most important thing that you can do to keep the coat looking nice and mat free. You must brush at least every other day if you have your dog in full coat. When brushing continually mist the hair with a conditioner spray (for example, the conditioner used as a rinse after bathing). A tiny bit of coat oil may be added to the conditioner. The conditioning mist helps avoid breaking the coat.

It is important to brush the entire coat and not just the top portions. Start with a pin brush and work your way though the coat. Use the parting comb to separate the hair. Start at the underside and work up to the rest of the coat. How you brush is as important as if you brush. A common problem many people have trying to grow a long coat is "flipping the wrists". The grooming stroke should be a long stroke through the hair finished off with the wrist flat. When one finishes the stroke by flipping up the wrist microscopic pieces of hair can break off the ends of the coat. Over time this repeated practice can cause a coat not to grow long. 

Removing Mats

If you find a mat, gently separate it with your fingertips. Brushing through it will result in hair loss. To remove a mat, spray it lightly to lubricate the hair. If the mat you are removing is large and packed solid, you may have to spray it with detangler or, better yet, a coat conditioning oil until it is saturated. You and your Maltese will both need a lot of patience. Pull the mat apart as much as possible with your fingers; then use the end tooth of the comb to loosen the individual hairs. Work on the mat from whichever side allows you the best access. Do not cut the mat out unless you want a big hole in your dog's coat and only cut through the mat as a last resort, if it is so solidly packed that you have no other choice. NOTE:  If you decide to cut a mat be very careful -- it is possible that a mat could be very tight to the skin and you could cut the skin as well as the mat.

To loosen the mat, you may have to use more oil or detangler as you progress, and you may have to allow it to soak for a while before it does its job. Alternate between separating the mat with your fingers and separating it with the end tooth of your comb. Never try to pull the entire mat out at once with the comb or brush. It hurts and your Maltese will let you know he does not appreciate what you are doing to him.

The coat should be free of all mats before you bathe your Maltese; water only serves to set mats in tighter.

Bathing

The frequency that you need to bathe your dog will depend upon whether you are showing your dog or its a pet, your dogs coat type (some are more prone to matting if they are not bathed weekly) and the environment in which the dog lives (obviously a dog who goes outside more will need to be bathed more). A good bathing schedule for a Maltese would be to bathe every 7 to 10 days. Follow the shampoo with a conditioner. Care should be used during the shampoo process. Excessive rubbing can cause breakage and matting. The best results will be achieved by pouring the shampoo and conditioner over the coat and gently cleansing.

Have everything necessary towels, shampoo, conditioner etc. ready before you put your Maltese in the tub. Clean your dog'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. Apply dabs of shampoo to the back, each leg and under the tail of your dog. 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 dog's face with a washcloth. Take great care to avoid the getting shampoo in the eyes. Tip the head up to rinse. RINSE every part of the body until all traces of soap are gone and the water runs perfectly clear.

At this point, you may add a conditioner. Allow it to stay in the coat for the time recommended by the manufacturer and then rinse from the coat. When the bath is finished, squeeze all the excess water from the ears, legs, and tail before removing the dog from the tub. When towel drying your Maltese, squeeze or blot the coat with the towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Do not rub the coat with the towel as this can cause tangling and mats.

Which Shampoos To Use

Choice of shampoos and conditioners is very important in grooming a Maltese. The pH of normal canine skin has a reported range from about 7.0 to 7.4. The neutral point on the pH scale is 7.0, therefore canine skin should be considered mildly alkaline. Human skin, by contrast, has a pH of approximately 5.5. Using human products which are acidic will sooner or later cause damage to you Maltese coat. There are a number of good canine products on the market. Select a shampoo that will cleanse well. Whitening shampoos may help brighten the coat of a Maltese, but long term use of these products may cause dryness of the hair and result in coat breakage. Follow the shampoo with a good cream rinse or conditioner.

I suppose I'm like others and try every new product that comes on the market. If you do also buy a small bottle until you know if you like it. Some of my favorite products are from these manufacturers: Coat Handler, Crown Royale, Dursteed, Fantastic, Pet Silk, Vellus and #1 All Systems. All have both shampoos and conditioners. I find that each dog has a unique coat and what works well on one sometimes will not do so well on another. From time to time I change products on a dog. I avoid the whitening type of shampoos and conditioners as I feel these dry out the coat.

I use few human products on my dogs as most of them are pH balanced for human hair. One of the human products I use is a clarifying shampoo called Quantum. Grooming products have a tendency to build up on the hair shaft and every 4 to 6 baths I clarify the hair. Vellus also makes an excellent clarifier. The other human products I use are JOICO's Moisturizer and Sun Glitz Repair and Shine.

Blow Drying

Following the bath a Maltese should be blow dry. An inexpensive stand dryer that works well for many people is one called the Ducky (you can purchase this dryer from many of the Dog Mailorder Catalogs). This dryer will sit on a table or counter and allow the use of one hand to brush the Maltese hair and the other hand to keep your Maltese out of danger. Use only the medium heat setting of your dryer. Using high heat can cause the coat the break more readily. As you direct the heat from the dryer of the coat use a long firm grooming stroke. Continue with one section until it feels dry to the touch and then move on to another. Many times the feet and leg furnishings can be dried easier using a slicker brush. The face furnishings should be dried last using a small metallic comb.

Feet

The hair between the pads of the Maltese foot grows quite long and quite fast. If ignored, it tends to mat. Left alone, the mats increase in size and can spread the pads further apart.

Keeping the pads neatly trimmed is an easy task. With the dog on his side or back, hold a leg steady at an angle that is easy for you to work with. The hand that holds the leg will have to do double duty because you'll need to spread the pads slightly apart so you can trim down between them. Some groomers use a clipper (such as a mustache trimmer) for this task, others a small scissors.

Shaggy feet make even the most neatly groomed Maltese look "unfinished." The unkempt appearance of those feet can be improved simply by trimming and rounding the coat around the feet. Push the hair up and away from the foot itself and hold it there. Brush or comb a layer of hair over the foot and trim it all the way around fairly close to the foot. Then brush a second layer over the foot, this time trimming it so it is slightly longer than the first layer. Depending on how heavily coated your dog's foot is, repeat this until the foot has a neat, rounded appearance. Do all four feet in the same way.

Nails

It is of paramount importance to clip the nails every week - just after a bath is the best time when the nails are soft. Purchase dog nail clippers at a pet supply store. Kinds available include "guillotine" style and scissors style. The guillotine style has replaceable blades and the scissors have a notch cut in the blade to fit the nail. Never use human clippers, which can split and injure the nails. Dogs have thick nails, so be sure your clippers have sharp blades. Have a QuikStop, flour or cornstarch on hand in case you accidentally nick a quick.

Clip your Maltese nails under good lighting. Most Maltese nails are white or light colored, and the darker center of the quick is unmistakable. However, some Maltese have dark nails and the quick is not visible. In this case, clip only the ends of the nails. You may have to cut them more frequently to achieve a proper length. Cut at a perpendicular (90 degrees) angle to the nail. Remember to also clip the nail of the dewclaws. After you clip them, filing the nails with a human or dog nail file helps to smooth the sharp edges. 

Teeth

Dogs should have their teeth brushed each day. This is especially important for older dogs, which are more likely to have plaque buildup. Be sure to use toothpaste made for dogs. Human toothpaste may contain ingredients that can upset a dog's stomach.

If your Maltese struggles, try wrapping it in a large towel to gently restrain it. Follow-up the brushing with praise and play, so that your Maltese associates the experience with something positive. If your dog simply refuses to have his teeth brushed, there are cleansing gels on the market containing zinc ascorbate which can be effective in controlling plaque and tartar when used daily. The gel can be sprayed or rubbed inside the dog's mouth. 

Ears

Apply ear powder to the inside of each ear, making certain the hair is thoroughly covered, especially at the base. Wait a few minutes to allow the powder to dry the hair. It is surprising how much easier the hair is to pluck once the powder has dried and how much less your Maltese will mind the plucking if the powder is used.

Pluck only a few hairs at a time, since this is less irritating for the dog. You can use your fingers to pull out the majority of the hair; however, if you prefer, you may also use a tweezers or hemostat. 

Parting

Stack your Maltese on a table and stand directly behind him. (Make sure the dog is standing straight so his spine is straight.) Using the end tooth of a metal comb or a knitting needle and beginning at the base of the tail, run the tooth of the comb straight up the spine, allowing the coat to fall to either side.