Keeping bottoms clean

We are considering adopting a Maltese as our family member. We have been told that they can get very dirty "bottoms" because of their long hair. As ours will be a pet, not a show dog, we would be keeping her hair fairly short. Is there a big problem keeping their back sides clean?
Tony Pepi

• I have had my Maltese for 2 years and keep her in a long coat. She has never had a dirty bottom. If you feed a good quality dog food and stay with it, the stool's should stay firm and you should have no problem with dirty bottoms. If you feed table scraps or suddenly change food, this could cause a loose stool and dirty bottom.
  Judy

• I keep Lucy's hair pretty short...she goes to the groomer about once a month. Occasionally, she will get a little "stuff" stuck when she's doing her thing outside, and she truly hates it. She will do acrobatics to try to clean it up herself. I usually scoop her up and carry her inside to the bathroom sink and wash her. Not the most scintillating job in the world, but not horrible, either. I have a friend who has a poodle and also has this problem from time to time. I think it just comes with the territory, and the benefits of having this little bundle of love totally outweigh the occasional need to clean her behind. One thing though is that you did need to check from time to time just to see that nothing has been caught in the area surrounding your dog's anus. This can cause a problem, as I understand things. I haven't ever had it happen, but I guess it can. I have my groomer keep the hair beneath Lucy's tail a little short in an effort to avoid any problems. All in all it seems to work. Adopt your maltese and enjoy.
  Cathy Brown