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We've just got another Maltese who is now 5 months old. She is absolutely gorgeous. My question, how does someone know if their Maltese is show quality? Is the pedigree that important? What are the most important traits to look for? Any help would be appreciated.

• Show Quality -- what an exlusive term. Those of us who breed and show would consider this to be a dog/bitch that we feel has the potential to become an AKC conformation champion. Now how does one elvaluate this show potential -- probably everyone has a different set of criteria, but I will give you some of the things I look for. First, the AKC maintains the breed standard for the Maltese -- this is supposedly the "ideal" Maltese. So the first question would be how well does your dog meet or "conform" (hence conformation) the standard. The standard describes such things as coat, size, eyes, appearance, head, etc. It's safe to bet that if something is amiss here a dog is not show quality. For example the standard says that a Maltese should have balck eye rims. If your Maltese has a pink eye rim then it would not meet the standard. Then there are the subtle things -- not mentioned in the standard -- but are more inhernant in dog structure overall. Are the front legs straight (not bowed), backlegs straight, does the dog roach its back when moving, does it carry its tail properly over its back, how is the gait, etc. And a good show dog -- always has an outgoing personality -- loves to get out and go, entertain people, a people dog. The pedigree does play a big part in show quality -- its in the genes so to speak. As with humans dogs inherit 1/2 each from sire and dam. If they were both champions chances are they will pass on their good genes to their puppies. However, not all show quality dogs get shown. So there is a chance that a dog with no champions in the immediate pedigree is shoiw quality. If you have a dog that you think may be show quality -- find yourself someone who breeds and shows Maltese and ask them to evaluate your dog . - bobbie linden, bhe-jei maltese