ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Chin

I'm interested in buying a Maltese for my mother who lives alone. My girlfriend has a Maltese whose characteristics are exactly what I am looking for in a dog for my mother. "Bailey" is very quiet, sits with you on the couch, lays down beside you in bed, and is overall very loving, affectionate, and mild mannered. I'm curious if this is characteristic of just "Bailey" or if most Maltese's are like this. If any of you could offer some imput on how your Maltese's are, and if you think that a Maltese would be good for someone who could really use some loving, affectionate company.

DISCUSSION:

My mother , sister, and I all have Maltese. All three have a little different personality, but they are very loving and affectionate. Bo is the man of his house. He watches over everyone at my mother's house. If the house is full it is almost too much for him because he has to keep an eye on everyone and give everyone equal lap time. Molly is the queen of her house. She has her favorite chair but anyone is welcome to come share it with her. She just request that you rub her back while you share her chair. My Sassie is the most out going of the bunch. She has kisses for everyone. She has yet to find a lap that is not a perfect fit. We like to joke that if you looked up the word lap dog you would find a picture of Sassie. You could not go wrong with a Maltese. They are just a wonderful breed. Good luck.
-ChrisL

Chin, My Lucy is smart as a whip (anything you do with her twice she views as a routine activity and makes part of her daily life adventure), has yet to meet a person, animal, child that she doesn't feel a need to love and kiss to death, and is the best kisser/lap dog, cuddler in the world. Her favorite place is on my lap or, if I am lying down, stretched out on me from tummy to knees. She barks only to demand something I've missed noticing (time for dinner, really need to pee-pee even though it's not necessarily scheduled walk time, or some noise she is sure means we are about to be harmed). If I am quiet, she turns quiet; when it's play time we play hard. I can't think of a better pet for anyone. Don't know how old your mom is, but I'm no spring chicken and Lucy's a great pet for me. If your mom can take a new baby for walks, spend the time to develop it's intelligent behavior, and love and be loved by the best breed of dog in the Universe, I'd say run out today and get her a Maltese of her very own.
-cathy brown

My Parents have a maltese, which we fell in love with so we have one of our own too. Both dogs are loving, and affectionate, and playful. My Mother is bedridden a lot of the time, and the dog is a true companion, laying with her most of the time. Our Dog Buster is like a child to us, our family spoils him terribly. But he is so cute, it is hard not to. He took third place in an obedience competition, so they are very intelligent animals, and true companions. He loves to lay by you, while watching T.V. or reading. He lays in our daughter's bed until she falls asleep, then comes out to the living room to watch T.V. with us, then follows our son to bed, and then comes out when he goes to sleep, then finally sleeps with us. It is like he has to tuck everyone in before he can sleep too. I would recommend this breed for someone looking for a true companion.
-Patti

Definitely get her a Maltese! They are known to very compatible with people who will give them the love and affection that is important to them. Our Pixie Bella has started resting by my feet when I'm working. She just started doing this. I love it. We've had her since April 7th. Since she has been with us, she's housebroken [it only took a few days for us...they are very clean animals as well], she comes and sit-stay on voice command, and now we are training her to fetch and retrieve and heel. They are very intelligent animals. If you read about the Maltese history, you'll notice that they have been called the "Comforter" because of their ability to lay for long periods at a time without complaint with the bedridden and ailing. I have been very animate about not owning a dog for years until my 6 yr old started begging for a dog. She told us that she wanted something to cuddle that was real, not just stuffed. She would tell us that she had a "crack in her heart" [guilt...guilt!] Our choice to purchase a Maltese couldn't have been a better one, for they are very cuddley dogs. Now my 6 yr old says, "The crack in my heart is gone."
-Vicki