ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Laura Cota

What other breed will a maltese get along with best?

DISCUSSION:

My Granddaughter has a Chihuahua, my neice has has a Schnauzer, another a dachund, my sister has hybred wolves and alaskan malamutes, and a pitt bull, I have two cockers and a basset. They get along really well. Especially the pit bull. He is a puppy yet, about 9 months old, and is love with my dogs. The hybred wolf of my sisters really surprised me, he is so sweet and gentle with them.

The only dog we have had to keep away from them is the Rotti next door. She looks at them like they are lunch. But she tries to eat the other small dogs too.
-Marsha A.

Dear Laura, My Dad's cousin, who has bred/showed Maltese for "Many Moons" has a Maltese, doberman, and a minature poodle. I think that it is how you train them to adapt to each other. I even watched my older Maltese very closely when I bought new puppies home---just to be sure... Take care.
-Bel and the m & m & m girls

Laura, There are a lot of dogs of various sizes and breeds in our townhouse community and at any given moment, many of them are on their walks. Based on this sample, I see that the dogs Lucy loves best are dogs that look just like her (a woman nearby has a Bichon and a little white Pekinese and Lucy actually cries when the gang breaks up to go home). She loves all the dogs, but these are her favorites. As for the big dogs, I think they think Lucy is a bunny--they all look at her like they'd like to chase her down and have her for dinner. If it were me, I'd stay away from them, just because they are so large that with a puppy or even a small grown dog, they could inadvertently hurt it. My son has an Airedale the same age as Lucy and they are best friends. His Bailey is very sweet and gentle and Lucy will eve take the chew bone from her mouth with no problem, but once in awhile, Bailey plays to rough and hits Luce with a paw or steps on her hard enough to make her squeak. So while Malese may get along with any dogs, I'd try to "mate them up" with smaller to mid-size dogs.
-cathy brown

I would not have anything other than another Toy dog around a Maltese. These 3-7 pound fluff balls must look like rabbits or Booda toys to the big dogs. All it takes is one misplaced paw or one chomp and you could have a crippled or dead Maltese. I would not recommend anything large--a Yorkie, a Chihuahua, a Pap, anything about the same size would be fine.
-Linda 2

I'd thought I'd add the following story to this discussion. Yesterday afternoon I took Lucy with me to the grocery store. When the guy was putting my bags in the car he was talking to Lucy and me about how adorable she was etc. He said "we had a maltese and I loved her so much and I still miss her." I said "what happened to her." He said, "the Husky next door killed her." Apparently his Maltese was out in the backyard to do her thing and in the blink of an eye the Husky had raced into the yard, grabbed her, shaken her, and broken her neck. I bawled my eyes out when he told me this story, so thought I'd share with you as a cautionary tale.
-cathy brown

I have a female Maltese and a neutered male Yorkie. Several times while walking the Yorkie nicely on his leash, we have been approached by large neighborhood dogs. These normally friendly dogs seem to hate my little 5 pounder on sight, and will come snarling up from a block away, even cross the street to get to us. Twice I have had to hold Rocko up over my head and pepper spray a large snarling dog! Naturally, the owners are furious, but we do have a leash law in our town. I think my dog must look like vermin to these big guys. I wouldn't trust any large dog alone with a sweet maltese for a moment! Oddly enough, this never happens with the Maltese. Maybe the long flowing hair makes her look less like a rodent!
-Pam McKinney

I have a male maltese and about a year ago got a female maltese (she is his daughter). They are best pals, they play and do everything together. When my son moved out recently (he's 19) he debated about taking the male maltese with him (technically, the male belongs to him), but decided not to because he knew how much the female would miss him. She looks to him as the boss, or lead, and always follows what he does, except for one thing. She poops outside and for the life of me, I can't convince the male to go out there. He urinates on the trees, (although I suspect he also marks places in the house with his urine) but I can't get him to poop outside. Any suggestions?
-Pam

I have a German Shepherd and a Maltese. They are like best buddies. I did do research on how to introduce my Maltese to the German Shepherd. I was careful to honor the first dog status in my Shepherd. If you are careful, then it seems anything may be possible.
-Lori