Pup for Christmas

I am giving my wife a maltese pup (male) for Christmas. Actually, he will be for both of us. Born on November 10 and I will pick him up Christmas Eve. I have two questions: Do Maltese shed or do they not shed??? I have heard conflicting stories. Also, I am concerned with the long hair and obvious grooming tasks. I am thinking of keeping ours somewhat trimmed to keep the hair off the ground. What is the trimming protocol on Maltese? Is it a no no or do as you please? Finally, what food do you recommend for an eight week-old puppy, who has just been weaned from its mother? Any suggestions/comments will be much appreciated.
Knut

• Hello.
  In response to your questions; Do Maltese shed or do they not shed???
  There is no such thing as a dog who does not shed. A maltese does not have an undercoat so therefore shedding is not a problem. Hair dies and breaks off just as in any other breed of dog or human.

  What is the trimming protocol on Maltese?
  If you will not be showing your Maltese, it would be far easier to keep it cut off the ground. Much more sanitary too.

  Finally, what food do you recommend for an eight week-old puppy, who has just been weaned from its mother?
  I would recommend Science Diet puppy food. Forget any Purina food.(look at the ingredients). According to your pups DOB he will only be 6 weeks on Xmas eve!! At such a young age to be leaving the mother, I would keep an eye on his blood sugar. If he starts acting sleepy and listless, give him a little honey. You should see a noticable difference almost immediately if this was the problem. Good luck.

• What Jay said is all true. I am not a breeder, or any type of expert on dogs, but have had them all my life. My Maltese doesn't "shed" like other dogs. They don't have an undercoat, so you don't find little fur balls everywhere. They do have some hair, as Jay said, that breaks off occasionally. That is not at all a problem. This is also a good breed if you have alergies to dander. My dog is not a show dog, and I keep her hair anywhere from 1/2" to 4" in length depending on the time of year and ho w much time I have to devote to keeping her groomed. The longer the hair, the more time it will take you to brush him. The hair is very fine, so brushing everyday if the hair is really long will be necessary.

  Please keep in mind that the puppy is very young at 6 weeks. Watch him closely and please do all your Vet check-ups regularly. Good luck with your new addition! I know your wife will love him! Merry Christmas!

• We bought a maltese for christmas 2 years ago and he is the most wonderful dog, very lovable and gentle, you made the right choice. we try to keep our dog trimmed and he looks very cute. my husbands family has had 2 maltese and also kept theirs trimmed. maltese's do not shed because they have hair, not fur. this hair gets matted very easily if you don't keep up with the brushing. grooming is one of our sore subjects. be sure to remove the collar from around your dogs neck to brush hair, the collar seems to cause mats, or help hide hair so you miss brushing it. we were thinking about having our dog groomed every 2 weeks, a groomer suggested this to me awhile back. the groomer bathes and brushes the dog out so his fur won't mat up allowing the owner to let the dogs hair grow longer. our dog was matted when we first bought him because the shop where we purchased him just opened and didn't have a full time groomer on staff as of yet. three diffrent times we had\ to get our dog cut really short because the mats were to out of control, this of course was our fault for not brushing the dog enough. if your the type of person who is patient and persistant you'll have no trouble. if on the other hand your not so patient you might want to set the dog up on a grroming cycle. Good luck!
  Kathy