The first place you should start is with a pedigree of your Maltese. The
pedigree will list your dog's sire/dam, grands, great grands, etc. The
pedigree should list the champions in your dogs background. You should look
for kennel names -- generally the first name or two. Having the pedigree in
hand you may want to consult one of the Maltese books to look for relatives
with the same kennel names. If your dog has been "line bred" you will
probably find the same dog or bitch on both the top and bottom of the
pedigree. Many times line breeding, especially if the common dogs are
champions, produces very nice quality dogs. Not all good quality dogs are
champions, but many times they are. You should be looking for ancestors
that come from the show lines that consistently have produced champions.
However . . . remember, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Each
Maltese, no matter what lines or background they come form is a lovely
little dog (especially in the eyes of their owner/s). If you want some help with pedigrees please feel free to e-mail me -- I have a complete set of Maltese stud books.
Bobbie Linden - Bhe-Jei Maltese