Maltese Grooming
A Few Helpful Tips for Maltese Grooming
The most important step in Maltese grooming is checking his ears on a weekly basis. Maltese dogs have drop-ears, and they have a great deal of hair inside their ears. If your pet is having ear issues, he will let you know by showing sensitivity to being touched, or he may have inflammation, a waxy buildup, or he may shake and scratch at his ears. Visit the vet if you need to, to get the ear issues taken care of, before you progress to full grooming.
For your Maltese, grooming begins with removing mats or tangles in his coat. If you find a mat in your daily brushing at home, try to work it out gently with your fingers. Don't try to brush through it, as it will cause your dog pain, and break the hairs. If you can't get the tangle out with your hands, spray it with a detangler. If you still can't get the mat out, you may have to cut it out. It will leave an unsightly patch, but your pup will be more comfortable.
Maltese grooming is time-consuming, whether you do it yourself or hire a professional groomer. After you get the tangles or mats out, your dog is ready for his bath. This may take place at home in the tub or a laundry sink, or in a sink at the groomer's.
Have all your shampoos and tools ready, so he doesn't have to spend any longer wet than he has to. Clean your dog's ears and then put a cotton ball in each ear, so that water won't leak in and cause infection.
The next step of Maltese grooming is to wet your dog all the way to the skin before you apply shampoo. Use a good quality pet shampoo, so it will clean without drying his coat out. Use only dabs of shampoo, on his back, his legs, and the underside of his tail. Avoid over-shampooing, as this, too, can cause his coat to dry out. Work up a lather in your dog's coat, and then rinse until the water coming off of him is clear.
Squeeze all the excess water from your dog, using your hands. Make sure ears, legs and tail are fully dry. Cover your dog with a towel. Use that to rub him down, and switch to dry towels as needed until he is as dry as towels can get him.
Next, you will need to brush your dog out, moving carefully in the same direction the coat lays. If he will tolerate it, this is a good time to introduce the blow dryer, to dry him off faster. Make sure to fully dry the longer areas and his feathers and feet.
Soon, for your Maltese, grooming will be “no big deal”. If you decide to take him to a professional groomer, make sure you select one who is quiet, soft with her hands, and who appears to like what she does for a living. Better yet, save some money and spend the time with your pet, grooming him yourself.