Bentleythewonderdog

Mine is chipped. Would be horrified not to have him chipped.

The brush is too big for my malt's little mouth too. My vet suggested that I take a piece of old panty hose and wrap it around my finger, put a little dog tooth paste on it and polish their teeth. It does work. I'm trying the Natural balance roll and kibble too. My little one doesn't like the kibble but loves the roll. Can they be fed the roll exclusively?

I have used the shampoos for white dogs on the my sheltie I had a few years ago, he was sable with a white collar, chest and paws. It worked great on him and even did wonders for his sable fur and never seemed to dry him out. The brand I prefered for my sheltie was Blue Diamond by Cardinal Laboratories, you can get it at Petsmart. I use it rarely on my maltese because it does dry his hair. There is a huge difference in the coat types of of maltese and shelties. It's said that maltese have hair, not fur. I have just discovered a line of products called Pet Silk and they have several color enhancing shampoos and I do plan on trying the one for white dogs. It's suppose to be wonderful and gentle and has been recomended by some maltese show people. I have tried Pet Silk conditioning shampoo and conditioner and it is exceptional. They have a product called liquid silk that is good too. On my sheltie I never had any trouble keeping is feet looking good between baths, I would just brush him and it seemed to do the trick. Haven't tried the wipes and I don't think they would work on my maltese. With the difference in the breeds hair/fur type it may work for you.

It could be just a phase. My Maltese went thru that but I think it was because he was getting accustomed to his new home. He is now at my side constantly. All dogs have different personalities and your new pup may be more active and never be a lap dog but enjoy his unique personality no matter what. They are such fun.

I don't know if this would work or be any cheaper but my nephew and his wife just had a new baby and they were telling me about the nursery monitor they bought, you can see and hear the baby. Maybe you could look into a nursery monitor.

He is handsome! I have had 2 granddogs ( my son's dogs) that were brindle and they were sush attractive dogs. One is a Boston Terrier and the other was a Basenji.

I'm slow at this but finally had my husband help me figure out how to add an avatar of my little Bentley. Still working on learning how to post some pictures of him. :D

It's pretty neat. I have one of those plastic things with three drawers in it. I call it Bentley's dresser and it is full. I need a bigger one.

Hope it works out for you. Every time I see one they just really catch my eye, they are so beautiful.

The whole BYB and petshop/puppy mill scenerio gets me really worked up too! I didn't see the show that you were talking about but I can't beleive people still buy from either. I know 3 people that bought "purebred dogs" this year and not one looks like what they are claimed to be. One bought a cocker spaniel from a pet shop (gasp!) and it looks like a mix between a cocker and something else not to mention that it has medical problems. Then another bought a yorkie from a puppy broker(groan) for someone in the heartland. This little pup looks like a mix between a yorkie and a dachshund. Last but not least a co-worker bought a yorkie from a BYB that had about 70 dogs and many different breeds. The vet told her no way was it a purebred yorkie. Nothing against mixed breed dogs, I have had some myself years ago, it's just silly to pay a few hundred bucks for a mixed breed. Not to mention that the breeding wasn't done with any thought as to what type gentic problems may be carried on. Just the fact that people continue to do this encourages these people to continue breeding these poor dogs. If people want a purebred dog they need to do research and find the right breeder. I think some people go the other route thinking they can get a dog cheeper but it may cost them more in the long run. Anyway this is a topic I could go on and on about.

I also have had some problems finding a vet that I'm happy with. The first vet I took my little one to was very kind but his office wasn't clean and he didn't appear to have up to date equipment. He also kept me waiting in the waiting room for 15 minutes while he chatted on the phone and his office staff wasn't friendly. The second vet I have tried was efficient and the office was state of the art and squeaky clean which is important to me. His staff was pleasant and he had a wonderful boarding area. But he wasn't personable and he has now moved. So I'm trying my third vet. She was ok but again this office wasn't as clean as I would like. When I took Bentley in I noticed that the exam table matt looked kind of dirty with dog hair and such. I know I'm picky and maybe I shouldn't let cleanliness be such an issue with me but I want a great vet with a clean office, I feel that they are perfoming medical procedures and I don't want my little subjected to infection because of poor sanitation. I wouldn't want to be neutered in a yucky doctors office and I didn't want my pupster to either. So I'm still searching. I'm from the DFW area so maybe it's a Texas thing.

What's your pupsters name? He is cute! I have a maltese and need to figure out how to post his picture.

I have a maltese and hope to get a yorkie within a year or so. I have been in contact with 2 breeders and I'm just waiting until they have one available. How old is your yorkie? They are so cute!

Oops! I see that Miles is his name. He is too cute!

He's a doll! Make me want one. What's his name?

My little one goes after the toilet tissue. We have to keep the restroom doors closed or he will completely unroll an entire roll of tissue. Some how he can even manage to keep huge lengths still attached to the roll so that it can reach all the way into the living room. Of course it's his favorite game, he will come dashing at super sonic speed thru the living room with the tissue hanging out his mouth in hopes that the chase will began, from that point it's shredded into tiny bits with us all trying to catch him. He will even hide some tissue in my sons room for a game at a later date. He's cute and tiny and I think it's funny so he gets away with it. I figure it pretty harmless.

Sanvean, how long have you been feeding Macy Natural Balance? Guess I'll add that to my list of possible foods. I'm trying to locate local distributors of these 4 brands. I have found Wellness and Natural Balance but not the other 2 brands. I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex so I hope I can locate the other brands.

Just wanted to share this cute observation made by three year old grandson. I babysat my three grandkids ages 4,3 and 19 months for three days (alone, what was I thinking?) while everyone went on a deep sea fishing trip. We were sitting around rocking and watching cartoons when Bentley (jealous of the grandkids) came up and starting trying to get my attention. My little grandson looked up at me and said "Is Bentley talking?" and I laughed and said you know, I guess he is. He then said "whats he saying?". At this point I realized never having thought much about it that Bentley is very verbal and makes many sounds and has cute facial expressions , tilting his face from side to side, put his paws over his nose, etc. The funny part is that I was able to tell my grandson what he was saying. So all weekend my granson would ask what's Bentley saying? I would translate and say He wants me to pick him up, to go outside, He's telling us it night-night time, etc. When his parents came home he told everyone that Bentley could talk. I guess that's what makes Bentley "the wonder dog". Have to go......Bentley is telling me to get off the computer.

Ok, I'm starting to do some research and I really feel bad about feeding my little one Nutro. His food history has been Eukanuba puppy up until he was a year old and the Nutro for the past 9 months. His skin is great and nice hair(It's said that maltese don't have fur, it's hair) Poop is very small and very firm which is important with all this long hair. He has no signs of allergies. I fed Eukanuba because it was what the breeder was feeding and several people recomened it and the vet said it was fine. I switched to Nutro because he wouldn't eat Eukanuba after making the transition from puppy formula to adult formula and a Nutro representative at petsmart promoted it to me. He ate the Nutro at first but has tapered off. He eats 1-2 cups each week. I toss out what he doesn't eat in the mornings for the backyard birds, they eat more than he does. I'm interested in the following [b]Flint River Ranch[/b], [b]Innova[/b] and [b]Wellness[/b]. I'm trying locate distrbutors near me. He is very picky and will not eat many things, took him to a dog training group and the trainer was using bits of weiners for training, when he made his way to us and tried to give it to Bentley he just turned his head and wouldn't eat it. Everyone laughed and said that Bentley would probably only eat pate or caviar. He doesn't eat cheese. I'm just using this as an example of him being finicky, I have never seen a dog that wouldn't inhale cheese or weiners. So which of the above foods do you think would appeal to a finicky eater's palate?

Bentley barks at me or jumps in my lap, if I'm lucky he will take a nap.

Supposedly some of the toy breeds are notorious for being difficult to house break. My maltese is my first toy breed and I had concerns about the whole topic. Turned out to be a breeze, the only other dog that was any easier was my sheltie that I had a few years ago and shelties are fool proof, they know everything(IMHO). I look at the crate as a safe place to keep the dog when you are unable to keep an eye on them. I only used the crate when we were away from the home but in the beginning you may want to put him in it when you are home for brief periods of time, also put him in it and go outside for few minutes, increase time gradually so he gets accustomed to the crate. When leaving, I would turn on the radio softly so the house isn't so quite. Take him outside to potty before putting him in the crate, carry him to the area you want him to go, put him down and say something like "go potty" don't really interact with him so that he gets distracted and if he wonders off bring him back to the spot and repeat the phrase you want to use (the command comes in handy at a later date like during rain or snowstorms), you can then say"hurry up, go potty" and hopefully they will potty on command, alway praise them when the job is done. Place them in the crate before leaving home and first thing upon your return remove them from the crate and carry them to the spot outdoors. The whole key in the beginning is to anticipate their need to go before it happens. Key times are before and after bedtime, after eating, a round of playing or when you see them take off on their own sniffing around or running in circles. I took mine out constantly in the early days. Be diligent, if they have an accident pick them up and say "outside" and carry them to the spot in the yard you want them to use. A cute thing some people do is tie a bell to a string and hang it on the door knob and teach them to ring the bell when they need to potty.

Call some other vets (receptionist) and explain your concerns, I have had a hard time finding a good one and it seems the ones with receptionist that will take the time to listen and answer questions seem to kind of reflect the whole practice or clinics philosophy. Use caution when treating for fleas and ticks at such a young age. The jumping and itching does sound like allergies. Did he get any shots while at the office? Could he have been having a reaction to the shots? These tiny breeds can react to things differently than larger breeds. How much did he weigh? Also use caution and the advice of a vet before starting a raw meat diet. I know someone that fed her maltese some bad raw meat and almost lost her. The vet said that while it probably wouldn't have caused a problem with a larger dog that some of the tiny ones cans go down hill fast from vomiting and diarrhea, bacteria or infection. Hope all is well. What's your pups name?

Whats BARF?

All of these food topics, I really don't know what to look for on the label. I know to feed them a premium dog food but it seems that some of the ones promoted as being good may in fact not be so great. I fed my little maltese eukanuba for a few months and then switched him to nutro lamb and rice small kibble. He really doesn't seem to like anything. He eats maybe 2 cups of kibble each week so a bag last me forever. I worry that it may become stale so I keep his food refrigerated to help maintain some fresheness. Several of you mention brands that I have not seen at the petstore. Where do you get them? Is Nutro good?

What a handsome pupster! He reminds me of my son's lab Jesse. Happy days for him.