Grooming Your Maltese

We have groomed Maltese for the show ring since 1992, which means we have tried most of what is sold and settled on very little of it. This is the routine we give every new owner, pared down to what matters. None of it is hard. All of it has to actually be done.

The supplies

You need fewer things than the pet shop would like. A pin brush with straight metal pins set in a soft rubber pad and no plastic balls on the tips. A steel comb with medium and fine teeth, the kind sold as a "greyhound" comb. A spray bottle for water or a light leave-in conditioner. A gentle dog shampoo, ideally one made for white coats, and a tearless one for the face. A conditioner or cream rinse. Nail clippers sized for a small dog, or a small grinder. A dryer with a genuinely cool setting; a human hair dryer on warm works for a pet, a stand dryer made for dogs is easier. Small latex bands for the topknot and an ear powder. That is the whole list, and a good pin brush and comb are the two items worth paying for.

Brushing

Daily if the coat is long, every second day if it is clipped. Mist the coat first, then brush in sections down to the skin, lifting the hair and brushing the layer beneath it rather than skating over the top. Follow with the comb; if the comb catches, there is a tangle the brush missed. The places that mat are behind the ears, the armpits, the inside of the thighs, under the collar and around the feet, so check those by hand every time. The coat page explains why some coats mat more than others and how to deal with a mat once it has formed.

Bathing

Every one to two weeks for a long coat, every two to four for a clipped pet, and not at all in a puppy's first week in a new home; it has enough to cope with. Brush and comb out every tangle before the water touches the dog, because a wet mat is a permanent one. A kitchen sink with a rubber mat is the right size. Use warm water, keep it out of the ears, nose and mouth, and wash the face separately with the tearless shampoo and a soft toothbrush. Rinse until the water runs completely clear and then rinse again; shampoo left in the coat is the usual cause of an itchy Maltese. Condition, rinse, and squeeze the water out with a towel rather than rubbing, which tangles.

Drying

This is the step people skip and the step that decides whether the coat mats. Dry the dog completely with the dryer on warm, never hot, brushing the section under the airflow in the direction the hair grows until it is dry to the touch, then move on. Head and ears first, then the body, then legs and belly with the dog on its back or standing. Finish with a pass on cool and feel for damp patches, because every damp patch becomes a mat by morning. A Maltese left to drip dry ends up cold, curly and tangled.

Nails, ears, eyes and teeth

Nails every two to three weeks, taking off only the pale tip and stopping short of the pink quick; on white nails you can see it. Pull the soft hair from inside the ear canal with a little ear powder for grip, then wipe the ear with a cleaner that dries, because a Maltese ear under all that feathering stays damp and damp ears get infected. Wipe the eyes and the hair beneath them daily and keep it dry; the tear stain page covers the rest. Brush the teeth, ideally daily, with a dog toothpaste; this breed loses teeth early without it.

The topknot and the part

Comb a straight part from the nose to the base of the tail. Gather the hair on the head from the outer corner of each eye back to the ear and band it loosely; too tight pulls the eyes. Redo it every day or two. The topknot is not decoration: it is what keeps the hair out of the eyes, and hair in the eyes is the single commonest cause of tear staining.

Clipping

If you would rather not keep a long coat, a groomer can put the dog in a puppy cut every six to eight weeks and most pet Maltese live happily that way. Tell the groomer you want the face and ears left in the breed's shape and the eyes kept clear. Even a clipped Maltese needs the daily face wipe and the every-other-day brush; shorter is easier, not zero.

Fleas and parasites

A white dog shows fleas, which is a mercy. Use a monthly preventative from your vet rather than a flea shampoo, which strips the coat and does nothing about tomorrow's fleas. If you do see fleas, they run to the face when the dog is wet, so check there.