How to educate a Maltese baby

Do you have a Maltese bichon or are you thinking of welcoming one soon? Then, to offer the best to your pet, you will be interested in knowing everything you need in detail. Some of the most relevant aspects that should be well known are the care and basic needs, but also the way to teach everything you need to know so you can live together enjoying your company.

So, if you are interested in knowing how to educate a Maltese bichon so that both of you can be happy living together, do not miss this article in which we will tell you all the necessary details so that you can offer the best to your furry.

Characteristics of the Maltese baby

The Maltese bichon is a small dog or even a toy, since a weight of 1.8 kg is the minimum that usually occurs in the toy and the maximum that is seen in the small race is 4 kg, being the most usual a weight between 3 and 4 kg. In addition, its height is between 20 and 25 cm at the withers. As usual, females are usually somewhat smaller than males, both in weight and height.

Its mantle is white and smooth, it grows very easily and has a silky touch, although when they are puppies or if they are cut too much, the hair can look somewhat wavy and not smooth. There are some specimens that have white fur with some spots in a soft golden tone. The eyes are always dark, just like their nose that is always black, their legs are short, their tail is dense and their ears are long and falling sideways.

These furry ones are characterized for being fun, affectionate, playful, cheerful, intelligent and for enjoying the company as much of people as of other pets, in fact they hate to be alone. In addition, this character is very marked when they are puppies but being adults also retain these positive characteristics, being joy at home throughout their lives.

Also, they are nervous, very vigilant and with enough energy, for this reason they do not like to be alone and locked up in house for hours and, in addition, they can warn us of the presence of someone unknown.

Because of all this, it is a very popular dog among families all over the world . But we must bear in mind that it is fully indicated to live with adults, but usually stresses in the company of children who demand too much play, touch or take it continuously, pull his long coat, etc. Because of this, a Maltese bichon can get tired in a short time of being in the company of a child, but if you also educate the little ones and explain to them how to relate to a dog, then it does not have to be any kind of problem.

Why socialization is important

It is vital to socialize a dog so that it can relate to its environment, other animals and people without any problem. If we do not get used to living at home or on the street with other living beings and with noise and common situations, our pet will suffer stress, anxiety, fears and may even become aggressive at certain times.

As we have pointed out, we must accustom them especially to children because they can be more difficult to coexist with. Therefore, we must educate both to be treated with respect and enjoy. It is very important that, in order for this social education to produce good and solid results, the dog is accustomed and taught everything necessary during the first months of life, since at that moment his character and way of understanding things will be formed .

Also, you have to habituate them from small to interact with other dogs of all sizes, because by their small size can see other furry larger as a potential threat and put on the defensive or even attack, if you have not become accustomed to they.

Rules and necessary limits

To properly train and educate a Maltese bichon, it is very necessary to teach him norms and limits that serve to respect each other. In addition, you have to start teaching these guidelines from the first moment you join the family, help them understand them and teach them with positive reinforcement. It is vital that all members of the family agree with what rules to put on what can and can not do, being consistent is what will help you to understand it well.

In addition, a common mistake is that, being so small, we usually pick them up a lot or allow them to climb wherever they want, but this if it becomes a habit can trigger a dominant attitude on the part of our furry. This will cause that when someone does something that does not seem good to him for whatever reason, he imposes himself with barking and even marks. Because of this, it is important to avoid spoiling him excessively and to teach him the limits between what he can do and what he can not do and when he can do it.

Within the rules must have established some routines and schedules, ie a few hours and areas for walking, sleeping, eating, etc. In this way, educating our Maltese bichon will be easier and it will be more balanced and happy.

In this other article you will know all the details about How to teach the dog to do their needs outside the home.

Correct bad habits

It is very common that our pet sometimes has some behavior or habit that we do not like, and this happens to a greater extent if you have not been socialized and educated well since puppy. Thus, we must correct this unwanted behavior as soon as we detect it, but it is vital that we do it with conditioning or positive reinforcement and never with negativity or aggressiveness.

The screams, the pulls, the blows and the punishments do not contribute anything good to your relationship and to the learning of the can. On the other hand, rewarding good and desired behaviors, whether with caresses, words or with food, is something that always produces a good reaction and helps us to learn better.

Because of this, if your hairy does not meet something that is supposed to already know, do not punish and ignore this behavior or stop the activity you are doing, such as stop playing or walking, if you bite hard or pull the strap, until calm down or stop doing what you did wrong. Thus, you will understand more easily that what you do is not desirable and rewarding it when you do things right, for example when you walk by your side without pulling hard, you will see that those are desirable and you will do them instead of the others that do not positive results.

Basic orders for a Maltese baby

To educate a Maltese bichon well, it is essential to teach him some tricks and commands, some more complicated and others simpler, so that he feels fulfilled, useful in the family or herd and thus creates a more intense bond with us.

Since this breed of dog is very intelligent, it is easy for him to learn new things as long as we dedicate some time to teach him well. If we teach them these commands or tricks they will feel more balanced and have a good development, they will also get bored less. Here are some tricks and basic commands that this breed learn quickly:

  • Come here
  • Be quiet
  • Sit down
  • Go to your site
  • Lie down or lie down
  • Walk to the side
  • Bring the ball

Advanced orders for a Maltese baby

When your little pet has learned the most basic things, it's time to teach her some more complicated things so she can continue to develop her abilities and feel better. As we have said, thanks to their intelligence, these little ones do not have a hard time learning the following advanced commands :

  • Spin around
  • Stand up on the hind legs
  • Skip
  • Give one leg or both
  • Roll over itself
  • Playing the dead
  • Bring the toy or object that we indicate
  • Skip obstacles