Dogs, in general, are known as high-maintenance pets. They need exercise, a quality diet to remain healthy, your care and attention to be happy, regular cleaning of their living area, as well as regular grooming.
Of course, not all dogs are equally demanding. Some of them require less while others require more of your time, care, effort, money…
Maltipoos are high-maintenance pets in terms of grooming but in other aspects of care, they are not so hard to handle. They do require high-quality packed food for dogs ( best would be to take food for small dogs with moderate to a low level of energy), 10-15 min of daily exercise, your presence during the day (if being left alone for a longer period during the day they can develop separation anxiety).
Maltipoos are quite intelligent dogs that are fairly easy to train. If trained and socialized properly at an early age, you get a well-behaved, sweet, mild-mannered dog.
Want to learn more about Maltipoos and how to take care of them properly? Need some grooming advice? Keen to dive deeper into Maltipoo’s personality and to understand his behavior? Seek for some training tips? Keep reading this article to find what you’re looking for.
Table of Contents
How Often Do Maltipoos Need To Be Groomed?
Grooming is the most demanding part of Maltipoo’s care. A good portion of work will be involved to keep your Maltipoo looking great from head to tail.
Grooming is actually one name for several jobs that need to be done. You will have everyday obligations such as brushing the coat or teeth cleaning, tear stains removal can be performed 2-3 times a week, and once a month you will have several other things to do: bath, ear cleaning, nails clipping, and haircut.
Coat Brushing
No matter Maltipoos are considered low-shedding dogs, you need to brush your pet’s coat on a regular basis. This means that you should brush your Maltipoo every day or at least 3 times a week.
Maltipoos will have either silky and straight hair like Maltese or a thick and curly coat as Poodle or a combination of those two which will result in a wavy coat with a wiry texture.
Whichever type of coat your Maltipoo has, you need to brush his coat regularly to avoid matted and tangled hair.
If you have Maltipoo with Maltese-like hair ( silky and straight ) you should use a double-sided pin and bristle brush to remove debris, dead hair, and brush out the tangles.
Just make sure you use a brush with pins that have a rounded tip or with plastic pins. This would assure more comfort to your Maltipoo during coat brushing session.
If your Maltipoo has more Poodle-like hair, you should use a different type of brush- slicker brush specially designed for curly-hair dogs. If your Maltipoo does have Poodle-like hair but doesn’t have a too dense coat, a regular pin and bristle brush will do the work.
For the facial area, it is better to use a stainless steel comb with rounded tips in order to work through the tangles.
For heavily tangled portions you may even use a quality detangling spray ( Bodhi Dog New All Natural Apple Detangling Spray or Lillian Ruff- Pet Dog Leave-In Conditioner & Detangler Treatment Spray). The spray will ease the brushing process.
There are two ways to apply the spray. You can either spray the comb or brush and then work through the tangled area or to apply the spray directly on the coat. There is no need to spray heavily as once you start brushing, the product will stretch a long way.
You should use the spray after a bath. When you dry off your Maltipoo spray the product on several places on the coat, wait for a couple of minutes, and start brushing.
Teeth Cleaning
According to Scott Linick, DVM, a Fellow of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry and chairman of the public relations committee of the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry dog’s teeth need to be cleaned on a daily basis.
Dental health in dogs is really important and especially small dogs are prone to dental problems. Almost 75-85% of dogs over 4 years old experience some dental disease and those are associated with other systematic illnesses such as heart or kidney problems.
Unfortunately, only 10% or even less of dog’s owners brush their pet’s teeth on regular basis or at all.
For teeth cleaning you should use toothpaste designed exclusively for dogs. Never ever use toothpaste made for humans as it contains substances that are toxic to dogs ( fluoride and detergents that shouldn’t be swallowed). Other big NO-NO options are baking soda or salt, never use these to clean your dog’s teeth.
Human dietary requirements are different from a dog’s so for that reason, the toothpastes are also different. Dogs really dislike the taste of mint ( which is usually the flavor of human toothpaste) while dog’s toothpaste has pleasant chicken or beef flavor which attracts dogs.
According to Laura M. LeVan, DVM, Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College (link to official AVCD website) when choosing a dog toothpaste, you can start by seeking out the VOHC Accepted seal, though it’s not entirely necessary. ”Most pet toothpastes are antibacterial and may have enzymes (lactoperoxidase and glucose oxidase) in them that react with the saliva to become antibacterial” Dr. LeVan explains.
Dr. LeVan suggests getting the toothbrush for dogs with a long handle but small head so it can fit in your dog’s mouth. The toothbrush should be changed every 3 months or even more often if you notice that bristles have worn out.
Due to a combination of saliva, food particles, and bacteria, a plaque starts to collect on teeth. If you don’t clean your Maltipoo’s teeth regularly and remove the plaque, it will easily harden into tartar and once this happens, simple cleaning actions such as chewing won’t be effective anymore.
That is why it is important to clean your dog’s teeth every day. If you do it occasionally, a few times a week or a month, it’s quite a waste of time.
Some studies showed that occasional teeth cleaning is not enough to control the oral disease so you are practically doing nothing.
For quality teeth cleaning you only need 30-60 seconds per day so it’s not a big deal and you are making huge favor to your furry friend and his health!
Choosing the right paste could make your job easier as a dog would enjoy it. Try to present teeth brushing as something positive. If you just grab your dog in a headlock and start brushing it will be a one-time experience, as next time he will run away from you.
Tear Stains Removal
Tear Stains are quite a common problem in dogs. You may notice reddish-brown marks around your Maltipoo’s eyes and curious about how to remove them.
Tear stains are more often seen in dogs with white or light-colored hair. They are the result of a Maltipoo that produces too many tears or tears cannot drain away as normal for some kind reason.
Tear Stains can be perfectly treated with a range of safe products. You can find fine wipes which will help you remove tear stains from your dog’s eyes.
The important is to ask a vet for advice before you start using any commercial product. Tear stains may occur due to some underlying health issues so it is crucial to find and treat the cause. This way you will make tear stains in your Maltipoo to vanish.
The cause could be some sort of infection or blockage– if the hair grows too close to the eye, for example. Also, food or environmental allergies can make your dog’s eyes excessively water which will create tear stains.
Besides commercial products, there are DIY solutions. For example, you can try putting one tablespoon of distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to your dog’s water bowl in order to increase your dog’s body PH. A higher level of PH will take care of tear stains.
Bathing
You need to bathe your Maltipoo once a month ( unless he gets really dirty during outside play). You should use a dog’s shampoo and conditioner.
Maltipoos are one of the few breeds that simply need to use a conditioner as their coats are prone to matting and tangling.
Bathing could be a rather stressful experience for your Maltipoo so start slowly.
The bathing procedure is simple – place your pet in a sink, massage warm water in his coat, add shampoo and conditioner, and rinse well. Any shampoo or conditioner residue could make irritation on their quite sensitive skin. Watch out for his eyes, you can cover them with a dry towel to avoid any cleaning product or water come in.
Dogs can easily get very cold after bath and fortunately, Maltipoos are small dogs so you can find a towel big enough to wrap your pet completely. But avoid any rubbing with a towel as that would help to create mats and tangled hair.
Use a hair drier to dry off your Maltipoo properly. Just be aware of the fact the sound of it may terrify your little friend. Make sure he gets used to the sound before you start using the hair drier on his coat.
Ear Cleaning
Ear cleaning is a very important grooming element especially in dogs with drop ears such as Maltipoo.
Dogs with drop ears are more prone to ear infections as ear flap keeps both moisture and warmth trapped in-ear canal making a perfect environment for microorganism growth.
This part of grooming is commonly overlooked that is why you should be associated with bathing so you don’t fail to do it.
Before you start cleaning your Maltipoo’s ears do it inspection first. Look at the color of the skin inside the ear and on the flaps. It should be pink, if you notice any other color such as brown or red or you notice some spot or dots that is a clear sign that something is wrong.
Another thing you should focus on is smell. Smelly ears ( that smell is usually very powerful, hard to miss) are also clear signs of some health condition.
Check the amount of ear wax. Some small amount is normal and necessary to keep debris, dust, dirt and other things out of Maltipoo’s ears but excess of wax is pointing that something is not right.
Sometimes long hair can grow from the ear canal and if so the wax will stick to it and stop airflow. If your Maltipoo has issues with reoccurring ear infections than keeping the ear canal free of long hair will be surly part of the treatment ( using hemostat and ear powder ).
For regular ear cleaning, you need to have an ear cleaning solution and cotton balls or sterile cotton gauze.
Take a solution and put 4-5 drops of it in each ear ( do one ear at the time). Place the cotton ball or gauze over the opening and let your Maltipoo shake his head if he wants to, but keep the cotton well placed over the opening. Massage the base of the ear for a couple of minutes ( 2-3).
After that, use the cotton ball or gauze to wipe all around the ear opening and flap and to remove solution leftovers and debris which has come out.
If your Maltipoo doesn’t have any problem with ears you can use standard ear solution such as Vet Solution’s Ear Cleansing Solution but if he does have some problems such as irritated skin due to some allergies, mites, yeast then you should go for something like Eco Ears ( for itchy ears, ear smell, and discharge).
Nail Clipping
Nail clipping is another important element of Maltipoo’s grooming. This task should be done every 2 or 3 months but it is important to check nails from time to time and not to let them overgrow.
Nails that are too long can make a real mess. First of all overgrown nails will curve inward so it will be more difficult to trim them.
Long nails might catch on fabric ( bedding, carpets, your clothes)which can be painful for your dog.
Long nails also may cause pain to your dog while walking which could result in losing balance as your dog will try to avoid putting pressure on the paw. Last but not the least, the ingrown or torn nail can lead to infection.
For all above mentioned reasons, keep an eye on your Maltipoo’s nails and trim them one time.
If you never have done it before, maybe it is better idea to leave this job to a professional groomer. Watch what he is doing and learn so you can do it by yourself in the future.
The point is that you should trim only the top of the nail and to avoid touching the quick. The quick is the vein that runs down the center of the dog’s nail. On light nails, you can easily see the quick, and of course, you can easily clip the nail without touching the quick but on dark or black nails it’s a bit challenging.
For this task you can use either nail clipper or electronic grinder.
If you do it by yourself, prepare some kind of solution that contains silver nitrate so in case of accidental cut you can stop the bleeding.
Haircuts
A haircut is something that needs to be done once a month or so. But you need to make difference between cutting the hairs on the face and rest of the body.
Hairs on the face you need to cute more often because Maltipoos hairs are prone to matting due to tear stains. Focus especially on the part around the ears, eyes and mouth. So cut the facial hairs every 2 or 3 weeks.
If you are not confident with your cutting skills, seek professional help and take your pet to the groomer. If it is more suitable for you, ask a professional groomer to come to your house and do the haircut.
There are a lot of different haircuts for Maltipoos. The most popular one is a Puppy cut. The dog’s fur is clipped close to the body ( 1-2 inches ) but the hair on the face is just trimmed a little. This haircut style is a very good choice for all dogs which hair tends to become matted and tangled between grooms.
There are other styles such as Town and Country Poodle cuts in which legs, belly and face are trimmed but the rest is left lush and brushed to its fullest.
Also, there is the Miami cut which imitates successfully traditional Toy Poodle cut – showcasing the hair on the head and hindquarters while nearly shaving the rest.
Lamb cut is also popular but more suitable for dogs which don’t enjoy rolling in mud and dirt outside as this haircut style means that hair is rather long. If Maltiopoo with the hair that is cut longer rolls into the dirt it would be difficult to get mats out even if you are using detangling spray.
Maltipoos haircuts style will depend on the coat type they have. Since they are hybrid dogs they can have :
- Silky and Soft – Maltese -like coat. Long hair or classic puppy cut are the best options for this coat type.
- Thick and Curly – Poodle -like coat. This type of coat is dense, cannot grow too long so the best option is also a puppy cut or some other Poodle-type haircut style such as Town, Country or Miami cut
- Wiry and Wavy – very rarely seen in hybrid dogs. If happens that Maltipoo has a wiry coat it is considered a negative aspect and it shouldn’t happen with proper breeding. This hair type is very hard to control so puppy cut is the only option.
Are Maltipoos Easy To Train?
Maltipoos are quite intelligent dogs and quick learners therefore fairly easy to train. Although it might not be a tough task, it is a very important step in the life of your Maltipoo and should be done properly. Only a trained and properly socialized puppy will grow in a well-behaved dog that will not bark a lot. Otherwise, Maltipoos are known for excessive barking.
Someone who is trying to train one Maltipoo needs to be calm and carrying person. Maltipoos are really sensitive creatures and don’t respond well on rough training.
If you start yelling and trying aggressively to teach your Maltipoo some commands be sure that he simply will shut down and you will not succeed. You will even ruin the bond that has been created between two of you.
Positive reinforcement is a much better tactic. Offer yummy treats and exciting praise will keep your Maltipoo very interested in learning new tricks.
Maltipoos are fast learners when it comes to housebreaking, basic commands, obedience training. They can also be trained to be great therapy and service dogs.
Maltipoo’s Personality
Maltipoos are gentle and affectionate dogs. They are very family and human-oriented pets which considered as a perfect choice for first-time dog owners.
They are loyal and devoted to their owners, like to spend time with them so if you are a very busy person and not being able to spend time with your pet, don’t take Maltipoo as he can develop highly destructive behavior and separation anxiety.
Exercise requirements
Although quite energetic these, dogs don’t require much exercise. If you arrange 10-15 min of daily exercise, would be just enough. It can be a short walk ,a fetch or just exciting playtime in your backyard. This will leave your Maltipoo happily exhausted and prepared to sleep peacefully on the sofa.
Maltipoos also enjoy playing inside your home so don’t really care if they live in high-rise apartment or spacious house with a backyard. Cheerful Maltipoo will be thrilled to chase a ball across your home for hours.
All in all Maltipoo’s are pretty adaptable creatures and will easily accept your lifestyle and any environment change you make, so they are a great choice for a pet.
