I was told my puppies are Maltese. At 13 weeks old, they are now about
5 1/2 pounds. I'm thinking that they might be Bichon-Maltese. Their
hair is short and is not completely straight. How can I tell?

"shajume" wrote in message
ups.com...
I was told my puppies are Maltese. At 13 weeks old, they are now about
5 1/2 pounds. I'm thinking that they might be Bichon-Maltese. Their
hair is short and is not completely straight. How can I tell?




I would start with "where did you get the puppies?"

If they came from a pet shop, commercial breeder, or a plain irresponsible
breeder you may never know. There are scads of "generic white dogs" out
there. They could be simply poorly bred Maltese, half Maltese half Bichon
(common among irresponsible breeders and puppy mills as it produces larger
litters), a Maltese Poodle cross- any one of 20 different combinations.

Where did you obtain the dogs?
It's a totally "let the buyer beware" situation- if you didn't do your
homework and choose an ethical breeder then you will never know what you
really have.

A nice Maltese should be finer boned than a Bichon, square (as tall as he is
long), and single coated.
At 13 weeks and 5½ lbs, it is not looking good.


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/rules.htm