maltipoo

[jaabe]

looking to get a maltipoo for a home pet ..both of us are retired and live in
small apartment......want to travel and bring pet with us...any ideas..
and feelings on maltipoos...anyone that has owned one

[thekimballs]

Why a maltipoo? Why not a poodle or a maltese?

There is nothing magic about crossing any toy breed with a poodle--it doesn't make them healthier, happier, better tempered, or nonshedding. It's better to decide on a nice toy breed that is being bred by caring and responsible breeders and go with a purebred. Or, of course, rescue a toy from a caring shelter.

[PuppyFluffer]

As a professional groomer, I can tell you that that combination of mixed dogs is one of the worst coat types to take care of. They mat terribly without very frequent brushing and they will require frequent professional grooming.

I don't suggest them.

[boongirl]

I have seen a couple of cute maltipoos at our local off leash park. The owners seem happy with them. The problem is that it is hard to find someone making these kind of dogs and doing it professionally. With labradoodles, like I have, they have been around for decades and more is known about them and breeding is more standardized. The maltipoos I know were rescue dogs. I also know a family of schnoodles (schnauzer-poodles) who were also rescued and they are great dogs, too. The whole family was rescued by one woman. The schnoodles were accidents, by the way, not bred.

You might try petfinder.com and see if you can find an older dog in that kind of breed or something similar. Or, you might try a different breed all together. My grandparents travelled a lot after retirement and they loved their silky terrier. My other grandfather loved his rescue mutt, who was older when he got him, and gentle and sweet as a lamb. Finding the right dog takes research and patience. Be careful about adopting. Know what you are getting into. Being a dog owner takes knowledge and understanding and is not something to be taken lightly.

[shannon0218]

Paying big bucks for a mut just because it has a cute name is just :
Most, if not all come from puppy mill organizations--some well disquised as supposed "responsible" dog breeders--but when you get down and dirty and ask the right questions, the answers all point to puppy mill.
If you want a mutt, go to the shelters or on pet finder and find a dog that suits your home and lifestyle, dont' pay some jerk who purposely breeds cross breds thus adding to the pet over population problem--these places will not stop their behavior until consumers STOP supporting them. If you don't want a mutt, do yourself a favor and avoid "designer dogs". Their impact on shelters and pet overpopulation is HUGE. Paying someone big money for a designer dog encourages further back yard breeding and furthers the large puppy mill organizations that breed multiple litters a year, have multiple breeds at the same time and don't do genetic testing on their animals.

[tayndrewsmama]

Originally Posted by shannon0218

Paying big bucks for a mut just because it has a cute name is just :
Most, if not all come from puppy mill organizations--some well disquised as supposed "responsible" dog breeders--but when you get down and dirty and ask the right questions, the answers all point to puppy mill.
If you want a mutt, go to the shelters or on pet finder and find a dog that suits your home and lifestyle, dont' pay some jerk who purposely breeds cross breds thus adding to the pet over population problem--these places will not stop their behavior until consumers STOP supporting them. If you don't want a mutt, do yourself a favor and avoid "designer dogs". Their impact on shelters and pet overpopulation is HUGE. Paying someone big money for a designer dog encourages further back yard breeding and furthers the large puppy mill organizations that breed multiple litters a year, have multiple breeds at the same time and don't do genetic testing on their animals.

: BTW Shannon, Shouldn't you be resting?

[pinkmilk]

if you want a multipoo then you should get one. I'm sure you will do the right thing and make sure your new puppy comes from a good, loving home and that he is old enough to leave his mom and sibblings to join you and your family.

look in the paper of the nearest city to you. make sure you go to the home where your puppy is raised and you are comfortable with where your puppy comes from.

I think a multipoo is a wonderful choice for a family dog. and I discourage buying from petstores and getting family pets from shelters unless you absolutely know for certain your sheltered pet loves children...it's too risky(in my opinion).

Goodluck with the search!

[thekimballs]

Unfortunately, the above is the exact WRONG way to get a puppy. People advertising in the paper are almost all backyard breeders--people who are breeding to make a few bucks or because their cute Sophie looked so nice next to the neighbor's handsome Buck. Reputable breeders only rarely advertise in the paper--they don't need to. Their puppies are sold by word of mouth and by referrals from reputable breed clubs, no advertising needed.

Every single breed and "designer" combination has health problems associated with it. The FIRST thing you should ask is whether the parents are health tested, and if so for what. You need to educate yourself beforehand so you can tell what the right answers are and know them when you hear them. If their answers are wrong, I don't care if they're offering to pay YOU to take the puppy, RUN AWAY. You run a serious risk of ending up with an epileptic crippled dog with cataracts and luxating patella when you mess with those breeds, and cute fluffy puppies can land you in a lifetime of heartbreak and vet bills.

Then you should ask if the breeder is involved in an activity that forces some peer review on his or her activities. Good breeders are showing, trialing, hunting, doing obedience or agility, or in some other way subjecting their dogs and their breeding practices to the scrutiny of their peers.

Once you have a breeder pass those tests, then you visit. The owner/breeder should strike you as an encyclopedic source of breed and dog knowledge--he or she should volunteer stories, advice, requirements, and breed don'ts. The mom may be quite protective of her puppies, but away from them she should be friendly and calm. She may look a little thin, but healthy. You should see dog(s) fully integrated with the family and raised in a way that appreciates the breed needs as well as normal TLC.

You should be forced to sign a written contract protecting you and the puppy--you should expect a health warranty and a puppy-back clause. You should be forbidden to tie or chain the dog out and should be forced to get regular vet care.

Here's the big secret of puppy buying--a good puppy from a reputable breeder rarely costs much more than an unhealthy puppy from a backyard breeder. I sell my Danes for $1100--that undercuts the pet store by several hundred and is about $100 more than the puppies in the paper. With that you get a health warranty, health-tested and shown parents, my reputation on the line if I sell you a bad one, and my support and help for the life of the dog. I make NO profit. The average "breeder" in the paper has put only what it costs to feed a bitch for a year or two into their litter, and is raking in as much cashola as he or she can by pricing their puppies at $750-1000. Just try calling one of those breeders if your lovely Muffy starts biting your grandkids one day--do you think they'll help? Do you think they'll take Muffy back no questions asked after she starts seizing at age 7? If you're worried that the vet is giving you the wrong advice on a health issue, will they know the right answer from years of experience in the breed?

Don't reward bad breeders by putting money in their pockets. Either adopt from a good shelter (and good shelters temperament test) or buy from a responsible breeder. Then do the right thing from then on out--get your dog in obedience training, socialized, and active.

[tayndrewsmama]

thekimballs has given some really good info on looking for the right breeder. At the beginning of the year, we were looking for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I researched the breed first, then breeders. Let me tell you, the worst ones are the ones that look good on the outside. I nearly bought one from a woman who had some pretty good lines, but for some reason, I had red flags about her. She said that all her puppies were home raised w/children. She gets all their vaccines separately to be easier on their systems. She lets the puppies self wean before they are allowed to go to their new homes.

Later, I noticed another ad for a different breed of puppies being advertised with the same phone number. I thought she only bred Cavaliers. Well, as it turns out, she sells Cavaliers, Pugs, Malteses, and some other breed. All of which are advertised as the only breed in the house. When you call her about her available puppies, she has a sneaky way of making you tell her what breed you are calling about so she doesn't out herself as having mulitiple breeds. Not long after, I found out that this woman goes to puppy mill auctions in Missouri (which seems to be the puppy mill capital :-() and buys a mother and her litter and takes them and sells them as if she actually bred them. After the litter is sold, she sells the mother under the story that she is too old to breed anymore. Worse than that, to keep with her story of only breeding one breed in the home with children, they have a lot of land and a barn. She keeps all the dogs in the barn and when people come to see them, she take the litter they are coming to see and "sets" them up in the house. Most people aren't nearly observant enough to pick up on all of this. It really makes me angry that there aren't any laws to stop this.

In the end, we bought a Papillion from a breeder near to our house and we couldn't be happier. Well, except that she is small, but I guess those things happen from time to time. Either way, we love her to death and wouldn't change a thing.

[shannon0218]

Yep, puppy millers are business people first and they're damn good at it--how else do you make money breeding dogs? They are masters of deception and can take a seemingly intelligent person who *did* know what they wanted and manage to snow them into believing they're actually getting what they wanted. The other dogs in the barn and the "for sale" set in the house is the oldest trick in the book too.

[tayndrewsmama]

Originally Posted by shannon0218

They are masters of deception and can take a seemingly intelligent person who *did* know what they wanted and manage to snow them into believing they're actually getting what they wanted. The other dogs in the barn and the "for sale" set in the house is the oldest trick in the book too.

Maybe you remember my list of questions to ask breeders that I posted here during my search? Even that didn't weed this chick out. : It certainly helped with a lot of them though, but not all. Dang search function. When is that gonna be back?