Breed: Maltese

The Maltese is a small breed of dog in the toy group, known for its silky white hair, though many owners of pet Maltese give them a short "puppy cut" for ease of grooming. The Maltese breed is descended from dogs originating in the Central Mediterranean Area.

Though the name appears to refer to the island of Malta, the origins of both the breed and its name are unclear. Various writings have also described the name as deriving from the Adriatic island of Mljet, and the Sicilian town of Melita. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale, states the name of the dog does not signify that he originates from the island of Malta because the adjective »Maltese« comes from the Semitic word, màlat, a common root of the name of all three places.

Appearance

Characteristics include slightly rounded skulls, with a one-finger-wide dome and a black nose that is two finger widths long. The body is compact with the length equaling the height. The drop ears with long hair and very dark eyes, surrounded by darker skin pigmentation (called a "halo"), gives Maltese their expressive look. Their noses can fade and become pink or light brown in color without exposure to sunlight. This is often referred to as a "winter nose" and many times will become black again with increased exposure to the sun.

Coat and Color

The coat is long and silky and lacks an undercoat. The color is pure white and although cream or light lemon ears are permissible, they are not desirable. Also a pale ivory tinge is permitted. In some standards, traces of pale orange shades are tolerated but not desirable and considered an imperfection.

Size

Adult Maltese range from roughly 3 to 7 lb (1.4 to 3.2 kg), though breed standards, as a whole, call for weights between 4 and 7 lb (1.8 and 3.2 kg). There are variations depending on which standard is being used. Many, like the American Kennel Club, call for a weight that is ideally less than 7 lb with between 4 and 6 lb preferred.

History

This ancient breed has been known by a variety of names throughout the centuries. Originally called the "Melitaie Dog" it has also been known as "Ye Ancient Dogge of Malta", the "Roman Ladies' Dog," the "Majestic Creature", the "Comforter Dog," the "Spaniel Gentle," the "Bichon," the "Shock Dog," the "Maltese Lion Dog", and the "Maltese Terrier" amongst other names. The Kennel Club settled on the name "Maltese" for the breed in the 19th century.

The Maltese is thought to have been descended from a Spitz type dog found among the Swiss Lake dwellers and bred down to obtain its small size. Although there is also some evidence that the breed originated in Asia and is related to the Tibetan Terrier, the exact origin is unknown. The dogs probably made their way to Europe through the Middle East with the migration of nomadic tribes. Some writers believe these proto-Maltese were used for rodent control before the appearance of the breed gained paramount importance.

The oldest record of this breed was found on a Greek amphora found in the Etruscan town of Vulci, in which a Maltese-like dog is portrayed along with the word Μελιταιε (Melitaie). Archaeologists date this ancient Athenian product to the decades around 500 B. C. References to the dog can also be found in Ancient Greek and Roman literature.

Aristotle was the first to mention its name Melitaei Catelli, when he compares the dog to a Mustelidae, around 370 BC. The first written document on the existence of this breed of dog was given by the Greek writer Callimachus, around 350 BC. He described the small Canis Melitaeus as having taken its name from the island of Melita (Mljet) on the Adriatic coast, near Dalmatia. Many scholars support Callimachus' writings as establishing the origins of the breed or its name, among them Pliny the Elder and Stephanus of Byzantium

Strabo, in the early first century AD wrote that dogs called Canis Melitei were frequently exported from a town in Sicily called Melita, and writes that they were favorites of women. Some authors claim that Strabo was referring to Malta, though others treat that Melita as a different location.

John Caius, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, claimed that Callimachus was referring to the island of Melita "in the Sicilian strait" (Malta). This claim is rejected by some later writers although it is also often repeated, especially by English writers. The confusion between these two Melitas (both Malta and Mljet were called Melita in Latin) has been a source of dispute over the origins of the dog for a long time.

During the first century, the Roman poet Martial wrote descriptive verses to a small white dog named Issa owned by his friend Publius. It is commonly thought that Issa was a Maltese dog, and some sources say that this Publius was a Roman Governor, though others say he cannot be identified.

Around the 17th and 18th centuries some breeders decided to "improve" the breed, by making it smaller still. Linnaeus wrote in 1792 that these dogs were about the size of a squirrel. The breed nearly disappeared and was crossbred with other small dogs such as Poodles and miniature Spaniels. In the early 19th century there were as many as nine different breeds of Maltese dog.

Parti-colour and solid colour dogs were accepted in the show ring from 1902 until 1913 in England, and as late as 1950 in Victoria, Australia. However, white Maltese were required to be pure white. Coloured Maltese could be obtained from the south of France.

Article Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese