# Other Pets > Dogs >  Keeping a Maltese coat white?

## Loki1108

I've been having issues with keeping my dog Molly's coat white. She's 9yrs old and a Maltese (what people call a "tea-cup") who chews at her rear end because of fleas (she's currently on Trifexis for fleas, heartworm and intestinal parasite prevention, and it has worked great so far)

But, she has food stains on her mouth, so it stains her rear end too when she bites at fleas or an itch...

We've been using Perfect Coat: White Pearl Shampoo and Conditioner, and while it _has_ reduced the stains, it hasn't completely removed them.

I'd honestly shave her down and just get rid of the problem, since the stains are on the top of the fur, not near the roots, but my mom won't let me...

Also, we keep her hair shortish (and I'm thinking she isn't a purebred Maltese, like my aunt & uncle bought her as, I'm pretty sure she's a puppy mill pup, her hair isn't always straight, even with brushing, its kinda wavy...) 

I'd take her to a groomer, but according to my grandmother, who has a shih tzu & a shih tzu/ pekeniese mix, there's only one groomer around here that's decent, and honestly, I'd rather not drive, add to it I'm assuming its Pet Smart, due to the town she says its in... 

So, does anyone have anything they use to keep, and get, their dogs coats white? Also- I bathe Molly about every 2-3wks, depending on how bad her doggy smell is. I'm fine if her rear end is stained, but, my mom isn't, that and I'm tired of explaining to people that she is a Maltese, she's just a "tea-cup" (HATE that word, by the way), and she chews at herself, I swear I get looks like I need to clean my dog.  :Mad:  


I never had this issue with our Dalmatian, she was great, granted, she had horrible grass allergies, so she was missing most of her fur on her hind end, but with keeping her coat bright & white, it was never an issue, and she got baths even less frequently!

----------


## GoFride

Try Angels Eyes tear stain remover.

----------


## llovelace

There is also a whitening shampoo available

----------


## wolfy-hound

There is no shampoo or product that will remove stains, especially when the stains are from saliva. The saliva oxidizes on the hair, causing the stain.

Whitening shampoos can help, I prefer Chris Christensrsen White-on-white shampoo for white coats.  You will need to dilute ANY shampoo you try to use. Leaving shampoo residue on the dog is a major cause for itching and chewing. Cut the shampoo to a 1:10(1 part shampoo:10parts water) to use it, and rinse super well.

If her coat is wavy, it's probably mixed with bichon, that's common with "maltese" and bichon puppies. Both are white and fluffy so breeders can market them as either and by the time the adult coat is coming in, it's too late to fuss.

Major issue would be getting rid of the fleas. Try the flea pill Comfortis, it works wonders on fleas. You can also try to wipe the areas that are getting stained twice a day with clean water on a washrag. As new hair grows in you can keep it from getting stained, but again, there's not really a safe product to REMOVE all the staining.

And 'teacup' is a irksome term to me, there's no teacup size officially. It usually refers to a extra tiny dog, but maltese are already supposed to be very small. We see a ton of oversized maltese here, so when a properly sized one shows up everyone starts to fuss over how "tiny" it is and I've got to bite my tongue from going "Just because you own Malt-zilla doesn't mean that dog is undersized..."

Good luck.

----------

_GoFride_ (07-17-2011),Loki1108 (07-17-2011)

----------


## GoFride

> There is no shampoo or product that will remove stains, especially when the stains are from saliva. The saliva oxidizes on the hair, causing the stain.
> 
> Whitening shampoos can help, I prefer Chris Christensrsen White-on-white shampoo for white coats.  You will need to dilute ANY shampoo you try to use. Leaving shampoo residue on the dog is a major cause for itching and chewing. Cut the shampoo to a 1:10(1 part shampoo:10parts water) to use it, and rinse super well.
> 
> If her coat is wavy, it's probably mixed with bichon, that's common with "maltese" and bichon puppies. Both are white and fluffy so breeders can market them as either and by the time the adult coat is coming in, it's too late to fuss.
> 
> Major issue would be getting rid of the fleas. Try the flea pill Comfortis, it works wonders on fleas. You can also try to wipe the areas that are getting stained twice a day with clean water on a washrag. As new hair grows in you can keep it from getting stained, but again, there's not really a safe product to REMOVE all the staining.
> 
> And 'teacup' is a irksome term to me, there's no teacup size officially. It usually refers to a extra tiny dog, but maltese are already supposed to be very small. We see a ton of oversized maltese here, so when a properly sized one shows up everyone starts to fuss over how "tiny" it is and I've got to bite my tongue from going "Just because you own Malt-zilla doesn't mean that dog is undersized..."
> ...


Thanks! I guess there's no better person to ask than you! I was hoping you'd see this thread.   :Good Job:

----------


## Loki1108

> There is no shampoo or product that will remove stains, especially when the stains are from saliva. The saliva oxidizes on the hair, causing the stain.
> 
> Whitening shampoos can help, I prefer Chris Christensrsen White-on-white shampoo for white coats.  You will need to dilute ANY shampoo you try to use. Leaving shampoo residue on the dog is a major cause for itching and chewing. Cut the shampoo to a 1:10(1 part shampoo:10parts water) to use it, and rinse super well.
> 
> If her coat is wavy, it's probably mixed with bichon, that's common with "maltese" and bichon puppies. Both are white and fluffy so breeders can market them as either and by the time the adult coat is coming in, it's too late to fuss.
> 
> Major issue would be getting rid of the fleas. Try the flea pill Comfortis, it works wonders on fleas. You can also try to wipe the areas that are getting stained twice a day with clean water on a washrag. As new hair grows in you can keep it from getting stained, but again, there's not really a safe product to REMOVE all the staining.
> 
> And 'teacup' is a irksome term to me, there's no teacup size officially. It usually refers to a extra tiny dog, but maltese are already supposed to be very small. We see a ton of oversized maltese here, so when a properly sized one shows up everyone starts to fuss over how "tiny" it is and I've got to bite my tongue from going "Just because you own Malt-zilla doesn't mean that dog is undersized..."
> ...


Since we've had her on her current flea meds, she's had no fleas at all. And even our vet has said she's small for a Maltese, last time she was weighed she was 4.7lbs. And I've brought up to my mom about her being a mix with bichon, she then trys to fight "But I've got her papers!" Papers can be false. And if I remember correctly, my uncle got her from a pet shop. 

I'd use Angel Eyes, as mentioned above, but, its expensive, and since it isn't me that cares about her staining (its more of an annoyence to explain to people...) I don't want to spend the money on it. 

And I just used the 1:10 shampoo to water ratio just a minute ago, mid post  :Razz: ... I don't know if it's just a very odd coincidence, or if it actually  helped at all... But she definatly looks whiter. She's still two-toned (white up until just before her hips) but the stain is lighter. I'll try wiping her stains 2x daily with the wet cloth though.

----------


## wolfy-hound

Maltese standard is between 4-7 pounds, so she's right in there. Your vet must see the same ones we do, lol. 

Don't just wipe the stained, wipe anywhere she's licking, so around the stains a bit too.

The 1:10 is basically to make it easier to rinse out all the shampoo. 

If the chewing on her hiney continues, you can get her a "lion clip" or a havanese breed trim, where they clip the hindquarters short(incidentally cutting off that stained hair) and leaving the long coat to be pretty. It's actually pretty cute and as the new hair grows in, you can wipe it twice a day and keep it from staining(if she continues to chew).

Oh and don't use Hartz shampoos or flea and tick shampoos, those are harsh on the skin and could cause itching too.

I've had people walk in with AKC registered chichuahuas weighing 20 lbs. "But I have PAPERS that say he's a chihuahua!"   My response? "I don't care if you have a note from GOD, that is not a chihuahua."

----------


## Loki1108

> Maltese standard is between 4-7 pounds, so she's right in there. Your vet must see the same ones we do, lol. 
> 
> Don't just wipe the stained, wipe anywhere she's licking, so around the stains a bit too.
> 
> The 1:10 is basically to make it easier to rinse out all the shampoo. 
> 
> If the chewing on her hiney continues, you can get her a "lion clip" or a havanese breed trim, where they clip the hindquarters short(incidentally cutting off that stained hair) and leaving the long coat to be pretty. It's actually pretty cute and as the new hair grows in, you can wipe it twice a day and keep it from staining(if she continues to chew).
> 
> Oh and don't use Hartz shampoos or flea and tick shampoos, those are harsh on the skin and could cause itching too.
> ...


Hmm... the lion trim maybe a comprimise between my mother and I. Although, getting her paws will be difficult... When we've shaved her down before when it got hot, she looked like a mini clydesdale... 

I'm starting to wonder if she chews from boredum, because when she's next to or near someone, she dosen't chew, but if you leave her alone... she chews. I can easily say she is a very people oriented dog, she'll walk up to strangers so long as they don't have a dog, or they aren't a small child. Shoot, when we take her with us to go get mice, she actually LOOKS for the pet store workers, because she KNOWS they'll pet her... 

Also, those must be some HUGE ankle biters  :Surprised:  I'm not a huge fan of small dogs, maltese, shih tzu, pugs and small terriers are the ones I'm ok with... I think its mostly because any time i see other small breeds, they're just treated...not like dogs. Like little people...

Granted, I'll admit, my dog is a bit spoiled, but not some crazy kinda spoiled... She's only allowed on my bed during the day, so i can make sure she dosen't have accidents, or at night when it's storming bad because I don't like storms too much... :Razz:

----------


## Highline Reptiles South

+1 on Angel eyes...its magic...

----------


## Loki1108

> Try Angels Eyes tear stain remover.





> +1 on Angel eyes...its magic...


Does Angel Eyes work for FOOD stains? If she had Tear stains, then I wouldn't be so apprehensive to try it, but in the 2yrs we've had her, she hasn't had any issues with tear staining, only her hind end and her mouth. 

She's got a vet appt at 8:30 tomorrow ( :Rage:  I don't enjoy waking up that early on my summer vacation...) and if either of you, or anyone else, has had Angel Eyes help with *food* stains, & my vet reccomends that, then I'll get some in a couple weeks, after I get a thermo stat for Loki (I'm not using his UTH currently due to the fact he dosen't have a T stat, I'm currently using a heat lamp, which is being a pain in the butt for humidity...)

----------


## wolfy-hound

Why are you certain it's food stains? If you do think it's a food issue, change her food to something that doesn't contain beets or beet dye. That's the most common staining issue from food.

----------


## Loki1108

Tear stains would only effect the area around her eyes correct? 

The staining is limited to her mouth (just next to and under her nose) and hind end, and her front paws recently, leading me to believe it's food stains, not tear stains. But, then again, I don't know very much about tear staining, so correct me if I'm wrong, please. 

I just checked her food for any of the beet or beet dye. The only thing I could find on her soft was red dye 40, and her hard was two yellow dyes, one of which was 6, the other was 3 or 5, and blue dye 2 I believe. 

So I'll be searching for a food that dosen't contain any of those dyes. I'm not going to ask her vet about it, since I have seen science diet in his waiting room, and I haven't heard very great things about it...

----------


## wolfy-hound

It's probably saliva stains, not food stains, although the dyes in the food add to the staining. Many dogs stain from saliva that don't get tear staining because the tear ducts drain properly. The stains on the faces come from the tears not draining through the duct into the sinus cavities properly.

I'd also switch her to hard food, as maltese are known to have teeth issues and the hard food would help prevent it, and wet foods almost always have dyes in them to make them more appealing to the humans buying them.

----------

