No matter where you obtain your new family member or what breed you choose….. I ask that you, please, go to your breeders home, to see where their puppies live and are raised. Ask to see both parents of your puppy. The Dam/Mother & Sire/Father should be viewable even if the owner of the Dam has used an outside stud service. Sometimes breeders use out of state Sire’s. They should be able to provide you information on their puppies sire, his owner’s info and pedigree. 

If you are buying a puppy from another state and cannot visit the puppy’s home, please write a list of questions to ask the breeder. Ask for photo’s of the puppy and its parents. Puppy Mill breeders can always bring a puppy into their home to take a cute picture of the pup on a sofa, so please do your homework. Please steer clear of websites with cute names like cutepuppies.com or tinyteacuppuppies.com as these are puppy mills and their brokers! Dont fall for their scam!

If you are paying for your puppy, your puppy should at least have their immunizations started. Puppies should have completed an immunization series of 3 vaccines by the time they are 12-16 weeks old. One vaccination administered to a puppy does not offer the protection against disease that an animal needs. Puppies should stay with their Dam until they are 8-12 weeks of age, (depending on the breed.) Toy breed puppies stay with their Dams for 12 weeks. A Maltese puppy will nurse from its mother for a minimum of 8-9 weeks so if you get one early than that you are taking that puppy away from its natural developmental cycle and you are part of the problem!

What you should receive from a reputable and professional breeder:

1. Veterinary health certificate-proof of check up. This certificate should have the veterinarians name and clinic information on it.
2. Vaccination records. This document should show you proof of any vaccines given along with the date. Dont fall for the piece of paper or 3×5 card with some dates scribbled on it. There should be veterinary proof or vaccine labels on the document. 
3. AKC paperwork- typically limited AKC registration. There is no reason to wait an extended amount of time for AKC documents. They take 2 weeks to be sent from AKC.
4. Health guarantee or contract between Breeder & Buyer.

Most breeders will supply you with a sample of food that the puppy has been weaned to. If  do not receive puppy kibble, please be sure you understand what the puppy has been eating and what supplies you may need.

Please do not buy from Pet Stores. Pet store employees will tell you that their puppies do not come from puppy mills, but this is far from the truth.

Bringing Your Maltese Puppy Home:

You will need several things to prepare for your new Maltese puppy. Please purchase your items from the “New Puppy Necessities” list prior to pick up.