Cunliffe Maltese

1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59378-876-6
Verlag: CompanionHouse Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 158 Seiten

Reihe: Comprehensive Owner's Guide

The experts at Kennel Club Books presents the world's largest series of breed-specific canine care books. Each critically acclaimed Comprehensive Owner's Guide covers everything from breed standards to behavior, from training to health and nutrition. With nearly 200 titles in print, this series is sure to please the fancier of even the rarest breed.

Juliette Cunliffe has owned sight hounds for 30 years. She judges competitions around the world and is a Kennel Club Accredited Trainer of Judges. Shw is the author of many successful dog books and lives in Shropshire, England.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cunliffe, Juliette

Leseproben

The Maltese has been favored for thousands of years. It was the European answer to Oriental lapdogs. Sailors and explorers brought back tales of tiny dogs that fit into the large sleeves or sat in the laps of the aristocrat Chinese, presumably to keep their owners warm!

The Maltese is almost undoubtedly one of the most ancient lap dogs of the Western World, but there has long been dispute over the actual origin of this charming breed. Charles Darwin placed the breed as having existed around 6000 BC, although a model of such a dog, some 2,000 years older, has since been found. This is presumed to have been a child’s toy. The Emperor Claudius (10 BC–AD 54) had such a dog, and it seems likely that they were taken to Asia by the Romans. Eventually they reached China, where it is believed that dogs of Maltese type contributed to the ancestral breeding of the Pekingese dog known today.

The breed has had numerous names during the course of history, including “Melitae Dog,” “Ye Ancient Dogge of Malta,” “Comforter,” “Spaniel Gentle,” “Shock Dog” and “Maltese Lion Dog.” The latter name most probably alludes to the fact that several of the early toy breeds had their coats styled into a “lion trim.” This caused some confusion among the breeds, especially with the breed now known for this cut, called the Löwchen (Little Lion Dog).

Many pre-Christian objects of art are adorned with the image of the Maltese, and in the courts of Imperial Rome, the Maltese was a favorite among the ladies, once being known as the “Roman Ladies’ Dog.” It was written of these dogs, “When his favorite dies he deposits the remains in a tomb and erects a monument over the grave with the inscription, ‘Offspring of the stock of Malta’.” Certainly Maltese were closely involved in Egyptian culture between 600 and 300 BC, at which time they were effectively worshipped as members of royal families.

The rare Löwchen, or Little Lion Dog, an early European lap dog, is known for his traditional “lion clip.”

In Greece, the first known written history of the breed was recorded around 350 BC by the philosopher-poet Aristotle, who attributed the origin of the breed to Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea. However, images of the Maltese have been found on Greek vases dating back to 500 BC.

Many of the early Italian painters included dogs in their paintings, and these dogs appear to have been Maltese. To throw further confusion upon the geographic origin of the breed, in AD 25 there was a town in Sicily called Melitia. Here beautiful little dogs called Canis Melitei were found. Confusion understandably could have arisen because the island of Malta was earlier known as the Island of Melita. Writing in 1851, Youatt tells us that they were found not only in Malta but in other islands of the Mediterranean, where they “maintained the same character of being devotedly affectionate to their owners…[but] ill-tempered to strangers.” Although he said they were no bigger than common ferrets or weasels, he considered them “not small in understanding nor unstable in their love.”

Some consider that the Maltese was one of the original French toy breeds, and it is certainly a close relation of bichon breeds such as the Bichon Frise, Bolognese and Havanese, and the Coton de Tuléar. However, the Maltese should not be confused with today’s Bichon Frise, despite the fact that at certain points in its history it has actually been called “Bichon.” Some breeders have even thought that the breed actually hails from the Gobi Desert, something that was attributed to their love of heat and sun.

THE MALTESE USED FOR TRADE

The Maltese’s place of origin becomes further confused by the fact that this dog traveled extensively to different parts of the world, being used in trade as barter for Chinese silk, among other things. Silk at that time was indeed precious, and in weight it was considered as valuable as gold. According to the writer Idstone, Maltese were often taken to the shore for sale, or else the owners of shore boats held them up to the passengers. Sadly he added that they were “simply long-haired little wretches, washed, starched and combed out…”

MALTESE LORE

The Maltese has long captured the affection of man, and many a book included vivid anecdotal images about the breed. The list is endless, including a story about one Maltese that threw himself into his master’s grave, another that climbed upon a funeral pyre and one that even reputedly climbed onto the gallows.

The Maltese Terrier known as Eng. Ch. Pixie was owned by Joshua Jacobs circa 1900.

THE MALTESE TERRIER?

In more recent years, the Maltese has been known as the “Maltese Terrier,” but it is generally believed that the early makeup of the breed lay in dogs of spitz or spaniel type, rather than those of terrier type. Having said that, though, the character of the breed certainly made the dogs eminently capable of catching a mouse or a rat. During the breed’s early years, there is evidence that it was used as a small hunting dog, although it was then much larger than the breed we know today.

Mrs. Stallibrass with her Maltese Terrier, Queen Stallie. Mrs. Stallibrass was one of the breed’s most staunch supporters at the turn of the 20th century in England.

GERMAN THOUGHTS ON THE BREED

In 1650, a German physician stated that a toothache could be cured by scraping one’s gums with a dog’s tooth, and then went on to describe the Maltese dog at some length. He believed that the breed had originated in Malta and talked of two varieties, one with short hair, the other with long, flowing hair. He described them as being the size of a wood weasel and said that at that time red and white dogs were most valued, although he also mentioned that there had been black and white ones. To ensure that Maltese dogs would maintain their small size, they were shut up in baskets in which they were fed, but their food was of the choicest kind and their beds were lined with fleeces.

Although it is not known when the Maltese actually arrived in Germany, they were certainly in the country by 1860 and were exhibited at shows there from 1879. A German Stud Book was established in 1900, and from this point onward dog breeding was taken very seriously, leading to the formation of the Lapdog Club of Berlin in 1902. Just two years later, a breed standard was issued in Germany for the Maltese, followed by a Toy Breeds Register in 1910.

THE MALTESE COMES TO BRITAIN

In 1859, a lady by the name of Miss Gibbs obtained a little bitch, Psyche, from a gentleman who had obtained her from his brother, a ship’s captain. Psyche was pure white and was reputed to have looked like “a ball of animated floss.” The hair on her shoulders was 15 ins. long, but she weighed only 3.25 lbs. This was small, as many at that time weighed 6.5 lbs.

The Maltese during the 19th century was in great demand; it was considered a useful dog for hawkers to sell in the streets. The stains on neglected face hair were considered an advantage, for they suggested that the dog had been weeping and this obviously attracted some kind-hearted purchasers. The dog-seller would stand on the curbside, holding out a tiny Maltese in his hands, and would almost always attract a purchaser. One such seller even bandaged one of the dog’s feet, which was said to have helped him considerably with his sales!

ON BRITISH SHORES

It is indeed possible that the Maltese arrived in Britain with the invading Romans, but some claim that it first made its appearance on British shores during the reign of King Henry VIII.

There was constant effort to produce smaller and smaller Maltese, but this was only to their detriment, for they generally grew to have low vitality and were difficult to breed. New blood was eventually introduced from the Continent, and this brought about certain changes. At first the dogs were rather large, but the breed resumed its desired weight of 4–9 lbs. and a generally hardier constitution was achieved.

Between the years of 1860 and 1870, the kennels of Mr. Mandeville in London were highly prominent, with his dogs winning well at all the major shows. As the century progressed, many of the Maltese went back to Mr. Mandeville’s Maltese, Fido and Lilly.

J. H. Walsh, under the pen name “Stonehenge,” wrote a wonderful book called The Dog in 1867. The few lines he wrote about the Maltese are worthy of quotation: “This beautiful little dog is a Skye Terrier in miniature, with, however, a far more silky coat, a considerably shorter back, and a tail stiffly curved over the hip.”

GENUS CANIS

Dogs and wolves are members of the genus Canis. Wolves are known scientifically as Canis lupus while dogs are known as Canis domesticus. Dogs and wolves are known to interbreed. The term “canine” derives from the Latin-derived word Canis. The term “dog” has no scientific basis but has been used for thousands of years. The origin of the word “dog” has never been authoritatively ascertained.

The breed became so scarce as to induce Sir Edwin Landseer to paint one as the last of the race. After completion of the painting, several Maltese were imported from Malta, and, though still scarce, they were able to be obtained. The little bitch from which the portrait was sketched was the property of Miss Gibbs, or Morden, and was descended from parents imported by Mr. Lukey, direct from Manila.

Psyche, the Maltese bitch owned by Miss Gibbs, from an engraving circa 1867.

Drawing of an early Skye Terrier, bearing some...