Need help identifying dog!

[DoggUncertainty]

I’m hoping someone can help me, my mum has recently bought this gorgeous puppy. I’ve attached some photos.

DISCLAIMER: I know nothing about dogs and different breeds!

The lady who sold him to her said he’s a pure Maltese, however since she’s had him, 4 separate people who’ve seen him have told her he looks like a Maltese/Shih tzu mix breed.

Anyone got any ideas from these pics? She wasn’t given a certificate of his breed or anything like that, but on his vaccination record it says he’s a Maltese, so surely that’s confirmation enough? However she’s now doubting it due to the comments of others.

@Scalby , that nose needs a kiss plonked on it right now 🥰

Thank you for this reply. Unfortunately I wasn’t with her so wasn’t able to check all these things, she originally was going to get a rescue dog, one who was about 3-4 years old, but then the became fixated on getting a Maltese puppy. When this ad came up she bought him straight away.

She’s now sent a text to the couple who sold him, asking if she can see his KC registration so we’ll see what reply (if any) that results in.

I asked her about the teething, she said he does like to chew and gnaw on his toys but isn’t sure if that’s actual teething. She said she did notice that he’s got a lot of teeth for a 4 month old.

Yes and I’ll be shocked if there’s a single thing she can do about it 😕 Wish she’d gone away and thought about it and not committed to him straight away, or just done more research.

It is really difficult when you're faced with an adorable puppy - walking away isn't as easy as some people make it seem!

All your mum can do now is the right thing by the puppy - hopefully she's one of the lucky ones and he lives a long and healthy life :)

Thank you for all the replies, and I’ve loved seeing the pics too. Your dogs are all so beautiful!

I’ve spoken to my DM and she’s taking him to the vet she registered him with first thing tomorrow morning to ask them to examine him and attempt to work out his age.

I’ve passed on all your comments and advised that she sorts his insurance asap.

About the couple who sold him - she said they seemed so nice and talked about their jobs. They showed her photos of the other puppies in the litter, I think there were 8 altogether, and said he was the last one left. They said she’s welcome to keep in touch for as long as she likes and give them updates as they’ll miss him a lot now.

I asked her if they had any family photos around the home and she did say there weren’t any that she can remember. Just a small detail I thought of, as most people do have these up.

Ffs I genuinely didn’t know how easy it could be to inadvertently buy from a puppy farm breeder.

Will update anyway after tomorrow, thanks again for the advice. He really is such a lovely dog with a beautiful temperament and lots of energy. Hoping he’s healthy most of all.

He looks quite big for a Maltese, especially a 4 month old, but it could just be the pictures. how heavy is he? Malteses are usually 3-4kg, both our moggy cats are heavier than that.

also 8 puppies seems quite a lot for such a small dog. Various websites say malteses tend to have 2-4 puppies on average but sometimes more, so while probably possible it seems quite a way over the average.

he is adorable though

He’s a sweetheart isn’t he, this whole thread is so upsetting if he’s a puppy farm dog 🥺

Shes just let me know that he weighs 3.1kg, so that’s the right weight for a Maltese, but would that be adult weight?

Omg even the amount in the litter is a warning sign!!

Yes that is the adult weight.

i googled and various different websites say a 4 month old Maltese should be 1.5-2.25kg ish. But there were some that were bigger, with other litter mates an average size. so he could just be big. But I wonder if he’s older (maybe a year or so, or a cross (potentially a bichon, the pictures of bichon x Maltese do look similar)

Ah right ok. I had thought he looked like a bichon too when I first saw the pics of him, but put that down to my lack of knowledge.

I’ve just googled as well about Maltese average weights and yes it seems he’s much heavier than a 4 month old.

I only read the first sentence so didn't see the breed but I immediately thought Maltese.

What an adorable pup!
unfortunately it does sound like a bad breeder. This doesn’t always equal puppy farm though, they could just be misinformed. I would say about 60-70% of my clients get pups from potentially ‘dodgy’ sources. The main thing to consider now you have and love him is how you’re going to keep him healthy going forward. The best way you can do this is insurance. Your mum needs to look for a life policy, not one that renews each year and she should get the highest cover she can afford, ideally at least £7k per year as bills quickly mount up. A set of X-rays at my practice is £800. Additionally, she should look for insurance that covers dental work and also book him into some training classes.
Not much to be done about where he was from now but in the future reputable breeders will grill you. You’ll be on a waiting list usually, have mounds of paperwork to fill in and will always leave with papers.

Of course the people selling the dog aren't going to look like they're on a puppy farm. They target older ladies by looking like a happy family and then palm off an 8 month old Maltese cross on you for full price, conveniently the only one left of the litter, to someone who doesn't know a baby from a teenage dog.

Not your fault OP, but I'd probably educate your mum (and her friends) for next time.

This is spot on!

OP’s mother needs the best pet insurance she could afford and definitely needs to include dental.

and she really shouldn’t fall into the “small dog trap” when it comes to dog training. They need it as well!

Surely puppy farmers don't follow up once the pup's gone to its new home? They'd be out of there and incommunicado in case they were found out.

Years ago I nearly bought a puppy off a friend, just a little terrier mix, anyway it turned out that whilst some of the litter were terrier mix (farm dogs) some of the litter seemed to have been sired by a friend’s Irish Wolfhound! You couldn’t tell as puppies!

That confuses me too, their rep is that they take the cash and are over the hills and far away by morning. But various other caveats stand: no KC registration, no health test results, the price.

You can find reasonable breeders on Pets4Homes but you have to do you really have to check them out and know what to look for. One of ours is from P4H, but the breeder checked out - KC reg, low COI, definitely his own home (we visited twice), and he checked us out very thoroughly.

OP, at least your DM's pup has come to a loving home. As others say, insurance, vet check, love and training.

Thanks so much for your reply and this info. She tried to get him in the vet today but they were fully booked so he’s now got an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.

Your last sentence was interesting as they didn’t grill her at all apparently and didn’t ask many questions, and the only paperwork she encountered was the vaccination record.

This is what I thought, the couple were very happy to keep in touch and said to let them know when she’d named him if she likes.

And she’s been texting the woman on and off during the week to give updates.

Thinking about it, if they have some to-and-fro texts, if you mother then has a mate wanting a puppy, she might advise them to contact the people who have just sold her hers... Who will miraculously have had another litter.

Looks like a maltichon to me

SWEEEEET! My mum had a shitzu and the face was very similar.

@DoggUncertainty

How did your Mum get on at the vets?

This isn’t a bad idea actually!

Well my mum has decided to rehome him unfortunately, I would have him if I could but it’s not possible. She was already struggling with him the past couple of days but since this vet appointment she’s decided she wants her money back.
I’ve attached a photo that the vet gave her today. It says my mum is elderly which she wasn’t happy about, she’s 67 but her health isn’t great. The vet said:

• He’s approximately 5 months old
• He’s got a condition where his testicles haven’t descended and this can lead to cancer apparently if it’s not sorted early enough. The breeder should have known this.
• His vaccination record means nothing. It’s a different vet so my mum rang them and gave them the woman’s name, address and the dates of the alleged vaccines and they’ve got no trace of them
• He isn’t microchipped, which was stated in the advert, however the vet says this is illegal and he should have been chipped before sale

After the vet appointment she rang the woman and the woman denied knowing about his condition, said they’ve got the age wrong and said she was told by her vet that it’s not illegal not to get him microchipped herself. When confronted about no trace of the vaccines she then said it was her aunt who took him for them so all details would be in her name, but she wouldn’t share them.

She then said she wants him back now anyway because of all this trouble my mum is causing.

So sad situation all round, my mums had a horrendous year and this was supposed to be something to bring her happiness and for her to give a nice home to a dog.

Sorry for bad quality image, you might have to zoom.

That photo looks blurry but it isn’t on my phone. Hoping this one appears clearer.

I really hope your mum isn't going to give this poor dog back to these people.