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2007-03-25 09:55:29 · 3 answers · asked by pacman g 1 in Pets Dogs

3 answers

As an aristocrat of the canine world, this ancient breed has been known by a variety of names throughout the centuries. Originally called the Melitaie Dog, he has also been known as "Ye Ancient Dogge of Malta", the Roman Ladies' Dog, the Comforter Dog, the Spaniel Gentle, the Bichon, the Shock Dog, the Maltese Lion Dog and the Maltese Terrier. Sometime within the past century, he has come to simply be known as the Maltese. The breed's history can be traced back many centuries. Some have placed its origin at two or three thousand years ago and Darwin himself placed the origin of the breed at 6000 BC.1

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 2. Maltese are generally associated with the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. 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 [1] [2] [3] [4] before the cuteness factor was locked in. The Isle of Malta (or Melitae as it was then known) was a geographic center of early trade, and explorers undoubtedly found ancestors of the tiny, white dogs left there as barter for necessities and supplies. The dogs were favored by the wealthy and royalty alike and were bred over time to specifically be a companion animal. Some royals that purportedly owned Maltese were Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, Josephine Bonaparte and Marie Antoinette.
A maltese without long hair
A maltese without long hair

At the time of the Apostle Paul, Publius, the Roman governor of Malta, had a Maltese named Issa of which he was very fond. In this connection the poet Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial), born in A.D. 38 at Bilbilis in Spain, made this attachment famous in one of his celebrated epigrams:

"Issa is more frolicsome than Catulla's sparrow.
Issa is purer than a dove's kiss.
Issa is gentler than a maiden.
Issa is more precious than Indian gems...
Lest the last days that she sees light
should snatch her from him forever,
Publius has had her picture painted."

It is said that the painting of the dog was so life-like that one could not tell the dog from the picture.

Another interesting fact is that the word "ISSA" is still a very common word in the Maltese Language, which translates to the word "NOW" in English.

During the Renaissance, the poet Ludovico Ariosto in a few lines of his literary masterpiece, Orlando Furioso, describes a dog that can surely only be a Maltese.

"The tiniest dog Nature has ever produced --
Her coat of long hair, whiter than ermine,
Her movements exquisitely graceful and
Matchless elegance of appearance." ♥♥♥

2007-03-25 09:59:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

No, your lady maltese ought to be spayed. a lot of human beings love their dogs, and thanks to this, they get their canines fixed.. because your canines has a lot less chance of having particular cancers if she's fixed, and also you do not could agonize about her demise for the time of delivery. you may love your canines, yet that does no longer mean you opt for her domestic dogs. in reality, that sounds slightly obsessive and creepy. Why no longer rescue yet another canines quite of bringing a (maximum in all probability poorly bred) muddle into the international. only because someone could take the domestic dogs, does no longer mean you're obligated to create them. it continues to be fullyyt as a lot as you. And the to blame ingredient could be to assert your canines is rarely going into warmth and then get her fixed. you should no longer breed her, no longer to point with only any male off the line. only because they're qualified and vaccinated does no longer mean they're healthful and carry solid genes, nor does it propose they're solid representatives of their breed. So what in the adventure that they are beautiful? There are way extra important issues. the actual undeniable reality that you suggested cuteness makes me extraordinarily efficient you is probably not breeding. No credible breeder is going to allow their canines to mate with yours. you don't understand what you're doing, and a respected breeder could purely facilitates their canines to reproduce with yet another respected breeder's (no longer you) canines.

2016-12-02 19:16:48 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

Malta

2007-03-25 10:05:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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