If there is one dog breed that seems to be the choice for pet lovers who enjoy grooming and styling their pets, the Maltese may be that very breed. The Maltese is a dog that has a long coat of soft white hair that may be easy to style if the owner grooms the dog properly. This hair can grow to around 12 inches long and is one of the reasons why this dog is so popular to those who want it as a pet. Grooming a Maltese may be a bit tedious for some but for those who enjoy styling their dog's hair, grooming their pet is the highlight of their day. Here are a few Maltese hairstyles that seem to be pretty popular with these dog's owners.

The Long Of It

With your Maltese dog's long hair, the possibilities for styling are pretty wide. The usual styles that Maltese pet owners have their dogs wear are the styles that usually keep the hair away from the dog's eyes. These styles are the kind of styles that allows the dog to wear bows in her hair and since the Maltese has white hair, the bows used on them are usually of the brightly colored kind.

The style that you see on top of the head of Maltese dogs is called a top knot and this can be seen in either a pair or as a single knot on top of the dog's head. The top knot is easy enough to accomplish and can be made with a comb, a soft small scrunchie or a bow. The hair is tied in a ponytail style that may be divided into two for two small top knots or placed in the middle of the dog's head in a single top knot.

The Short Of It

While these dogs are popular because of their glorious long coat of hair, there are people who find that their Maltese dog's long hair is too much of a hassle to keep at that length and they opt to cut it off for their own convenience as well as for the dog's convenience. It can be quite a hindrance for the dog to have the long hair since it cannot run around and play that much with an owner that fears the dirt that may get into the dog's hair.

The most popular style of cut that these dogs often get is called the puppy cut. This cut is called as such simply because the dog gets a haircut that makes it look like how it looked when it was still a relatively short haired pup. Those owners of Maltese dogs that don't want to cut their dog's hair but want to keep the ends from becoming dirty or scraggly when the dog gets to play outdoors usually use a technique called bundling. This is done with the use of a few items that include bundling paper which keeps the hair safe and clean inside these bundles.