Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 04:45:13 -0800
From: Kelly Co Postmaster
To: Maltese Lovers
Subject: Maltese Lovers e-Letter Vol. 1, Issue 6; Dec 1999 ~

The Maltese Lovers e-Letter(SM)
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A free opt-in newsletter from The Kelly's Maltese(TM) containing tips and
topics about Maltese, and news about our pet products, pet grooming products
and updates at our website:
http://www.kellyco.com/maltese/
To cancel your subscription, see instructions at the end of this letter.
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Season's Greetings!

In this issue:
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1.  It makes me mat! ~
2.  Still time for a holiday outfit ~
3.  Star Gazer and Hair Grazer ~
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1.  It makes me mat!

The following advice about how to handle and prevent tangled matting of
Maltese hair is taken from our website Maltese FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions) page at:
http://www.kellyco.com/maltese/FAQ.html

Q: My Maltese's hair gets very tangled--what can I use to keep her hair from
being so matted!?
A: While there are at least a few great products we will recommend to help
reduce matting, it should first be pointed out that there are also important
preventive measures to be taken. Consider this: if you loved to romp, roll,
play and sleep hard, but did not groom yourself, how long do you think it
would take for your hair to become tangled and matted? I'd guess less than a
week. And so it is with our Maltese. A Maltese dog should be bathed about
once a week with good shampoos and conditioners AND, if possible, groomed with
a brush and comb every day, or at least once every few days, to keep her
hair from getting matted between baths.

The following products and methods are useful, depending on the
circumstances or applications, for preventing or handling problem matting.

ON WET HAIR (after bathing): apply one of the following after-shampoo
conditioners, full strength, while the coat is still wet. Work it into the
coat, then rinse the coat slightly to distribute the conditioner throughout
the coat, but do not rinse it out. For fine or extra soft hair, try Unicure®
Hair and Skin Conditioner. For full bodied hair, try Coat Handler(TM) Coat
Conditioner, or PetSilk(TM) Conditioning (or Bright White) Silk Rinse. While
the coat is still wet during blow-drying, pull the matted areas apart with
your fingers and use the first couple of teeth of a steel comb, pulling
lengthwise near the edges of the mat, to comb out the tangles. Then brush
out the coat with a pin brush, and finally, comb out normally with the steel
comb.

ON TANGLED DRY HAIR: never comb out tangled mats when the hair is dry! For
lightly to moderately tangled hair, liberally apply either Unicoat®
Detangler spray, PetSilk Leave-in Conditioner spray, or Coat Handler
Sensational Detangler spray to directly saturate the matted area(s). For
heavily tangled hair, apply either Unicure Hair and Skin Conditioner or Coat
Handler Coat Conditioner, full strength, to directly saturate the matted
area(s). In either case, use the same technique to comb out as described for
wet hair while blow-drying the hair.

PREVENTIVE FOR DRY UNTANGLED HAIR: apply PetSilk Liquid Silk with the
following technique--pour several drops into the palm of your hand (covering
about the size of a half dollar), rub your hands together and immediately
apply it and work it into the coat, then comb it out.

OTHER PREVENTIVE TREATMENTS: see article 1) of Vol. 1 Issue 5, Nov 1999, of
The Maltese Lovers e-Letter(SM) in our e-Letter Issues Archive to learn how
to use Unicure Hair and Skin Conditioner and Neutrogena® Body Oil to put your
dog's coat "in oil" as an occasional conditioning treatment that leaves the
hair shiny, silky, manageable and tangle free.  The e-Letter Issues Archive
is located at:
http://www.kellyco.com/mail-lists/mlarchive.html

Note: all products mentioned above are available in our Pet Grooming
Products Catalog:
http://www.kellyco.com/pet-products/grooming.html

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2.  Still time for a holiday outfit

If you hurry, you could still get some holiday style apparel or accessories
for your doggy in time for the holiday festivities.  To see samples of
what's available in our Pet Variety Products Catalog, click the Pet Apparel
link at:
http://www.kellyco.com/pet-products/variety.html

(Note:  there's also some Maltese Christmas cards available.)

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3.  Star Gazer and Hair Grazer

I'm thinking warm thoughts, remembering that summer evening when we were
sleeping under the stars.  Lacey was in her usual spot, right next to my
head on my pillow, and Jazzy took her usual place, under the covers in my
sleeping bag next to my right leg.  While I gazed at the stars and pondered
the vastness of outer space, Jazzy licked away on my tasty leg, or maybe she
was grooming me for a change.  Suddenly, she got hold of some of my leg hair
between her front teeth and gave a quick yank.  "Oouw!"

Needless to say, we immediately had a brief discussion about it.  I guess
she thought my hair was matted--well, after all, that's how it felt when I
groomed her, right?

Since then, I've been just a little bit more considerate while grooming my
doggies.

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We were thinking about planning another scheduled chat for this month, but
realized how busy everyone will probably be with the upcoming holidays.
Perhaps we can persuade some of you to join us in the chat room in the new
millennium!  Meanwhile, we send our sincere best wishes for a joyous season
and an exciting New Year!

Until next issue...give your Maltese a hug for us, and we'll give ours a hug
for you.

The Editor
The Kelly's Maltese(TM)
E-mail: mailto:maltese@kellyco.com
Web: http://www.kellyco.com/maltese/
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