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Maltese

The breeds · companion

AKC Toy · UKC Companion · FCI standard 65

Maltese.

AKC page: a toy companion, playful, charming and adaptable. AKC standard: a toy dog, gentle-mannered and affectionate, with the vigor needed for the satisfactory companion. UKC: a toy bichon prized for beauty and companionship. FCI 65: utilization companion and toy. RKC: pampered pets in Mediterranean countries for centuries. Wikipedia: kept for companionship, ornament or competitive exhibition; the modern breed cannot be tied by pedigree to the ancient one and emerged in the Victorian era..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.1YRMedian lifespan12.6 to 13.5, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
4–9LBWeight, all linesbreed 4 to 8.8 lb.
0.5HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 30 minutes per day; suits a flat or apartment; town or country; small to medium garden.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 7 to 10 in · bitches 7 to 9.1 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

The AKC breed page breed-wide band is counted in both sex rows. 23 cm = 9.06 in, shown as 9.1. No standard prints a single ideal.

Weight

4 to 8.8 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1964

Registries differ: the AKC caps the dog under 7 lb and prefers 4 to 6, UKC and FCI sit higher (6 to 8 lb; 6.6 to 8.8 lb). All shown; low is the AKC preferred floor, high is the FCI ceiling (4 kg = 8.8 lb; Wikipedia rounds the same figure to 9 lb). No single ideal is printed, so center is blank.

Coat

AKC: single coat without undercoat, long, flat and silky, hanging almost to the ground; the head hair may be tied in a topknot or left hanging; pure white, light tan or lemon on the ears permissible but not desirable. UKC: single coat, silky, straight, flat, hanging from a center part; pure white, ivory tinge or traces of orange permitted as an imperfection. FCI 65: dense, glossy, silky, very long, no waves or curls, no undercoat; pure white, pale ivory tinge permitted. RKC: standard colours white, white with black points, white with lemon markings. Wikipedia: tear staining is common in white dogs.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1964

Registries agree on a long white single coat. Tail docking is a UKC serious fault; FCI disqualifies a tailless or shortened tail.

Shedding

RKC: does not shed. AKC page: shedding level 1 of 5. Wikipedia: does not shed.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Registry bands; no study opened.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · AKC standard: coat single, without undercoat, hanging long, flat and silky almost to the ground. UKC: single coated, no undercoat. FCI 65: dense, shiny, silky, no undercoat; coat longer than the height at the withers. The muzzle is of medium length; no standard describes a flat face.

DerivedAKC breed standard, 1964

Derived from the coat. A long coat sits at 2 on the scale, a single coat with no undercoat sits higher; held at 3 as a judgement, flagged. Derived from the standard's coat description and, for the flat-faced breeds, from the registries' own statements on airway and heat; no heat-illness study was opened. Not brachycephalic.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.1 years (12.6 to 13.5)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population. Not in Teng et al. 2022. The AKC page 12 to 15 year band is a band, not a median, and is not used here. The Italian figure is Wikipedia's summary of a study that was not opened.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 30 minutes per day; suits a flat or apartment; town or country; small to medium garden.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule (up to 30 = 30).

Exercise need

AKC page bands: energy level 3 of 5, mental stimulation needs 3 of 5, playfulness 3 of 5, barking level 3 of 5. RKC: up to 30 minutes per day. FCI 65 temperament: lively, affectionate, very calm and very intelligent. American Maltese Association: happy to play, take walks or curl up in a lap; suits anything from apartment living to travel.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to minutes; RKC supplies the minutes figure.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · RKC: grooming every day; long coat; does not shed. AKC page: coat grooming frequency 4 of 5, shedding 1 of 5. American Maltese Association: a daily once-over with a pin brush or steel-tooth comb to catch mats; neglect makes a bad session and may force a short cut; a periodic short cut by a groomer is an option for a pet owner. AKC and UKC standards: single coat, no undercoat; any kinkiness, curliness or woolly texture is objectionable.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped by the library rule (every day = 4). Club and registry agree on daily brushing.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC page: a toy companion, playful, charming and adaptable. AKC standard: a toy dog, gentle-mannered and affectionate, with the vigor needed for the satisfactory companion. UKC: a toy bichon prized for beauty and companionship. FCI 65: utilization companion and toy. RKC: pampered pets in Mediterranean countries for centuries. Wikipedia: kept for companionship, ornament or competitive exhibition; the modern breed cannot be tied by pedigree to the ancient one and emerged in the Victorian era.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 65, 2015

A companion breed. The only work in any source is the history below.

Primary game

FCI 65 history: the ancestors lived in the ports and maritime cities of the central Mediterranean and hunted the mice and rats found in harbour warehouses and ship holds.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 65, 2015

History only, not a current use. No source describes the Maltese hunting today.

Field trial standard

FCI 65: Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs, Section 1 Bichons and related breeds, without working trial.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 65, 2015

No field test applies. The American Maltese Association site lists agility, running and therapy-dog pages, which were not opened.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

12.5% · 264 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 12.5% dysplastic (mild 9.8, moderate 2.3, severe 0.4), 85.2% normal. OFA rank 105.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners and breeders submit films, and poor results are less likely to be submitted), so this is not the rate across all dogs of the breed; the true population rate is not known. OFA rank 1 = highest rate among the breeds listed. The sample is small (264).

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: prone to liver and heart issues and luxating patella; should be checked for patent ductus arteriosus; tear staining. American Maltese Association (club): considered a relatively healthy breed from a reputable breeder; no specific list on the page read. Pug Dog Club of America health page: the Maltese is among the breeds at risk for necrotizing meningoencephalitis (PDE/NME). RKC: Breed Watch category 1 (no points of concern specific to the breed); best-practice screening is the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia is the only source for the named disorders and cites sources that were not opened. No VetCompass Maltese paper was read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 4; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Maltese Dog, Maltese Lion Dog

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