- Permissible: Pure white, a pale ivory tinge
- Traces of pale orange shades but not and constitute an imperfection
About the Maltese
Origin: Central Mediterranean Basin
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 1.8-3.2 kg
- Height
- 18-23 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Companion and Toy Dogs
- Origin
- Central Mediterranean Basin
- Known hereditary risks
- 4 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a Maltese?
An ancient toy breed from the Mediterranean with a long, silky white coat and charming, playful personality combined with a fearless nature despite their diminutive size
Maltese history and origins
One of the world's oldest known breeds dating back over 2000 years, originating from the island of Malta. Historically known as 'Ye Ancient Dogge of Malta' and prized as companions to royalty and aristocracy throughout Mediterranean civilizations and European nobility
Maltese appearance and size
Typically 1.8-3.2 kg and 18-23 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Companion and Toy
- Behaviour and temperament
“Lively, affectionate, very calm and very intelligent”
Quoted from FCI standard n°65. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Companion and Toy” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 1 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 4 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Maltese
What you get with the Maltese
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion and Toy”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Lively, affectionate, very calm and very intelligent”
What you are taking on
- 3 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in heart & circulation and eyes. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Dense, shiny, glossy - falling heavily and of a silky texture, very long on the whole of…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; Congenital portosystemic shunts in Maltese and Australian cattle dogs (van den Ingh et al.). One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Maltese
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
Dense, shiny, glossy - falling heavily and of a silky texture, very long on the whole of the body and straight throughout its length without traces of waves or curls.
On the trunk it should be longer than the height at the withers and fall heavily back to the ground like a cape fitting close to the trunk without opening or forming tufts or flocks.
Tufts or flocks are acceptable on the forequarters from the elbow to the foot, and on the hindquarters, from the stifle to the foot.
There is no undercoat.
On the head the coat is very long, -also on the foreface, where it mingles with the beard and also on the skull where it falls eventually mingling with the hair covering the ears.
On the tail, the hairs fall back to one side of the body, i.e. on the flank and on the thigh, of such length as to reach the hock
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°65 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Maltese down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Roman nose.
- Accentuated undershot mouth.
- Size in males over 26 cm or below 19 cm. Size in females over 25 cm or below 18 cm
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Accentuated divergence or convergence of the head planes.
- Total depigmentation of the nose or nose of other colour than black.
- Overshot mouth.
- Wall eye.
- Total depigmentation of the eyelids.
- Tail-less, shortened tail, whether congenital or acquired.
- Frizzy coat.
- Any colour other than white, with exception of pale ivory.
- Patches of different colours whatever their extension
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Maltese in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Maltese
Known hereditary risks for the Maltese breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
4 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Heart & circulation
Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
Serious
A blood vessel that should close soon after birth stays open, straining the heart; left untreated it can lead to heart failure. Maltese is named among the breeds predisposed to PDA, the most common congenital heart defect in dogs.
What to ask for
Cardiac exam (auscultation, ideally by a board-certified cardiologist) annually from one year of age on both parents, with an echocardiogram if a murmur is heard.
Bones & joints
Patellar luxation
Monitor
The kneecap slips out of its groove; OFA patella screening is one of the American Maltese Association's CHIC-recommended tests.
What to ask for
OFA patellar luxation exam (graded 0-4) on both parents from one year of age.
Eyes
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA)
Serious
An inherited retinal degeneration causing progressive, permanent blindness, usually starting with night blindness.
What to ask for
Annual CERF/OFA eye exam plus a DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy on both parents before breeding, per the American Maltese Association.
Digestion & liver
Congenital portosystemic (liver) shunt
Serious
An abnormal blood vessel lets blood bypass the liver, so toxins build up in the bloodstream; signs include stunted growth, poor appetite, disorientation after meals and seizures. Maltese is reported to carry around 20 times the risk of other breeds, and the condition is considered hereditary in this breed.
What to ask for
A fasting and post-prandial (2-hour) serum bile acids test, recommended by the American Maltese Association at 8 to 12 weeks of age, on the puppy and, where records exist, on litters the parents have already produced.
How long the Maltese lives, in the records
Median survival 13.1 years
95% confidence interval 12.6–13.5 years, from 666 recorded deaths among 2,064 dogs
Mortality hazard 0.93 (0.86, 1) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Gallery
No photographs yet
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Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Maltese breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.