Dog breed guide
Maltese
The Maltese has a long, straight, silky white coat that the Royal Kennel Club says needs grooming every day. It is sweet tempered and very intelligent, needs up to 30 minutes of exercise a day and suits flat or apartment living.
Also searched as Maltese.
Maltese at a glance
- Adult weight, male
- 2 to 3 kg
- Adult weight, female
- 2 to 3 kg
- Size
- Small, under 10 kg
- Coat
- good length, straight and silky in texture, never woolly
Ratings
Petboost editorial ratings from 1 to 5, drawn from the breed standard text under Sources. A breed with no basis in the sources for a rating shows none.
- Grooming effort
- Energy
- Suits an apartment
5 means it needs the most grooming
5 means it needs a lot of exercise
5 means it copes best in a small home
Next steps
- Find a local groomer or daycarePet businesses near you that take bookings online.
- Check a Maltese puppy's weightWhere a puppy sits against the breed's adult range.
- Dog age in human yearsFrom a formula, not the seven-to-one rule.
Sources
- Petboost breed reference data, adult weight ranges (breed list snapshot).
- Dogs Australia, Maltese breed standard, https://dogsaustralia.org.au/members/breeds/breed-standards/Maltese, read 2026-10-05
- Royal Kennel Club (formerly The Kennel Club), Maltese breed information, https://www.royalkennelclub.com/search/breeds-a-to-z/breeds/toy/maltese/, read 2026-10-05
General information about the breed, not veterinary advice. Speak with your vet about your own pet.