Maltese: temperament, training and care

At a glance

Temperament

• Gentle, playful lap dog
• Hardly sheds
• Can be hard to house-train

Training tips

Take them out after every nap, meal and play: tiny bladders need more trips.

Malteses can be independent thinkers. Find what your dog will really work for, keep sessions short and fun, and expect to repeat things more often than with an eager-to-please breed.

Start with a marker word, sit, come and leave it. For a puppy, see the puppy training guides.

Exercise and energy

A healthy adult Maltese typically needs around 30 to 30 minutes of activity a day. Mix walks with sniffing and short training games: mental work tires dogs as much as running does. Puppies need much shorter sessions while they grow.

See how much exercise a dog needs and our games and enrichment ideas.

Health to watch

Things the breed is known to be prone to. Ask your vet what to check for your dog.

• Teeth. A small mouth crowds the teeth: brush them a few times a week.
• Kneecaps. Kneecaps can slip: a skip or hop on a back leg is worth showing the vet. See: Broken Bone or Sprain.
• Eyes. Prominent or sensitive eyes: see the vet the same day for squinting or a cloudy eye. See: Eye Injuries.