Maltese

The Maltese is an adorable dog that is very attached to his social group, with whom he wants to spend all of his time. In no way solitary or independent, he requires a lot of attention and affection.

Very jovial, the Maltese dog’s main priority is spending time with his masters; and if that doesn’t include playing, so be it! He will make a great pet for children, but they still need to respect him to make sure the interactions go smoothly.

Despite his ability to be very energetic with his master, this dog appreciates calm moments more than anything, especially to be stroked and cuddled; and if on the sofa, even better!

While he’s only used as a pet, the Maltese Dog is very intelligent and can greatly excel in a diverse range of activities, including dog dancing, for example.

This dog has no predatory instinct at all, despite the fact that he used to serve to hunt mice. Today, he is able to live in the company of small animals, especially if he’s grown up with them.

This little dog can be quite aggressive in the face of intruders, but will only display his discontent by barking. Once he has figured out a stranger, he will then know if he can approach them for strokes, or if he should continue barking to scare them off.

The Maltese Dog is truly dependent of his master. He hates being isolated and doesn’t deal well with being left alone. His only aim is to please his master and has even been known to stare adoringly at his owner for long periods of time as a sign of affection.

This little snowball is very dependent and attached to his master as well as his social group. If he isn’t surrounded by people all day (such as retired people, for example), it will be necessary to teach him from a young age how to cope with being alone.

To do this, it will be necessary to make the absences as positive as possible, by providing him with dog toys, for example, and making the absences progressive (5 minutes, then 10, then 15, then 30, etc.). This will be necessary to avoid separation anxiety, which can make for a stressful cohabitation.

In any case, the Maltese won’t tolerate prolonged absences, so it’s not possible to leave him alone from morning to evening. For busy owners, it will be a question of finding the time to go home during lunch, to elicit the help of a dog sitter or to take him to work if possible.

Intelligent, lively and docile, the Maltese is very friendly and easy to train if you take the time to teach him the basics from when he’s a puppy.

His small size does not justify an omission of training. Even small dogs must have limits, rules, and a basic education to properly integrate into the household, but also into society more generally. 

Therefore, you should train your Maltese as early as possible, to prevent him from learning bad habits. It’s much easier to learn habits than to ‘unlearn’ them, to then have to relearn new behaviours.

You should pay special attention to teaching him how to be alone, since this dog typically experiences separation very negatively.

Barking is this little dog’s principle means of communication. He barks to express a variety of emotions: excitement, frustration, distrust, etc.

The Maltese dog is far too dependent to run away. It would never occur to him to try to escape if his home is comfortable and cosy.

Not liking loneliness, it is quite possible that the Maltese could destroy objects during the absences of his masters, in order to externalise an emotional overflow.

Depending on his temperament and habits, some Maltese dogs can be very greedy, but never in excess. You should be careful not to overfeed this little dog to avoid obesity.

This dog’s size makes him an ineffective guard dog. However, his barks serve as a good alert.

Life in a flat suits this little homely dog perfectly. He loves his creature comforts and appreciates time spent indoors. 

He can equally enjoy life in the countryside with a garden to stretch his legs in, but he should never be left outside away from his social group.

With a very low need for exercise, this little dog is calm and favours the comfort of the sofa over a walk in the rain.

However, he should still be walked on a daily basis, and this shouldn’t consist of a few simple laps of the block. Even though he’s not sporty, the Maltese still needs to exert his energy to be fully content, both physically and mentally.

Travelling with this little dog is very easy. It’s actually recommended that you take him with you wherever you go, since he hates being apart from his owner.

His small size allows him to travel in public transport in a transport bag without any issues. By plane, he can travel with his master in the cabin, to his great pleasure. By car, however, it will be necessary to invest in a small transport cage to ensure his safety.

Moreover, in order to be able to take him everywhere, socialisation will be necessary so that he can cope with different situations and changes of environments. In addition, proper training will be necessary to keep him listening to you in the face of distractions.

This breed gets on well with cats, but a cohabitation from a very young age is recommended to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible.

This little dog appreciates the presence of his fellow dogs, but socialisation will be necessary from when he’s a puppy to get him used to interacting with other dogs and to learn the canine code.

A cohabitation is possible, but remember he’s a dog that likes to have his master’s exclusive attention. You should therefore teach him the rules of sharing from a young age.

The Maltese gets on very well with children, who he will gladly play with. However, be careful with very young kids, who can sometimes get too rough with this sensitive dog.

The elderly make ideal owners for the Maltese Dog, since being retired allows them to be present the entire day and therefore meet his needs for attention, while being careful not to spoil him too much.

His calm and inactive nature is also a definite plus point for sedentary people.

Many traits of this dog, coupled with his small size and calmness make him the perfect candidate for a first adoption. He also suits many types of people and lifestyles, including young, old, active or retired.

If you are active, it will be necessary to make arrangements to bring him to work or have another solution so that he doesn’t have to spend the whole day alone, as it won’t be good for him. This is a definite point to take into account before adoption.