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Breed guide · Dogs
The Greeks put dogs like her on their pottery. I've filled my phone with her.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Room to room all day, and waiting outside the bathroom door until you are back.
What's going onThe Maltese has been kept for company for a very long time, so wanting to be near you is the breed doing its job. Teach short spells alone while they are a puppy. If they are distressed when you leave, contact your vet.
At home
Brown marks under the eyes, easy to spot on a white face.
What's going onThey are tears sitting on white hair, a known risk for the Maltese. Wipe round their eyes every day with sterile eye wipes, and tell your vet if they squint or the discharge turns yellow or green.
At home
A young Maltese who skips a meal, then seems quieter and sleepier than usual.
What's going onYoung Maltese can run low on blood sugar, so three or four small meals a day keeps them steady. If they go weak, wobbly or very sleepy, contact your vet now.
At home
Hardly a hair on the sofa, and a tangle behind the ears by the end of the week.
What's going onThe white coat barely sheds, so it tangles instead. A short brush every day, and gentle handling that starts while they are small, keeps grooming easy for both of you.
At home
A little skip on a back leg, then off again as if nothing happened.
What's going onPatellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) is a known risk for a Maltese from puppyhood. Give them steps up to the sofa, keep them lean, and tell your vet if they skip a step.
At home
Squaring up to a dog three times their size in the lift, then hiding behind your feet.
What's going onMany Maltese are braver than their size. Let them meet the world on their own feet, and they will be calmer for it than a dog who is always carried.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: On a lap, with a person close by.
In Dubai: Often alone for the working day.
Their food
Built for: Fed by the people who kept them.
In Dubai: Eats when someone sits with them.
Their world
Built for: Carried, admired and groomed.
In Dubai: Meets the world from someone's arms.
The clinginess, the fussy eating and the nerves when you leave mostly come from that gap.
Most of us are not home all day, but we can give them company and their own four feet, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the health risks for a Maltese at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
They were bred for company, and time alone is easiest to learn as a puppy.
From the first week, and for life
Why
They were bred for company, and time alone is easiest to learn as a puppy.
What to do
From their first week, leave them in a safe room with a chew for a few minutes while you are home, then a little longer. Come and go without a fuss, and go back a step if they cry.
Separation distress is treatable, and home fixes can make it worse.
Any age
Why
Separation distress is treatable, and home fixes can make it worse.
What to do
Film them for twenty minutes after you leave. If you see howling, pacing, scratching at the door or accidents, don't punish it, and skip the anti-bark collar. Show the film to your vet.
A Maltese carried everywhere never learns the world is safe.
Every age, most of all up to 2 years
Why
A Maltese carried everywhere never learns the world is safe.
What to do
Walk them on their own feet. Let them meet calm dogs and new people at their own pace, and give them space rather than scooping them up.
They walk close to hot ground, and pavement heat reaches them before it reaches you.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
They walk close to hot ground, and pavement heat reaches them before it reaches you.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it.
A collar presses on a small neck every time they pull.
Every age
Why
A collar presses on a small neck every time they pull.
What to do
Clip the lead to a well-fitted harness, and keep the collar for their ID tag. Check the fit as they grow.
Mitral Valve Disease (MVD, a leaky heart valve) becomes a risk from 4 years.
Every age, most of all from 4 years
Why
Mitral Valve Disease (MVD, a leaky heart valve) becomes a risk from 4 years.
What to do
Once a week, run your hands over them and look at their eyes, ears and teeth. From four years, tell your vet if they start to cough or breathe faster while they sleep.
Young Maltese can run low on blood sugar, and extra weight strains their knees.
Every age, most of all up to 4 years
Why
Young Maltese can run low on blood sugar, and extra weight strains their knees.
What to do
Feed three or four small meals a day while they are young, weighed on kitchen scales. If they will only eat with you there, sit with them at set times rather than hand-feeding. A Body Condition Score (a check on whether they are the right weight) is in your plan from their puppy visits.
Crowding and gum disease are the first thing to watch in a Maltese, from puppyhood.
Every age, from the week they come home
Why
Crowding and gum disease are the first thing to watch in a Maltese, from puppyhood.
What to do
Brush daily with a dog toothpaste. Start with a few seconds and a reward, and build up. Watch for baby teeth that do not fall out. A professional dental clean every 6 to 12 months is in your plan from six months old.
Tear staining can start in puppyhood, and ear infections from 4 years.
Every age, ears most of all from 4 years
Why
Tear staining can start in puppyhood, and ear infections from 4 years.
What to do
Wipe round their eyes daily with sterile eye wipes, and brush a little every day. Clean their ears monthly with the solution your vet gives you, and look for hair growing inside. Monthly ear cleaning, with a look for hair inside the ear, is in your plan from age four to seven.
Patellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) is a known risk, and can get worse from 4 years.
Every age, most of all from 4 years
Why
Patellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) is a known risk, and can get worse from 4 years.
What to do
Give them steps up to the sofa and bed, and put rugs down on marble. Lift them with one hand under the chest and one under the back end, never by the front legs. An orthopaedic evaluation (a joint and bone exam) is in your plan every year from age four to seven.
Five of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Maltese
There is one Maltese: a small white lap dog with a long, silky coat, under 3.2 kg when grown. They belong to the Bichon family, so in Europe you may hear them called a Bichon Maltese. A "mini" Maltese is a seller's word, not a separate type, so ask how big both parents are.
Colours
Every Maltese is white, bright from nose to tail. Now and then you will see a soft wash of light tan or lemon on the ears. If a puppy sold as a Maltese is brown or black, ask the breeder what else is in the family.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. Feed three or four small meals a day, so their blood sugar stays steady, and start brushing their teeth the week they come home.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the flat ready
Get steps up to the sofa and bed, rugs where they run on marble, a well-fitted harness, and kitchen scales for their meals. Start the brush and the eye wipes in the first week, a few seconds at a time.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder how the puppy has grown and how they are eating, and what health tests the parents had, for their knees and eyes in particular. If the breeder mentions slow growth or a fit, ask what their vet found.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
You'll keep filling your phone. If one of the photos shows a squint, tell your vet.
Before they were yours.
Antiquity
The Greeks and Romans kept a small lap dog named after Melita, usually taken to be Malta. It appears on Greek pottery, and Aristotle mentions it.
What they still carryA very old habit of sitting on laps.
1500s to 1700s
Small white dogs were kept as lap dogs by noblewomen in Europe's courts, small enough to carry everywhere.
What they still carryA dog bred to be carried and admired.
1800s to 1888
The breed was shown in Britain and the United States, and the American Kennel Club registered it in 1888, as the Maltese Lion Dog.
What they still carryThe long white coat, and the grooming it needs.
The 20th century
Through the 20th century the Maltese became a family dog all over the world, in houses and flats alike.
What they still carryA devoted dog who wants to be with their people.
Today
In the UAE a Maltese lives in a flat, not a royal court, and still wants what the breed was made for: a lap, and their person close by.
What they still carryA dog made for a lap, and happiest with their person close by.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Maltese suits you, so might these.
Bichon FriseThe same kind of dog: a small white lap dog from the Mediterranean, a little bigger, in a curly coat.
HavaneseThe same kind of dog: Cuba's little lap dog, with a springier step and a silky coat to brush.
Shih TzuThe same gentle, easy-going temperament and calm energy, in a flatter-faced dog that prefers the cool.
Toy PoodleA similar size for apartment life in Dubai and a coat that barely sheds, in curls that need daily brushing.
