Malteses are usually good with other dogs, which is the honest middle of the dog social scale: the breed record reads Usually good with dogs, and most Maltese owners find daily life with other dogs straightforward. The Maltese is a Toy dog with a Gentle, playful, charming and fearless for its size temperament and moderate energy, and its meetings with other dogs go well far more often than they go badly. Well matched playmates and a sensible owner make the usually reliable; rushed introductions, entire males meeting entire males and boring days make it less so. None of that is unusual, and none of it outweighs a fundamentally willing nature.
Puppies are enchanting; adults keep a youthful, bright playfulness for years. The Maltese has been a professional companion since antiquity, and the polish shows: gentle, playful, charming and brave entirely out of proportion to its size. The commitments are coat care or clipping appointments, daily face wiping and dental discipline. The coat needs commitment, or a neat short clip. Roman and Greek writers praised these little dogs, and they were favorites of aristocratic ladies for centuries.
It helps to see the verdict in context. The Maltese is a toy breed, 7 to 9 inches at the shoulder and 4 to 7 lb in weight, with a lifespan of 12 to 15 years. Its energy is rated 3 of 5 and its exercise need at 20 to 40 minutes daily. The breed needs 20 to 40 minutes of exercise a day, stands 7 to 9 inches tall and belongs to the Toy group, with roots in Malta and the Mediterranean. Read together, those lines describe exactly the dog other dogs meet.
Living with another dog suits most Malteses, with the introduction done properly: neutral ground first, a parallel walk, then shared space with the valuable things, food bowls, chews and favorite beds, managed separately until the relationship is proven. The breed's Toy heritage gives it a clear sense of social rules, and a resident Maltese usually enforces them fairly. Same sex pairings deserve extra thought in this breed, as they do in many: two adults of the same sex and similar age are the combination most likely to test the usually in the record, whatever the breed. A toy dog of 4 to 7 lb feels its owner's tension down the lead, and the breed reads it faithfully.
In return you get an ancient, charming companion that has been perfecting the job for thousands of years. They are better with older children, because a dropped or stepped on Maltese can be seriously hurt, and they are usually good with other small dogs and cats. They bond closely to their people, follow the household's day and expect, reasonably by their lights, to be at the center of it.
No verdict lives alone on the record. Alongside Usually good with dogs for other dogs, the Maltese carries Well suited for apartment life and a coat described as Long, silky white coat with no undercoat; low shedding. The record's color line reads: Pure white (faint lemon on the ears is tolerated). The breed's known health watch points, Patellar luxation, Heart disease and Liver shunt, belong in any long term plan for a second dog, because two aging dogs are a different household from two young ones.
Look sideways for a moment at the breeds this record finds most similar: the Pomeranian, the Pražský Krysařík and the Mi-Ki. Their dog to dog verdicts differ in the details, which is the point: similarity of build and coat does not mean similarity of social style. The Maltese's own verdict, Usually good with dogs, was assigned on its own pattern of behavior, and it is the one to plan around, with the shortlist above serving as the comparison set if a second, different breed joins the home.
Plan for care settings before you need them. Ask how groups are composed and what happens to a dog that wants out; good facilities screen, split by size and energy, and let a dog rest. Match playmates honestly: the Maltese is toy, 4 to 7 lb, with moderate energy, and it does best with dogs in its own league. Finally, meet the exercise need first. A Maltese that has had its 20 to 40 minutes is a diplomat; the same dog on a rainy day indoors is a critic.
Adults are in a long prime, and the standing jobs are teeth, coat and keeping weight measured in ounces. Old Maltese often stay bright and engaged remarkably late, and they never stop expecting to be the center of the home.
The arithmetic of a second dog deserves one honest paragraph. None of that argues against the second dog; multi dog homes are where this breed's Usually good with dogs verdict earns its keep. The cost record puts food near $7 a month for a typical 6 lb Maltese and insurance between $40 and $70 a month.
Yes. In the Maltese's case the setting matters as much as the rule: this is a breed with moderate energy and a bark level of 4 out of 5, so its social life happens against a fairly specific home backdrop. The record rates Malteses as Usually good with dogs, and multi dog homes are a normal outcome for this breed when the introduction is done in stages: neutral ground, a parallel walk, then shared space with feeding kept separate until the pattern is set. Match the second dog's energy to the Maltese's 20 to 40 minute daily need and the pairing usually settles within weeks.
Mostly, with the breed's conditions attached. With the Maltese, whose typical weight runs 4 to 7 pounds and whose lifespan reaches 12 to 15 years, the honest answer also changes a little across the dog's life, from puppyhood to senior status at about 10 years. The record reads Usually good with dogs, and a Maltese that is exercised, socialized and recalled reliably is a good park dog. Parks concentrate exactly the variables that test any breed: unknown dogs, high arousal and inattentive owners. If your Maltese is in a reactive phase, a quiet field and one known playmate will do more for it than any park, whatever its rating says. Maltese carry themselves like little aristocrats and then undo the effect with clowning.
Start by checking the boring causes: pain, poor sleep and too little exercise, since a Maltese needs 20 to 40 minutes a day and an under exercised dog has a short fuse. The Maltese's own numbers frame it: shedding at 1 out of 5, grooming at 5 out of 5, and a height of 7 to 9 inches, which is the household this social pattern has to fit into. Then work at distance with a qualified, force free trainer: parallel walks and calm repetitions, not flooding at the park. Individual temperament varies inside every breed, and a single difficult Maltese does not rewrite a record that reads Usually good with dogs; it just gets its own plan.
Last updated: November 10, 2026