Side by side

Toy

Small

30–33 cm (AKC)

5.9–8.2 kg (AKC)

Moderate

Moderate. Both standards call the Cavalier active, and the FCI calls it sporting.

Moderate

The coat is silky and of moderate length, free from curl, though a slight wave is allowed, with long feathering on the ears, chest, legs and tail and on the feet.

United Kingdom

Both standards describe a gay, friendly, non-aggressive dog with no tendency to nervousness; the FCI adds sporting, affectionate and absolutely fearless. The AKC calls the Cavalier sweet, gentle and very eager to please, and friendly with strangers and other animals.

Toy

Toy

20–25 cm (FCI: males 21–25 cm, females 20–23 cm; Royal Kennel Club: not exceeding 25 cm; the AKC standard sets weight only, no height)

under 3.2 kg (AKC: under 7 lb, 4–6 lb / ~1.8–2.7 kg preferred; CKC: under 3.25 kg, 1.75–2.75 kg preferred); FCI 3–4 kg

Moderate

Moderate companion energy on this site’s badge (FCI utilization is Companion and Toy, with no working trial; AKC frames the breed’s vigour as what’s “needed for the satisfactory companion”). The standards do not describe a sedentary dog: AKC calls the Maltese “eager and sprightly in action,” “lively and playful as well as vigorous,” and describes a “jaunty, smooth, flowing gait” that gives “an impression of rapid movement, size considered.

Moderate

The Maltese has a single coat with no undercoat (AKC, CKC and FCI; The Royal Kennel Club says “without woolly undercoat”).

Central Mediterranean (Italy, FCI patronage)

The standards paint a small dog with a big, sunny presence. AKC: “For all his diminutive size, the Maltese seems to be without fear.