Side by side

Toy

Toy

~13–20 cm (AKC profile)

1–3 kg (FCI)

Moderate

Moderate. The Chihuahua loves to run and play but can usually get enough exercise in a small space, and the AKC says trotting around after its people is often enough, with short, slow walks to keep it fit.

Moderate

There are two coats.

Mexico

Big personality, tiny frame: the AKC standard asks for an alert dog with 'terrier-like' self-importance, confidence and self-reliance. The Kennel Club describes a gay, spirited and intelligent dog, neither snappy nor withdrawn, and the FCI a quick, lively and very courageous one.

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.