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Side by side
Choose two breeds. You’ll see the same strip of citeable traits — not a winner, and not kids / apartment / shedding scorecards.
Temperament lines are short plate excerpts, not a verdict. Open each plate for the full entry.
- AKC group
Toy
- Size
Toy
- Height
20–28 cm (registry-specific; AKC 8–11 in / ~20.3–27.9 cm, DQ over 12 in; FCI about 28 cm; Royal Kennel Club 20–28 cm; CKC ideal 20.25–28 cm)
- Weight
~2.3–4.5 kg (AKC breed-page summary 5–10 lb; FCI categories under 2.5 kg, or 2.5–4.5 kg dogs / 2.5–5 kg bitches, minimum 1.5 kg; AKC, CKC and Royal Kennel Club standards give no numeric weight — “in proportion to height”)
- Energy
Moderate
- Energy notes
Moderate, in line with this site’s other Toy plates. The standards still describe a lively dog: AKC’s general appearance is “of lively action”; The Royal Kennel Club’s temperament is “lively… always alert”; FCI asks for an easy and elegant gait and a lively personality.
- Trainability
Very high
- Coat
The coat is abundant, long, fine, silky, flowing and straight, with resilient quality, lying flat on the back and sides of the body, with a profuse frill on the chest and no undercoat (AKC, CKC and The Royal Kennel Cl…
- Origin
France / Belgium
- Temperament
AKC asks for a dog that is “happy, alert and friendly. Neither shy nor aggressive.
- AKC group
Toy
- Size
Toy
- Height
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)
- Weight
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
- Energy
Moderate
- Energy notes
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.
- Trainability
Moderate
- Coat
The Maltese has a single coat with no undercoat (AKC, CKC and FCI; The Royal Kennel Club says “without woolly undercoat”).
- Origin
Central Mediterranean (Italy, FCI patronage)
- Temperament
The standards paint a small dog with a big, sunny presence. AKC: “For all his diminutive size, the Maltese seems to be without fear.
