Both are crosses of a small Poodle with a toy companion breed; what sets them apart is the parent on the other side: the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for the Cavapoo, the Maltese for the Maltipoo. That parent decides the size, how much the dog sheds and which health tests matter most. On our ratings they differ only with young children, where the Cavapoo is the better fit; the Maltipoo is also a little cheaper to keep.
- Size. The Cavalier weighs about 13-18 lbs, the Maltese under 7 lbs, so a Cavapoo usually comes out bigger: 9-25 lbs against 5-20 lbs for a Maltipoo. In both crosses most of the spread comes from the Poodle parent, Toy or Miniature, so ask how big it is. A Maltipoo from a Toy Poodle can weigh 5-6 lbs and is fragile: a jump off the sofa or a toddler's tight grip can hurt it. That is why we rate the Maltipoo lower with young children.
- Predictability. Neither cross has a breed standard, and the AKC registers neither. A first-generation (F1) puppy can take after either parent in size, coat and temperament; an F1b, bred back to a Poodle, is more Poodle-like and more often curly.
- Coat. We rate both low-shedding, as most have a Poodle-type coat. But the Cavalier has a silky coat that sheds moderately, the Maltese a single coat with no undercoat that sheds little. So an F1 Cavapoo that takes after its Cavalier parent is more likely to shed than an F1 Maltipoo. Curly coats of either cross need clipping every few weeks. Neither is allergen-free: the coats of the actual parents tell you more than the name.
- Character. Both are companion dogs that follow their people around and do poorly when left alone for long workdays. A Maltipoo often inherits the Maltese's keen alert bark, which matters in an apartment.
- Health. We expect 12-15 years for the Cavapoo and 10-15 for the Maltipoo. The Cavalier side carries the bigger risk: mitral valve disease, the breed's main heart problem (by age 10 nearly every Cavalier has a heart murmur), and syringomyelia, a painful spinal-cord condition. Ask a Cavapoo breeder for the Cavalier parent's heart and MRI results. For the Maltese parent of a Maltipoo, ask for a kneecap check, a heart exam and a bile acids test, which screens for a liver shunt. For the Poodle parent of either, ask for a kneecap check, an eye exam by a veterinary ophthalmologist and the prcd-PRA DNA test for an inherited form of blindness, plus a hip evaluation for a Miniature Poodle.
- Price. A Cavapoo puppy costs about $1,500-$4,000, a Maltipoo $1,000-$4,000. We estimate a year of keeping a Maltipoo at $800-$1,500, a Cavapoo at $1,000-$1,800.
Pick the Cavapoo for a slightly bigger, sturdier family dog, if the Cavalier parent's heart and MRI results are clear; pick the Maltipoo for a smaller dog that will probably shed less, in a home without toddlers. If you are also weighing the Cockapoo, see Cavapoo vs Cockapoo and Cockapoo vs Maltipoo; for a purebred alternative, Havanese vs Maltipoo.