By our ratings the Maltipoo comes out ahead wherever the two differ: easier coat care, better with children, quicker to train. The case for the Maltese is predictability: a pure breed with a written standard, so you know how big the dog will be and what its coat will look like, and its puppy price tops out lower.
- Size. The AKC standard puts the Maltese under 7 lbs, with 4-6 lbs preferred. The Maltipoo, a cross of the Maltese with a Toy or Miniature Poodle, has no standard and ranges from about 5 to 20 lbs; most of that spread comes from the Poodle parent, so ask how big the Poodle parent is. A dog this small is fragile: a jump off the sofa or a toddler's tight grip can hurt it. That is why we rate the Maltese lower with young children; a Maltipoo from a Toy Poodle can be just as small, one from a Miniature Poodle is sturdier.
- Predictability. A Maltese puppy grows into a white, long-coated toy dog within a narrow size range. A first-generation (F1) Maltipoo 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. The AKC does not register the Maltipoo, and there is no breed standard to judge a litter against.
- Coat. The Maltese has a single coat of long, straight, silky hair with no undercoat. Kept long, it needs daily brushing, so many pet owners keep it in a short puppy cut. The white face also shows tear stains. A Maltipoo's coat is wavy or curly, comes in white, cream, apricot and other colors, and needs regular clipping. Both shed little, but neither is allergen-free.
- Character. Both are companion dogs that want to be with their people and do poorly when left alone for long workdays. Both are alert barkers, which matters in an apartment.
- Health. We expect 12-15 years for the Maltese and 10-15 for the Maltipoo. Small mouths make both prone to dental disease, so plan on brushing their teeth. For a Maltese, or 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, 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 Maltese puppy costs about $1,000-$3,000, a Maltipoo $1,000-$4,000; the yearly cost is about the same for both.
Pick the Maltese if you want a very small, predictable lap dog and enjoy grooming or plan to keep it in a puppy cut; pick the Maltipoo for a family dog that is easier to train and, if bred from a Miniature Poodle, a little sturdier. With either, choose a breeder based on the parents' health test results. If you want a purebred low-shedder that is sturdier than the Maltese, look at the Havanese or the Bichon Frise.