Breed Standard

Maltese Club Breed Standard

Last updated June 2015

A Breed Standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament and appearance including the correct colour of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function.

General Appearance

Smart, white-coated dog, with proud head carriage.

Characteristics

Lively, intelligent, alert.

Temperament

Sweet-tempered.

 Head and Skull

The skull is gently rounded viewed from the front and sides but never domed or apple-headed. Stop well defined. Muzzle broad, not snipey. Slightly shorter from nose to stop than from stop to occiput. Muzzle never shorter than in the ratio of 1:2. Nose black.

Eyes

Oval, not bulging, dark brown, black eye rims, with dark haloes.

 Ears

Long, well feathered, hanging close to head; hair to mingle with coat at shoulders.

Mouth

Jaws strong, with perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Teeth even.

Neck

Medium length.

Forequarters

Legs short and straight. Shoulders well sloped.

Body

Well balanced, essentially short and cobby. Good spring of rib, back level from withers to tail.

Hindquarters

Legs short, well angulated.

Feet

Round, pads black.

Tail

Feathered, carried well arched over back.

Gait/Movement

Straight and free-flowing, without weaving. Viewed from behind, legs should neither be too close nor too wide apart.

Coat

Reasonable length, never impeding action, straight, of silky texture, never woolly. Never crimped and without woolly undercoat.

Colour

Pure white, but slight lemon markings permissible.

 Size

Height not exceeding 25 cms (10 ins) from ground to withers.

 Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work.

 Note

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.