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Maltese
Maltese groomed with overcoat
Origin	Central Mediterranean Region
Traits Height Males 21–25 cm (8–10 in) Females 20–23 cm (8–9 in) Weight 3–4 kg (7–9 lb) Coat white Litter size 1 to 3
Kennel club standards ENCI standard Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

The Maltese is a breed of dog in the toy group. It is thought to have originated in south-central Europe, in the Mediterranean region, from dogs of spitz type. Despite the name, it has no verified historic or scientific connection to the island of Malta. It is genetically related to the Bichon, Bolognese, and Havanese breeds.

In Ancient Greece and Rome a widespread variety of small dog was associated by some writers with the island of Malta. It has been suggested that it was similar to the latter Pomeranian breeds with their short snout, prick ears, and bulbous heads. No connection between this ancient type and the modern breed is known.

The modern Maltese has a silky, pure-white coat, hanging ears and a tail that curves over its back, and weighs some 3–4 kg (7–9 lb). It is kept for companionship, for ornament, or for competitive exhibition.

History

In Greece in the classical period a variety of diminitive dog (νανούδιον/nanoúdion -'dwarf dog') was called a Μελιταῖον κυνίδιον (Melitaion kunídion, 'small dog from Melita'). The word 'Melita' in this adjectival form, attested in Aristotle, refers to the island of Malta. The Romans called them catuli melitaei. Dogs of various sizes and shapes are depicted on vases and amphorae; on one Attic amphora from about 500 BC, excavated at Vulci in the nineteenth century and now lost, an illustration of a small dog with a pointed muzzle is accompanied by the word μελιταιε, 'melitaie'. Numerous references to these dogs are found in Ancient Greek and Roman literature. Ancient writers variously attribute its origin to the island of Malta in the Mediterranean, called Melita in Latin; to the city of Melita in Sicily; or to the Adriatic island of Mljet off the coast of Croatia, also called Melita in Latin. Strabo, writing in the early first century AD, attributed its origin to the island of Malta; others including Callimachus and Pliny claim it to be from the island of Mljet.

During the first century, the Roman poet Martial wrote descriptive verses to a lap dog named "Issa" owned by his friend Publius. It is proposed that Issa was a Maltese dog, and various sources link Martial's friend Publius with the Roman Governor Publius of Malta, though others do not identify him.

John Caius, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, also claimed that Callimachus was referring to the island of Melita "in the Sicilian strait" (Malta). This claim is often repeated, especially by English writers. The dog's links to Malta are mentioned in the writings of Abbé Jean Quintin, Secretary to the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, in his work Insulae Melitae Descriptio.

English writers in the early twentieth century also gave Malta as the place of origin of the breed.

There is probably no substance in any of these various theories; nor – despite the name – is there any verified historic or scientific connection between these dogs and the island of Malta or any demonstrable connection to the modern Maltese. The modern breed is thought to have originated from spitz-type dogs in south-central Europe, where it may at first have resembled the modern Pomeranian.

In 1837 Edwin Landseer painted The Lion Dog from Malta: The Last of his Tribe, a portrait of a Maltese named Quiz commissioned by Queen Victoria as a birthday present for her mother, the Duchess of Kent, whose dog it was.

A white dog was shown as a "Maltese Lion Dog" at the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City in 1877. The Maltese was recognised as a breed by the American Kennel Club in 1888. It was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale under the patronage of Italy in 1955, at the annual meeting in Interlaken, Switzerland. Parti-coloured and solid-coloured dogs were accepted in the show ring from 1902 until 1913 in England, and as late as 1950 in Victoria, Australia.

Characteristics

The coat is dense, glossy, silky and shiny, falling heavily along the body without curls or an undercoat. The colour is pure white, however a pale ivory tinge is permitted. Adult weight is usually 3–4 kg (7–9 lb). Bitches are about 20–23 cm (8–9 in) tall, dogs slightly more.

The Maltese does not shed. Like other white dogs, it may show tear-stains.

Use

The Maltese is kept for companionship, for ornament, or for competitive exhibition. It is ranked 59th of 79 breeds assessed for intelligence by Stanley Coren.

See also

• Lap dog
• List of dog breeds

Notes

1. Aristotle, Hist Anim.ix 6,612b10

Citations

1. ^ FCI-Standard N° 65: Maltese. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed November 2021.
2. "Maltese". Animal Planet dog breed directory. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
3. ^ Michael MacKinnon, Kyle Belanger (2002) In Sickness and in Health: Care for an Arthritic Maltese Dog from the Roman Cemetery of Yasmina, Carthage, Tunisia.|first1=M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8u4mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |title=Dogs and People in Social, Working, Economic or Symbolic Interaction |last2=Belanger |first2=K. |publisher=|year=2006 | |editor1-last= In: Lynn M. Snyder, Elizabeth A. Moore (editors) (2016 ). Dogs and People in Social, Working, Economic or Symbolic Interaction: Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the International Council of Archaeozoology, Durham, August 2002. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN 9781785703997.
4. ^ Rawdon Briggs Lee (). A History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland (non-sporting division). London: The Queen & Field (Horace Cox) Ltd. (also available here).
5. Gorman, James (4 October 2021). "How Old Is the Maltese, Really?". The New York Times.
6. Cutillo, Nicholas (198). The Complete Maltese. Howel. ISBN 9780876052099.
7. "Maltese | breed of dog". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
8. ^ Busuttil, J. (1969). "The Maltese Dog". Greece & Rome. 16 (2). Cambridge University Press: 205–208. doi:10.1017/S0017383500017058.
9. Mary B. Moore, 'The Hegesiboulos Cup,' Metropolitan Museum Journal Vol. 43 (2008), pp. 11-37 p.16
10. Johnson, Helen M. (1919). "The Portrayal of the Dog on Greek Vases". The Classical World. XII (27): 213. doi:10.2307/4387846. JSTOR 4387846.
11. ^ Lillian C. Raymond-Mallock (1907). The Up-to-date Toy Dog: The History, Points and Standards of English Toy Spaniels, Japanese Spaniels, Pomeranians, Toy Terriers, Pugs, Pekinese, Griffon Bruxellois, Maltese and Italian Greyhounds .... Battle Creek, Michigan:The Dogdom Publishing Company.
12. Jean Quintin d'Autun Insulae Melitae Descriptio, 1536, vii, "Huic insulae Strabo nobiles illos, adagio, non minus quam medicinis..."
13. C. Plinius Secundus. The Historie of the World. Vol. Book III. Translated by Philemon Holland. pp. 50–71 – via BHL.
14. Serpell, James (1996). In the company of animals: a study of human-animal relationships. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 0-521-57779-9. Retrieved 2009-04-16. Note:refers to a "lap dog"
15. Blarney, Edwin Reginald; Charles Topping Inglee; American Kennel Club (1949). The complete dog book. The care, handling, and feeding of dogs; and Pure bred dogs; the recognized breeds and standards. Garden City Publishing Co. p. 622.
16. Vioque, Guillermo Galán (2002). Martial, book VII: a commentary. Translated by J. J. Zoltowski. Brill. p. 467. ISBN 90-04-12338-5.
17. Wentworth (1911). Toy Dogs and Their Ancestors: Including the History and Management of Toy Spaniels, Pekingese, Japanese, and Pomeranians. Duckworth.
18. Bryant, Jacob, Esq (1807). A New system, or, An Analysis of Antient Mythology: Wherein an Attempt is Made to Divest Tradition of Fable and to Reduce the Truth to its Original Purity. Vol. V (3rd ed.). London: J. Walker. p. 359.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
19. Jean Quintin d'Autun Insulae Melitae Descriptio (1536).
20. "The Maltese dog: a toy for ancient royalty". Times of Malta. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
21. Drury, W.E. (1903). "Ch.59-The Maltese". British Dogs, Their Points, Selection, and Show Preparation. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 574 – via Internet Archive.
22. Cramer, John Anthony (1828). Geographical and Historical Description of Ancient Greece. Clarendon Press. pp. 45–46. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
23. The Lion-Dog of Malta – The Last of His Tribe. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed November 2021.
24. ^ David Alderton (2010). Maltese. American Kennel Club. Accessed November 2021.
25. FCI breeds nomenclature: Maltese. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed November 2021.
26. David Alderton (2010). The Dog Selector: How to Choose the Right Dog for You. Hauppauge, New York: Barron's. ISBN 9780764163654.
27. Robert Leighton (1910). Dogs and all about them. London; New York: Cassell and Company, Ltd.
28. The Maltese Dog - Complete Anthology of the Dog. : Vintage Dog Books.
29. "Tear Staining". Retrieved 2021-03-16.
30. Coren, Stanley (2006). The Intelligence of Dogs. London: Pocket Books. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-4165-0287-6.

• Toy dogs
• Bichon
• Companion dogs
• Dog breeds originating in Italy
• FCI breeds
• Maltese culture