Chihuahua vs Maltese — Side by Side

	Chihuahua	Maltese
Lifespan	14-16 years	12-15 years
Size	Toy	Toy
Weight	3-6 lb	4-7 lb
Energy	Moderate	Low
Grooming	Low	High
Shedding	Moderate	Low
With kids	Not ideal for young kids	With supervision

What actually separates them

Less hair on the sofa with the Maltese. More with the Chihuahua.
Less brushing with the Chihuahua. More with the Maltese.
Calmer of the two is the Maltese. The one that needs more exercise is the Chihuahua.
Chihuahua tends to live longer — 14-16 years against 12-15 years.

The honest downside of each

Chihuahua

Chihuahuas are genuinely fragile, with thin, easily broken leg bones and, in some dogs, a soft spot in the skull that can persist into adulthood, and despite the tiny, portable image they are one of the most surrendered breeds in American shelters, not a low-commitment accessory.

Maltese

That famous pure-white coat sits on a genuinely fragile toy dog prone to a congenital heart defect, dental disease serious enough to affect other organs, and a skeleton delicate enough that a bad fall off a sofa is a real injury risk, not just a grooming project.

Read the full pages

Chihuahua · Maltese
Health problems, origin and what living with each is actually like.