Maltipoo
The Maltipoo (aka Multipoo, maltepoo) is a hybrid mix between a maltese and a poodle. The Maltipoo has a playful and affectionate nature. The Maltipoo coat can vary in color and waviness. The Maltipoo is very adaptable to small living situations like apartments and small homes and they do very well with children.
Because of the low to non shedding nature of the Maltipoo, they are considered Hypoallergenic and a great option for those with allergies.
Maltipoos make great family pets and are suited well for children and seniors and adapt well to smaller living environments such as apartments.
Learn more about Maltipoos
| HEIGHT: 7-14 inches | WEIGHT: 4-20 lbs |
| LIFESPAN: 10-13 years | ENERGY: Active |
| GOOD FOR: Children, Seniors, Cats & other pets, families |
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| TEMPERAMENT: Affectionate, Gentle, Playful, Outgoing, | INTELLIGENCE: High |
| SHEDDING: Low to none | EXERCISE NEEDS: Medium |
| BARKING LEVEL: Medium | DROOL AMOUNT: Minimal |
| COLORS: White, Cream, Apricot, Red, Black, Parti, Phantom, Brown, Fawn, Merl | |
| PATTERNS: bi-color, tri-color, phantom, merl | |
| TRAINABILITY: Easy | GROOMING NEEDS: High |
Appearance
The maltipoo is a very popular cross between the Maltese and Poodle. The maltipoo can weigh between 3 and 20 lbs and can stand between 4 and 14 inches at the shoulder. They can have various colors including white, cream, peach, gold, brown, black, gray or a mixture of any. They can be a solid color or be a combination of 2 or more colors. In most cases, the white coat from the maltese mixes with the colored poodle and creates a coat that is on the lighter side. Their coat is medium to long and usually curly, similar to their poodle ancestors. There are 3 basic coat types with Maltipoos, straight and silky, thick and curly, or wavy and wiry. The coat varies depending on whether the Poodle or Maltese genes are most dominant. The coat is typically hypoallergenic meaning unlikely to cause an allergic reaction.
Adaptability - ★★★★☆
Good for apartment or small living environments
The Maltipoos are very adaptable in small living environments like apartments due to their small size. Although they need their daily exercise, Maltipoos are relatively low energy compared to other toy-sized breeds. If they are well socialized early on in their life, they will also be very welcoming with visitors that come over.
Highly Sensitive Temperament
The Maltipoo is a very loyal and affectionate breed. They are highly sensitive to unknown environments and stern reprimand. They always seek your affection and while other dogs can tolerate a loud tone or a chaotic household, the Maltipoo does much better in calm environments with a lot of praise and positive reinforcement.
Low Tolerance for being left alone
Although it isn’t healthy to leave any dog alone for too long, the Maltipoo is especially sensitive to being left alone for long hours and will develop separation anxiety that can leave to other behavioral issues like chewing on their bedding or other household items, barking, whining, and more. If you give your Maltipoo an ample amount of love and attention, they will repay you with perfect adoring behavior.
Good for first-time dog owners
Because of the easy well-mannered nature of the Maltipoo, they can be a perfect option for first-time dog owners. Although, you will need to practice plenty of patience during house training as a puppy, as with any dog. Once you spend this time and build a bond with them, they will be your most loyal friend for life.
Does not do well in extreme weather
Although the Maltipoo can develop a thick coat, due to their small size, they are very sensitive to extreme hot and cold temperatures and should only be considered adopting if they primarily live in your home. Although they love to play outdoors, if it is a hot summer, be sure they are around an area with plenty of shade, have water nearby and aren’t left alone for too long. In the winter months, depending on the weather, they will likely only enjoy 15 minutes at a time outside and it is highly encouraged to equip them with a doggy sweater.
Friendliness - ★★★★☆
Family friendly
Maltipoos are very loyal and affectionate towards family and love to bond with their owners. This derives from the poodle being bred to work with their owners as water dogs and the Maltese being bred to be a lap dog companion.
They do very well with tolerating small children and babies, but because of their small size, it’s important to teach children how to properly handle and be soft with the Maltipoo. Where a larger breed might be able to withstand a child falling on them and brush it off, this could be a critical situation for such a small breed.
Dog Friendly
Maltipoos are excellent pack mates and can do very well with other dogs. They do not have a dominant temperament and their nature is to roll around and play rather than fight. With proper socialization early on in your Maltipoos life, they will grow up to be every other dogs best and caring friend.
Friendly with Visitors
Although the Maltipoo can be a little skittish, towards new people they generally warm up to people quickly as long as they have a kind and warm tone. They are rarely if ever aggressive towards strangers. They will most likely either run up to greet visitors to take advantage of being petted, or keep their distance if they have a more nervous temperament.
This page includes all of the information you need to learn about the Maltipoo broken down by the following categories:
Trainability - ★★★★☆
Easy to train
Maltipoos love spending time with their owners and develop quick associations with obedience training commands due to their yearning for positive reinforcement. Although many breeds are very smart, they can have a different agenda and need more time spent to have them focused on obeying you.
Intelligent
Maltipoos are very intelligent due to their poodle ancestry being in the top two smartest breeds. They catch onto things very quickly and crave your affection making them very easy to train.
Does not have a “Prey” drive
Maltipoos are very curious dogs but they do not have an aggressive or prey drive. They’re most comfortable making friends with new dogs or people and are mostly bred to be a loyal companion/lap dog.
Have a tendency to bark
Maltipoos can be very vocal and have a tendency to bark at strangers or unknown environments. Barking can be a sign of fear, anxiety, or curiosity. Depending on their reason, you can proactively train your Maltipoo to only bark in appropriate circumstances.
Health and Care Needs - ★★★☆☆
Grooming Needs
The Maltipoo has a low to non shedding coat which means their hair will continue growing and needs a regularly scheduled groom every 6 - 12 weeks. Maltipoos generally keep themselves very clean they will need regular cleaning and a daily brush to keep your Maltipoos coat from getting matted and tangled. Lighter colored Maltipoos are also prone to tear stains which can be reduced or eliminated with proper care.
General Health
Maltipoos can live to be up to 14 years old and are generally pretty healthy and active dogs. Although all dogs are prone to health issues, some potential health issues of the Maltipoo due to their small size are White shaker syndrome, Epilepsy, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, and Leg-calve-perthe disease. Some of these potential health risks can be reduced through proper breeding and genetic testing which is why we offer a 10-year health guarantee on all of our puppies.
Size
The Maltipoo size will vary depending on whether the parent is a toy or mini poodle. They are generally 8 to 14 inches tall and weigh 5 to 20 pounds. If you are considering adding a Maltipoo to your family with small children, the larger sizes may be better. Maltipoos can tolerate a lot from a toddler without being aggressive but the larger the dog, the safer they are from a child being too rough.
The History of the Maltipoo
The Maltipoo is a hybrid cross breed between the Poodle and Maltese. The Maltese breed was believed to originate from Malta which is in Italy. The Maltese were bred to be companions for royalty due to their small size and rich luscious white coats. The Popularity of the Maltese steadily increased over the years until they finally came to America in the 1800s.
The Standard poodle is curly haired and comes in many colors. They were bred clear back in the 1500s in France and also grew very popular in many other countries. As the popularity increased, poodles continued to be bred to reduce their size to what we now call the Toy and Mini sized poodles.
The Maltipoo is a relatively new mix only becoming popular in the last decade or so. The popularity of the Maltipoo comes from their cute puppy-like characteristics and ability to have more Maltese looks and traits while having a greater variety in color.
Additional Maltipoo Information
Our Adorable Maltipoo Family
Below is our instagram gallery of mommas and past maltipoo puppies. Follow us on instagram for more sweet pictures!
