Are Maltese easy to groom?

The grooming reality for Maltese

What the coat needs

Maltese have a low-shedding coat that keeps growing rather than dropping out. That is great for allergies and the hoover, but it means the coat mats if neglected and needs professional grooming every 6 to 8 weeks plus regular brushing. Skip it and the coat felts into painful mats that often have to be shaved off.

Time and cost

Plan on a professional groom every six to eight weeks at roughly £40 to £70 a time in the UK, which adds up to a few hundred pounds a year. Learning to brush and tidy at home between visits saves money and keeps mats at bay.

The bits every dog needs

Whatever the coat, the basics are the same. Trim or file nails every few weeks so they do not click on the floor or splay the toes, check and gently clean ears to catch infections early, and brush the teeth several times a week to head off the dental disease that is common and costly in dogs. Start all of this in puppyhood so handling becomes routine rather than a battle.

Personality and cooperation on the grooming table

An ancient companion breed wrapped in silky white hair. Devoted, delicate, and surprisingly feisty.

A gentle temperament tends to sit still for handling without much fuss, tolerating nail clipping, ear checks, and brushing with far less resistance than a more excitable dog. Affectionate dogs often enjoy the physical contact involved in brushing, treating it as attention rather than a chore, which makes building cooperation considerably easier. A lively dog wriggles and shifts through brushing unless it has learned to settle, which makes short, repeated practice sessions more useful than one long one.

Training and temperament during grooming

Building tolerance for handling

Maltese pick up tolerance for grooming with a reasonable amount of consistent practice, particularly when sessions start short and build up gradually.

Vocal protest during grooming

Maltese bark a moderate amount generally, and an occasional grumble during a fiddly part of grooming, such as nail trimming, is not unusual.

Family involvement and other pets

Maltese need careful management around young children generally, and that caution extends to grooming: handling and brushing are best left to an adult rather than delegated to a child. A resident cat is unlikely to be bothered by grooming sessions, and shed hair from brushing is worth clearing up promptly in a multi-pet household either way.

Grooming costs across a dog's lifetime

Maltese typically live 13 to 16 years, and grooming needs tend to change with age: older dogs often have thinner, more sensitive skin and less patience for long sessions, so shorter, gentler grooming suits a senior maltese better than the routine that worked at two years old. Insurance for a Maltese in the UK typically runs about £18 to £45 a month, and skin problems from neglected coat care, matting, hot spots, and infected ears among them, are a common reason that cover gets used. Starting handling and brushing early with a Maltese puppy, which typically costs around £700 to £2000 in the UK, makes every grooming session for the rest of the dog's life considerably easier.