Maltese Grooming Guide. Hair, Not Fur, And It Never Stops Growing

Dog Love · Maltese Grooming Guide

Maltese grooming. It is hair, not fur, and it never stops growing.

The Maltese is one of the oldest companion breeds in the world and one of the most recognisable: a small white dog with a long flowing coat. But that coat is not what most owners expect. It is hair, not fur. It grows continuously like human hair. There is no undercoat, no shedding season, and no break from grooming. Once you understand the coat, the routine is simple.

Maltese Single coat Tear staining Show coat Maltese grooming

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The Maltese was developed in the central Mediterranean over 2,000 years ago. Roman aristocrats kept them, Greek poets wrote about them, and Egyptian nobles buried them with full ceremonial honours. They were never working dogs. They were always companions, bred specifically to live close to humans. The long white coat we know today was selected over centuries for one purpose: to look beautiful in the company of people. Every grooming decision in this guide reflects that history. The coat is not built for weather, work, or temperature regulation. It is built to be cared for.

Most breeds have a double coat: a coarse outer guard hair and a soft insulating undercoat that sheds seasonally. The Maltese has neither. It is a single coated breed with no undercoat at all, just one long silky layer of hair that grows continuously, exactly like human hair. This single fact explains everything else about Maltese grooming. There is no shedding season because there is no undercoat to shed. There is no winter coat because there is no insulation layer. There is no break from grooming because the hair never reaches a natural length and stops. Every centimetre of your Maltese's coat will keep growing for the rest of its life unless you cut it. Our guide on working out your dog's coat type explains how single and double coats differ.

The cardinal rule for double coated breeds is never to shave them, because shaving destroys the insulation layer and can permanently ruin the regrowth. The Maltese is the opposite. Because there is no undercoat to damage, a Maltese can be clipped to any length without harm. The hair grows back exactly as it was. There is no post clipping alopecia, no patchy regrowth, no thermoregulation risk. Many owners choose a short cut for exactly this reason, because it makes daily care dramatically easier at no cost to the dog. The choice between a long show coat and a short pet cut is purely about lifestyle, not coat damage. If you also live with a double coated breed, our Border Collie guide and German Shepherd guide explain why the opposite rule applies to them.

Maltese have more legitimate cut options than almost any other small breed, because the single coat takes any length without damage. The right cut depends on coat condition, owner commitment, and lifestyle. A working couple with a busy schedule should not choose a show coat. Someone who works from home and enjoys daily grooming as a bonding activity might love it. There is no wrong answer, only an honest one.

If you own a Maltese, the reddish brown stains under the eyes are probably the most asked about feature of your dog. Tear staining is caused by porphyrins, iron containing molecules in tears and saliva that oxidise into reddish brown discolouration when they sit on white hair. Maltese are particularly prone to it because they inherit shallow tear ducts that overflow easily, prominent eyes that produce excess tears, and a white coat that shows every stain. The yellow staining around the mouth and beard is the same problem from saliva and food rather than tears. Both need a daily routine rather than a cure.

A full Maltese show coat is one of the most beautiful sights in the dog world. It is also one of the most demanding grooming commitments any pet owner can take on. A show coat needs daily brushing in sections, regular conditioning, weekly bathing, and the coat tied up in protective bands or wraps when the dog is not being shown. That is the routine professional show handlers follow. For most pet owners, attempting a show coat without that level of commitment leads to a constantly matted, uncomfortable dog. The pet cut is the smart choice for almost every Maltese owner. It looks adorable, takes a fraction of the time, and the dog is genuinely more comfortable.

The answer depends entirely on the length you choose, and the home routine has to match it. A show coat needs a professional groom every 3 to 4 weeks, alongside daily brushing in sections, weekly bathing and protective wraps. A teddy bear cut, the most popular pet option, needs a full groom every 4 to 6 weeks with brushing at home every other day. A puppy or lamb cut is the easiest to live with, needing a groom every 6 to 8 weeks and brushing once or twice a week.

Whichever you choose, the coat will tell you when you are behind. Run a comb through the hair behind the ears and in the armpits. If it snags in more than one place, you are due regardless of the calendar.

The Maltese topknot is the most recognisable feature of the breed in show coat, and it also serves a purpose. Long head hair that is not tied up falls into the eyes, irritates the cornea, traps food and tears, and accelerates tear staining. A daily topknot, either single or double depending on coat length, keeps the hair out of the eyes and the face clean. This is one of the few daily grooming tasks with no shortcut. If you keep the head hair long, you accept the topknot as part of every day. If you would rather not, ask your groomer to keep the head hair short instead.

Maltese owners often assume that because the dog is small, the grooming is small. The opposite is true. Small dogs cover less ground on walks, which means nails barely wear down naturally and need clipping every 3 to 4 weeks. Our nail trimming guide explains why length matters more than most owners realise. The ears grow hair around the canal that traps moisture, so they need checking weekly and keeping clear. The teeth are the most common health issue in the breed, with dental disease starting earlier in Maltese than in larger breeds, so regular brushing with a dog safe toothpaste is genuinely worth the effort. Most professional grooms include a nail trim and ear clean, but the gap between grooms is often too long for nails on a Maltese.

A Maltese is one of the few breeds where the coat is meant to be pure white, and any discolouration shows immediately. Dust, staining on the back legs, food residue around the mouth, and tear staining all combine to make the coat look dull or yellowed. Whitening shampoos formulated for white dogs help during baths. Conditioner sprays between baths reduce dust pickup. Wiping the face after meals and outdoor time prevents stains setting in. The key insight is that yellowing is rarely about cleanliness alone. It is usually residue setting into the hair shaft over time. A good groomer will use coat appropriate products that maintain whiteness rather than generic shampoo that strips and damages a silky single coat.

Maltese mat in five specific places. The fine silky texture means even a single missed brushing session can begin a mat, and once it starts it tightens fast. Mats almost always concentrate behind the ears where the head moves constantly, in the armpits where the legs meet the body, on the chest in long coats, in the beard below the chin, and on the rear behind the legs. The hair around mats is harder to recover than in other breeds, so prevention matters more than fixing.