Also known in the past as the Maltese Terrier, the Maltese Spaniel, the Maltese Dog, the Maltese Lion Dog, the Maltese Poodle, the Bichon Maltais, the Melita Dog, the Melitaie Dog, the Melitae Dog, the Ancient Doge of Malta, the Roman ladies’ Dog, or the Shock Dog, this small breed is one of the earliest of all lapdogs.
This is the ultimate luxury dog, with a long, soft, pure white coat, dark, black-rimmed eyes, drooped ears and an up-curled tail. In earlier centuries these dogs were often carried on the bodies of their owners and were described as ‘the jewels of women’.
The history of the Maltese is difficult to trace because of the breed’s variability in previous centuries. From at least the time of ancient Greece, ladies of high social status frequently owned tiny pet dogs, which they loved, groomed, fed on delicacies and allowed to sleep on their beds. These little companion animals were so highly valued that an international trade in them had begun even before the time of Christ. In the first millennium BC, the Phoenicians, in particular, were active in the Mediterranean region, and the island of Malta was one of the focal points of their commercial enterprises. Nobody knows where they might have discovered tiny lapdogs, but it seems likely that it was they who first took them to Malta, and then distributed them from there to the various centres of ancient civilization.
Judging by the images that we see on ancient artefacts, many of these early dogs looked remarkably like modern Maltese dogs, but others looked more like tiny Pomeranians, or other toy breeds. There seems to have been little serious line breeding until more recent times, and many historical reports on the Maltese are in reality only very loosely related to this specific breed. One can speak of the Maltese as a true breed only from about the middle of the 19th century.
There are many ancient references to the Maltese dog, but not using its modern name. To the Greeks and Romans, Malta was known as Melita or Melite (taken from the Greek word for honey, `meli’ ) and the small dogs that came from there were called the Melitae or Melitaie. (It has been suggested that the island of Melita where the dogs lived is not the one we know today as Malta, but another one with the same ancient name situated in the Adriatic, off the coast of Yugoslavia. However, the ancient history of that island, now called M.ljet, rules it out.)
The name Melitae for these dogs lasted for over a thousand years and in AD 1600 one author still spoke of ‘the melitane dog bred only for delight, whose force is small, though voice be loud and shrill’.
Early in the 17th century it was reported that the island of Malta was ‘no longer famous for its dainty little dogs, as only poor shepherds live there’. From this date onwards, the breed seems to have become rare on the island, but in 1805 we do, for the first time, have a local record of it. In that year a Knight of Malta commented: ‘There was formerly a breed of dogs in Malta with long silky hair, which were in great demand at the times of the Romans, but have for some years past greatly dwindled, and indeed are become almost extinct: They did not die out altogether, however, because in 1833 an accurate portrayal of the breed in Maltese settings appears in paintings now housed in the Royal Library of Malta.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the Maltese became increasingly popular. No longer restricted to the nobility, it developed a wide following both as a pet dog and as a show dog, and is now known around the globe. It appeared early in the show- ring in 1859 in England, and in 1877 in the United States.
Despite its small size and its glamorous appearance, this is a tough little dog, sprightly, vigorous, friendly, trusting and alert. In earlier times it appeared in a variety of coat patterns, but pure, solid white was always a favourite and today is the only colour form accepted. Early pictures often show a wavy-haired, shaggy dog, but in the modern show-ring, the silky coat is long, flat and flowing. There is no undercoat.The weight of the Maltese is only 4-6 lb (2-3 kg) and its height is at most IO in (25 cm).
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