Crossbreed · United States, 1990s
Maltipoo
Also called Moodle, Maltese x Poodle.
What makes them remarkable
A Maltipoo can live sixteen years, so a habit taught in the first six months is kept for a very long time.
- Affectionate
- Alert
- Playful
- Clever
- Devoted
- Size
- Toy
- Weight
- 2 to 7 kg5 to 15 lb
- Lives
- 12 to 16 years
- Energy
- Moderate
- Trains
- High
- Barks
- High
Training
Training a Maltipoo
Crossbreed breeds. Train the dog in front of you, not the label. Read both parents, then watch which one turned up.
Treat it like a dog
Start here
Tiny dogs get carried, cuddled and excused, and end up yappy and nervous. The same recall, settle and lead work as a big dog, scaled down.
Teach quiet on purpose
Alert barking is in both parents. Reward silence after one bark and teach a settle spot early; do not wait for the habit to set.
Supervise with small children
A dog this size is easily hurt by a toddler's love. Adults manage every interaction, and the dog gets a bed nobody may follow it to.
The app turns this into five to fifteen minutes a day.
Add your Maltipoo and it builds the plan around their age, where they came from and what they already know, on video with Atlas and Shango.
Free to start. iPhone. No card needed.
At home
Living with one
Deliberate crosses of two breeds. No standard, so more variety within the cross than within a breed; the two parent pages explain the range.
Gets on with
- ChildrenModerate
- Other dogsHigh
- StrangersModerate
- CatsHigh
Breed averages. Early socialisation and the individual dog matter more.
- Exercise
- Thirty minutes a day and indoor play. More than most people expect of a lapdog.
- Grooming
- Daily brushing to keep the fine coat from matting, and a clip every six to eight weeks.
- Drool
- Very Low
- Coat
- Wavy, Curly, Fine and softWhite, Cream, Apricot, Silver, Grey
- In a flat
- Can work, with enough exercise outside it.
Health
Things to ask a breeder or vet about
Luxating Patella
Moderate
Kneecap slipping, common in toy breeds
Dental Disease
Moderate
Crowded teeth in a tiny mouth; daily brushing from puppyhood
White Shaker Syndrome
Mild
Tremor condition seen in small white dogs
Where they come from
History
A companion cross from the United States in the 1990s, bred for a small, low-shedding lapdog. Devoted and quick to learn, with a tendency to bark that owners either train early or live with for fifteen years.
The two sides
Maltese and Toy Poodle
A cross has no standard, so any one Maltipoo can lean either way. Read both parent pages, then watch which one turned up in your dog.
Similar breeds
All breedsCavachon
Bichons are famously slow to housetrain, which is the one Bichon trait most Cavachon owners meet first.
Small · Crossbreed
Puggle
Puggles were among the first crosses marketed by name, from a Wisconsin breeder in the 1980s.
Small · Crossbreed
Cavapoo
Two Cavapoos from the same litter can have completely different coats, one wavy and shedding, one curly and not.
Small · Crossbreed
Chinese Crested
Hairless and fully coated Powderpuff puppies can be born in the very same litter.
Toy · Toy