Yorkshire Terrier vs Maltese: a mill town ratter's confidence against two thousand years as a lapdog

The Yorkshire Terrier came together in 19th century industrial England, bred by Scottish millworkers to hunt rats in textile mills and coal pits before its glamorous show coat became the focus. The Maltese has a far older, purely ornamental history, with small white dogs linked to the breed appearing on ancient Greek pottery and prized by wealthy Greeks and Romans well over two thousand years ago.

That difference still shows. The Yorkshire Terrier retains a genuine terrier streak, ready to chase a leaf across the garden or square up to a much larger dog, while the Maltese, though still lively and curious, has never had a working job beyond being good company, and it usually shows in a slightly softer, more purely affectionate default manner.

Both breeds carry continuously growing hair rather than shedding fur, so very little ends up on furniture, but both need serious grooming commitment as a result. The Yorkshire Terrier's coat rates 4 for grooming and needs daily brushing in full length or a trim every six to eight weeks if kept short. The Maltese rates a full 5, the maximum on the scale, since its single layer coat with no undercoat tangles quickly and needs daily brushing to stay mat free in full length.

Many pet owners of either breed choose a short puppy cut, which cuts daily brushing down to a quick once over, though both still need attention to the face and eyes to control tear staining.

Both breeds bark readily, rated 4 and 4 respectively, and both make surprisingly effective little alarm systems for their size. The Yorkshire Terrier's terrier instincts give it a bit more independence and a stronger prey drive toward small moving things, while the Maltese is generally more purely people focused and less likely to fixate on chasing something across the garden.

Both breeds do best with early, consistent training on a quiet cue, since shouting at either dog for barking tends to be read as joining in rather than as a correction.

Both breeds are fragile enough to be seriously hurt by a fall, a dropped toy or an overexcited child, and both suit calm households with children aged around eight and older more comfortably than homes with toddlers. The Maltese has a particularly strong dislike of being left alone, given its purely companion focused history, while the Yorkshire Terrier, though also attached to its people, generally tolerates short absences a little more readily thanks to its more independent terrier streak.

Both benefit from a harness rather than a collar, given the risk of tracheal collapse common to toy breeds.

Both breeds share loose kneecaps, dental disease and tracheal collapse as common concerns, and both live long lives, with the Maltese typically reaching 12 to 15 years and the Yorkshire Terrier a similar 12 to 15. The Yorkshire Terrier carries a specific additional risk of a liver blood vessel problem called a portosystemic shunt, while the Maltese is more specifically linked to a tremor condition sometimes called white shaker syndrome.

Both benefit from buyers asking for knee and eye examination results on the parents, and from breeders who avoid producing dogs well under the breed standard weight, since extreme smallness in either breed raises health risks.

A 3 kg Yorkshire Terrier eats about 50 to 70 g of dry food a day, similar to a 3 kg Maltese's own 50 to 70 g, so feeding costs are essentially the same between the two.

Grooming costs run high for both if kept in full coat, though a short puppy trim every six to eight weeks brings the cost down considerably for either breed. Both rate at the top for apartment suitability and suit small city homes, provided someone is home enough to manage the Maltese's stronger dislike of being left alone.