Maltese and Maltipoo sweater and coat sizes

Start with the split. A purebred Maltese is a toy dog, under 7 lb by the AKC standard, 7 to 9 in at the shoulder, and sits in the smallest row of every chart we have. A Maltipoo has a poodle parent of unknown size and can be anything from 5 to 15 lb; some are Maltese-sized and some are small-dog-sized. The ranges on this page cover both, which is why they are wide, and why a Maltipoo owner should trust the tape and not the name.

Measurements from the breed charts

• Maltese chest: 14 in on the Doggie Style Store chart, 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 in) on TARIGS, both measured over the coat. A clipped Maltese tapes 12 to 13.
• Maltese neck: 10 to 14 in (Doggie Style Store), 30 to 35 cm (TARIGS). For a 6 lb dog, 9 to 11 in is where most land; the chart figures include coat.
• Maltese back: 30 to 38 cm (TARIGS), 12 to 15 in; the breed is a little longer than tall.
• Maltipoo: no standard exists. Expect 12 to 18 in around the chest and 5 to 15 lb; a first-generation cross from a toy poodle stays near the Maltese figures, one from a miniature poodle does not.

What fits

Worked out from the size charts on the product pages for the measurement range above. Your dog's own tape measurement is what decides it.

For a Maltese proper, read the small end of each row: Fireside M or L, Heritage Turtleneck XS or S, jacket XS, trench S to L. For a bigger Maltipoo, the large end: Fireside XL or past it, Heritage M, jacket S or M, and the trench only up to 16 lb.

The coat: white, long, single

Three things follow from a white single coat. It shows dirt, so a jacket that keeps the rain and the pavement splash off the chest and belly is the difference between a towel and a bath. It has no undercoat, so the dog is cold in weather a double-coated dog ignores; a knit under about 50°F is reasonable. And it tangles, so anything worn all day on a long coat makes mats behind the front legs; put the sweater on for the walk and take it off at the door.

The Fireside Cable-Knit is sleeveless, which matters here. A long coat passes through two armholes far more easily than through two cuffed sleeves, and comes out less tangled.

Why the trench is the Maltese piece

The Trench Coat is sized by neck and weight, not chest, and the whole chart is toy dogs: XS for up to 3 lb with an 8.3 in neck, S to 7 lb and 9.1 in, M to 10 lb and 9.8 in, L to 13 lb and 10.6 in, XL to 16 lb and 11.4 in. A 6 lb Maltese with a 10 in neck is a size L (the neck decides, not the weight). It is washed cotton with a storm collar and it drapes over the coat instead of compressing it, so it is the one coat that does not need brushing out after. For spring and autumn, it is the Maltese coat. It is not a rain coat; for that, the jacket.

Shipping and returns

Free US shipping. Ships in 1 to 2 business days, usually arrives 4 to 9 business days after that, and there are 60 days to return a wrong size (Shipping & Returns). Where the tape goes on a dog this small, and under this much hair: how to measure your dog for a coat.

Questions

Maltipoo at 12 lb: which sizes?

Measure the chest; at 12 lb it is probably 15 to 17 in, which is a Fireside XL (if 16.5 or under), a Heritage M, a jacket S or M. The weight alone cannot tell you which.

Will white fur stain under a dark knit?

Wash the knit cold on its own the first time, as you would any dark garment. What actually stains a white Maltese is pavement splash on the chest and belly, and that is what the jacket is for.

Is the Fireside warm enough on its own?

For a dry cold walk, yes. For rain or wind, it goes under the jacket.