Brussels Griffon vs Maltese: Which Suits Your Home?

These two are close in height — 7-10 inches for the Griffon, 7-9 for the Maltese — but weight tells a different story. The Maltese tops out at 7 pounds; the Griffon starts there and goes up to 12. Side by side, the Maltese reads as the daintier of the two despite both wearing the 'toy breed' label.

Both breeds rate a low 2/5 for exercise need, and neither will push you toward a longer walk than you already planned. Energy level ties too, at moderate (3/5). If low activity requirements were the deciding factor, this comparison wouldn't settle anything on its own — coat care is where the real difference shows up instead.

Here's where they separate. The Maltese needs high grooming effort (4/5) — that long silky coat mats without regular brushing and usually needs professional trims. The Griffon needs less (moderate, 3/5). Shedding runs opposite of what the coat length suggests: the Maltese actually sheds less (very low, 1/5) than the Griffon (low, 2/5), since its coat behaves more like hair than fur.

Both breeds rate a full 5/5 for apartment living and tie at moderate (3/5) for barking — either one adapts fine to close quarters and shared walls. The one shared weakness is alone time: both rate low (2/5) for tolerating solitude, so a dog-walker or a shorter workday matters more here than square footage. Neither breed does well with a long, empty house during the day.

The Maltese edges ahead for first-time owners (high, 4/5, versus the Griffon's moderate 3/5) and for trainability (high, 4/5, versus moderate 3/5). Neither breed is difficult, but the Maltese's temperament — described as gentle and intelligent rather than sensitive — tends to bounce back faster from a training mistake than the more sensitive Griffon does.

With kids, the two tie at moderate (3/5) — fine for careful households, not the top pick for a rough-and-tumble one. The Maltese pulls ahead with other dogs (high, 4/5, versus moderate 3/5) and with strangers (high, 4/5, versus moderate 3/5), suggesting it settles into a busier, more social household a little more easily than the Griffon does.

Lifespan is a dead heat: 12-15 years for both breeds. Patellar luxation shows up on both risk lists, so knee checks are worth asking about either way. Past that, the two diverge — the Griffon's brachycephalic skull brings BOAS and syringomyelia risk, while the Maltese's longer list includes liver shunts, heart murmurs, hypoglycemia, and tear staining, a purely cosmetic but very visible issue on that white coat.

Both carry a moderate cost rating (3/5), and the dollar ranges sit close: $80-$150 monthly for the Griffon against $100-$180 for the Maltese, with first-year totals of $1,100-$2,300 and $1,400-$2,300 respectively. The Maltese's higher floor mostly reflects that grooming bill — expect to pay more consistently even if the totals converge by year's end. Budget toward the higher end if you want a coat that always looks freshly trimmed.