English Springer Spaniel vs Maltese: Which Suits Your Home?

This is the widest size gap in the comparison set: a 40-50 lb Springer against a 3-7 lb Maltese, with height running 19-20 inches versus 7-9 inches. You're not really comparing two versions of the same kind of dog, one is a sporting breed built for fieldwork, the other a toy breed built for a lap. Handling, travel crates, even vet exam tables will look completely different.

The Springer needs very high (5/5) exercise; the Maltese needs low (2/5), about as far apart as this scale goes. Energy level tells the same story less starkly (5/5 vs 3/5, moderate). A Maltese is content with short walks and indoor play; a Springer left to a Maltese's routine will get destructive fast. This single row probably matters more than most others in the table.

Grooming need ties at high (4/5) for both, surprising given the size difference, but the Maltese's long silky coat mats without near-daily attention. Shedding is where they split: moderate (3/5) for the Springer against very low (1/5) for the Maltese, whose coat behaves more like human hair than typical dog fur. Low shedding doesn't mean low effort here, though, brushing time is still on the calendar.

The Maltese was practically built for apartment living, very high (5/5) suitability against the Springer's low (2/5). Barking ties at moderate (3/5), so neither breed is silent, and a thin-walled building will hear both of them at some point. Both tolerate being alone poorly (2/5 each), which is easy to overlook with a toy breed, a Maltese's small size doesn't mean small separation needs, and it will let you know it's unhappy.

The Springer edges ahead on trainability (5/5 vs 4/5), but the Maltese rates higher for first-time owners (4/5 vs 3/5), a reminder that trainability and ease-of-ownership aren't the same metric. A Maltese's smaller size and lower exercise demand likely explain the gap; a beginner can manage a low-energy toy breed even if it takes slightly more patience to train.

This is the section where the two diverge most. The Springer rates very high (5/5) with kids against the Maltese's moderate (3/5), a fragility concern that shows up often with toy breeds around small children who don't yet know how to handle a small dog gently. Both rate high (4/5) with other dogs and strangers, so sociability isn't the issue in either direction; supervision around rough play with kids is the thing to plan for.

The Maltese slightly outlives the Springer, 12-15 years against 12-14. Its health list runs to ten conditions, including liver shunts, hypoglycemia, white shaker syndrome, and tear staining, all more typical of toy breeds. The Springer's five-item list (hip/elbow dysplasia, ear infections, PRA, PFK deficiency) doesn't overlap with the Maltese's at all in this data, these are genuinely different sets of risks to research.

Cost level ties at moderate (3/5), and the dollar figures favor the Maltese slightly: $100-$180 monthly against the Springer's $100-$200, and $1,400-$2,300 in year one against $1,400-$2,900. The gap isn't dramatic, but a smaller dog generally eats less and needs less of everything, and that shows up here even before grooming bills are factored in.