Maltese Feeding Guide (Everything You Should Know)

Hello, pet parents! Welcome to my ultimate guide on feeding Maltese.

In this guide, I will cover how much to feed a Maltese, how often to feed your Maltese, when to feed your Maltese, what foods to feed your Maltese, what foods to avoid feeding your Maltese, and other questions you may have about your Maltese’s nutrition.

You can read the article to the end, or go through the table of contents below and jump to the section that answers the questions you have on your mind.

Maltese are known to be gentle, intelligent, and trusting. The Maltese thrive indoors and in small and confined spaces. Maltese make good family dogs, although they can be snappy at rough children. Maltese tend to be picky eaters and light shedders, Maltese are lively, playful, vigorous, and love learning tricks. 

I have created this ultimate guide to feeding your Maltese to curious and new pet parents to solve your dog’s nutrition problem. I will go into details from my personal knowledge working for a vet on every feed question you might have.

Let’s jump into the article.

Maltese Nutritional Requirements

Maltese are small sized dogs that require the right nutrients in their specific amount to grow healthy. Like other dog breeds, if some of these nutrients are present in excess amounts or less, it would end up endangering the overall health of your dog.

Maltese’s meal should majorly consist of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins to meet their nutritional requirements for a healthy lifestyle.

Your Maltese food should contain an adequate amount of vitamins for a healthy immune system and minerals for healthy strong bones.

Your Maltese’s protein source must be from animal protein like chicken, turkey, lamb, and beef. Their fat source can be from fish oil or vegetables. Their source of fiber can come from wholesome healthy vegetables like cabbages, carrots, sprouts, and broccoli.

Nutritional Requirement for a Maltese Puppy

The diet of a Maltese puppy and adolescent should consist of 22-32% protein, 10-25% fat, and 6% fiber. Puppies have a faster metabolism and require more nutrients to grow muscles and strong bones; this is your dog’s growing stage, and they will be fed more frequently than in other stages.

Nutritional Requirement for an Adult Maltese

The meal plan for mature and adult Maltese should consist of 22% protein, carbohydrates, 10% fat, and fiber. At this stage, Maltese are most active and will need protein and carbohydrates to keep their weight and energy level optimal. However, you should avoid overfeeding your pet at this stage, as Maltese are prone to obesity and will develop health complications.

Nutritional Requirement For Senior Maltese

Your Maltese is less active at this stage than at previous stages. At this age, your pet’s food should ideally contain 20% protein, 5.3% fat, and fiber. Senior Great Danes will need more minerals and vitamins in their food to keep their immune system and bones healthy.

Factors Affecting The Feeding of a Maltese

Some factors will affect the diet of your Maltese, such as the size of the breed, its age, its activity level, and its underlying health conditions.

Let’s take a quick look at those factors before we jump into the quantity of food to feed your dog.

Size consideration

The average length of a Maltese male is 21–25 cm, and for females, it is 20–23 cm from the sole of its feet to its shoulder. The weight of a Maltese is 3–4 kg.

Both males and females are the same size. Therefore, both will require the same number of calories to grow optimally.  

Age consideration

Maltese puppies will require more calories during their growing stage due to their high metabolic rate. They need to be fed a lot if you want them to grow into strong, healthy dogs.

Adult Maltese should not be fed more often than puppy Maltese. The adults have a slow metabolism that can lead to stomach bloating and indigestion if they’re fed excessively.

Your senior Maltese will be less active and require fewer calories than when they were younger. Doing otherwise might lead to obesity and other serious health problems.

Activity Level

Athletes are required to maintain a strict diet compared to non-athletes, so you should also keep your Great Dane away from certain foods if you want to maintain its athletic abilities.

You wouldn’t want to feed your Great Dane a meal high in fat and sodium, like cheap fast food, which would make him sluggish and lethargic.

These fast foods don’t contain the nutrients that would make your dog perform to the best of their abilities and make them slow to learn new tricks or obey your commands.

Health Consideration

Maltese are prone to certain health conditions, which should be taken into consideration in their diets if you wish to manage or prevent those issues.

Some health issues that affect your dog breed include hip dysplasia, mitral valve disease, retinal dysplasia, luxating patella, cataracts, and hearing disorders. 

These health problems could be avoided or mitigated by eating or avoiding certain foods from the start, rather than treating them as they arise.

It might be tempting to cut corners and go for the cheapest food. But engaging in such an act in the long run could lead to pain, seeing your Great Dane sick, frequent visits to the vet, and thousands of dollars in expenses.

Maltese Feeding Amount

Your Maltese, just like any other dog breed, will require different amounts of food according to their stage of development. The amount of food a puppy will need will be different than the amount of food an adult will need to meet their nutritional requirements.

On average, feed your puppy Maltese 0.25 to 0.75 cups of food that has 88 to 400 kcal per day; feed your adult Maltese 0.7 cups per day that have 180 to 360 kcal per day, according to their activity level; and feed your senior Maltese 0.7 cups per day, that have 246-408 kcal per day.

I will provide you with charts below to help you plan your dog’s meals from its puppy years to its senior years. However, this meal plan is not one-size-fits-all. It’s just a general guideline that should be followed based on your dog’s needs and recommendations from your vet or dog nutritionist.

How Much To Feed a Puppy Maltese

For your puppy and adolescent Maltese to grow into healthy adults, the meal should be high in protein and low in fat, which can be obtained from animal meat.

A Maltese puppy should be given 0.25 to 0.75 cups of food per day that contains 88 to 400 kcal of nutrients based on its age, weight, size, gender, and physical activity.

The feeding requirement of your puppy is given in detail in the charts below:

Following the above guidelines will aid in bone development and muscle growth, as well as strengthen their immune system to combat common bacteria and viruses that can cause health complications.

How Much To Feed an Adult Maltese

The nutritional requirements of an adult Maltese differ from those of a puppy. The food of mature Maltese should have a lower percentage of proteins and fats to prevent obesity. This is done by reducing the feeding frequency to two times per day.

A mature and adult Maltese puppy should be given 0.7 cups of food per day that contains 180 to 360 kcal of nutrients based on its age, weight, size, gender, and physical activity.

The chart below will give you an understanding of the daily consumption needs of adult Maltese to help you with their meal plan.

How Much To Feed Your Senior Maltese

Senior Maltese are generally less active than their younger counterparts due to fragile bones and joints. This means their meals will contain fewer calories, protein, and fat.

Geriatric Maltese are often plagued with health issues. Some of these issues can be alleviated by supplementing your senior dog’s diet with vitamins and minerals to help revive his or her weakened immune system and fragile bones.

Senior and geriatric Maltese puppies should be given 0.7 cups of food per day that contains 240 to 408 kcal of nutrients based on their age, weight, size, gender, and health issues.

The table below gives you some details about the meal plan for older Maltese.

However, you must still ensure that they get the essential nutrients they need.

You can continue giving your senior dog the same food you give your adult Great Dane, only in a smaller quantity as they don’t need as many calories as adult dogs. However, you should still consult your vet or pet nutritionist to be on the safe side.

Maltese Feeding Frequency

Your Great Dane’s meal frequency will vary the same as the feeding amounts, which are majorly dependent on its age. Below is a list of how often to feed your Great Danes:

How Often Should You Feed Your Maltese Puppy?

•         During the weaning process or at 8 weeks old and below: feed them four times a day at equally spaced intervals.

•         8 weeks to 3 months old: feed them four times a day at equally spaced intervals.

•         4 months to 12 months old: gradually transition to feeding them three times a day with equally spaced time intervals

How Often Should You Feed Your Adult Maltese?

You should feed your adult Maltese two times a day, with 12 hours of spacing between meals. One in the morning and one in the evening is ideal.

How Often Should You Feed Your Senior Maltese?

You should feed your senior Maltese two times a day, unless given a specific schedule by a vet.

Maltese Feeding Schedule

•             Maltese puppies should be free-fed or fed in the morning, afternoon, evening, and night due to a faster metabolism in comparison to their adult colleagues

•         Adolescent Maltese should be fed in the morning, afternoon, and evening to help them transition properly into an adult.

•         Adult and Senior Malteses should also be fed in the morning and in the evening unless stated differently by your vet or pet nutritionist.

As a general rule, you should feed your Maltese a few hours before going to bed in the evening, so they have enough time to digest the food before going to sleep.

In total, we shouldn’t spoil our companions with treats as they may grow too attached to them. Treats should be heavily used as a reward when training your dog.

The Kind of Food To Feed Your Maltese

The food you feed your Maltese should specifically cater to large breeds and contain the required nutrients necessary for a strong and healthy dog.

The kind of food to feed your Maltese includes dry dog food, wet dog food, home-cooked food, and Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) to ensure your dog eats a balanced diet.

Let me touch on these few points to help you understand what to feed your dog:

Dry Dog Food: Dry dog food, or kibble, is a portion of commercial pet food made by grinding and mixing up ingredients like meats, grains, and nutritional additives, which are then shaped into little kernels and cooked at high temperatures to remove the water content. Dry dog food contains more carbs, less fat, less water, and sometimes less protein. Dry dog food is often recommended by vets due to its lower cost, dental health benefits, convenience, weight loss support, and playtime perks.

Wet Dog Food: Wet dog food, or canned food, is made by mixing up and cooking the ingredients before adding or extracting varying amounts of water. Unlike dry dog food, wet dog food contains more water, fewer carbs, more fat, and often more protein. They are recommended by veterinarians due to their high water content, taste, ease of eating, and high nutritional profile.

Home-Cooked Diet:    Home-cooked diets are a great option for pet parents who are not into commercial dog food and want to go the extra length to prepare a meal for their furry companion. Feeding your dog a home-cooked meal gives you control over its nutrition and can put your mind at ease knowing that you are always giving your dog the best care.

The BARF Diet: Biologically Appropriate Raw Food is a diet that includes raw meat, raw eggs, crushed animal bones, fruits, vegetables, probiotics, and other natural ingredients. BARF diets are used as a substitute for processed foods with preservatives. However, consult your vet before feeding your pet a raw diet to avoid health complications from harmful substances.

The Kind of Food To Avoid Feeding Your Maltese

We should take caution before giving whatever food we’re eating to our Maltese. They have large appetites, which makes it tempting to hand them whatever we find ourselves eating.

There are certain human foods, fruits, and vegetables to avoid feeding your Maltese because these foods contain toxins that are harmful to your pet that could lead you to frequent trips to the vet.

Human food to avoid feeding your Maltese includes chocolates, coffee, gums, peanut butter, candies, cooked bones, etc.

The fruits and vegetables to avoid feeding your Maltese include grapes, avocado, garlic, onions, etc.

You should always check the ingredients on the food label to see if these ingredients are present in the food. Or you can simply consult a vet or pet nutritionist to check the ingredients with them.

When To Transition Your Maltese From Puppy Food To Adult Food

You should transition your Maltese puppy from puppy food to adult food when he’s around 10–12 months old.

Transitioning your adolescent Maltese from puppy food to adult food is an important stage in your dog’s development. Puppy food contains more calories and nutrients than adult food to meet the nutritional requirements at that stage of life.

Transitioning needs to be gradual by introducing adult feed bit by bit until you get to 100% adult feed.

However, feeding your adult Maltese puppy food will fill them with more protein and fat than their body requires and will lead to obesity due to the high fat content the body doesn’t need for optimum growth. 

Why Your Maltese Is Not Eating

Your Maltese will not eat if it has one or a combination of the factors listed below:

Illness, dental problems, teething, medication, separation anxiety, time of day, spoiled food, stress, and picky eaters

Maltese can be picky eaters, and because they are a small breed, they tend to develop dental problems from time to time. Bad breath should also be something to watch out for. Dog owners should ensure that their teeth are cleaned regularly. 

Why Your Maltese Is Always Hungry

Maltese and most dog breeds are glutinous feeders, which is why meals must be arranged in strict order. This goes hand in hand with training your dog from an early age. You must avoid feeding your dog, as this might cause them to bloat and lead to stomach issues.

An alternative reason may be if your dog is engaged in too many exercises, is under stress, or is infected by worms; if your dog falls into any of these categories, that may be why they are always hungry.

Frequently Asked Questions on Feeding a Maltese

Final Thoughts on Maltese Feeding Guide

Maltese make one of the best lap dogs. They’re also fun-loving and affectionate. Proper training and food regulation are of the utmost importance. They’re in my opinion the cutest dog breed and they also make excellent therapeutic dogs

Options such as dry, wet, raw, and homemade diets are all great for them. You can free-feed your Maltese as puppies, but you have to draw up a strict plan as they go on. It is also essential to know what foods are healthy and should be avoided, as some are toxic.

However, if you desire more information on how to take care of your Maltese, you should contact the nearest vet for information on essential nutrients, and you can also see a pet nutritionist for a regimen schedule for your pet.