My first and 'forever' dog was a maltese named Casper. He was a great dog and traveling companion and died at the ripe old age of 14.
I now have a little yorkie named Lucy so I'll tell you the differences I see:
Both are great dogs. Casper was a little easier to housetrain than Lucy and a little more independent - not quite as needy. (He was larger too).
Casper barked more than Lucy does though. Both are equally affectionate and stick to their human's like glue.
Casper was never mean or nippy . . . but not all that friendly with strangers. He was a one-person dog and could care less if some stranger on the street gave him a pat on the head.
Lucy is a little more eager for attention from strangers.
Lucy is not quite as eager to please me as Casper was - perhaps a little more stubborn?
Both coats are easy enough to maintain - IF you don't mind a puppy cut. Casper was a white dog - but he wasn't a 'down and dirty' dog or a digger so . . . not that hard to keep clean.
It IS harder to hide the puppy tear-stains on a maltese.
I think you can't go wrong with either breed - both are great companion dogs. |