Best Dog Treats for Malteses in Australia

Malteses are small dogs with strong opinions about food, and if you've watched one spit out a treat you didn't think twice about buying, you know the feeling. Finding something they'll actually eat, that's sized right for a tiny mouth, and that doesn't come loaded with grain and glycerin is harder than it should be. Here's what works.

Size is the first thing to get right

Malteses typically weigh between 3 and 4kg. That's not a lot of dog, and it has real implications for how you pick treats. A treat that's unremarkable for a Labrador can be too hard, too large, or too calorie-dense for a small breed, especially if you're using treats for training where the count adds up fast.

The practical rule: keep individual reward pieces to roughly 1cm cubed for training sessions, and keep an eye on daily calories. A 4kg Maltese needs around 220 to 250 calories a day, depending on activity. Ten medium treats can burn through 20% of that before lunch. That's fine occasionally, but regular training sessions need small pieces to stay inside the budget without cutting back on reps.

Bite-sized formats built for small breeds solve this without any prep work on your part. Cooee K9's Beef Bully Bites are bully stick cut down to small pieces, specifically sized for smaller dogs and training use. They come in 100g, 200g, 500g and 1kg bags, so you can test a smaller pack before committing to bulk.

Fussy eaters and what actually gets eaten

Malteses are commonly fussy, and that reputation is mostly earned. The issue is usually not the protein itself. It's the fillers, the added sugars, the artificial flavours coating the outside of cheap treats. A sensitive dog picks up on those pretty quickly, and once they've decided a whole product smells wrong, no amount of enthusiasm on your part changes the outcome.

Single-ingredient treats are the straightforward fix. When the label says "100% Australian lamb lung", that's the entire ingredient list. No second-guessing what the third or fourth ingredient is doing there, and if your dog reacts to something, you actually know what it was.

Cooee K9's Lamb Puff Cubes Small are 100% Australian lamb lung, air-dried to a light, puffed texture. Air-drying matters here: it's a low-heat process that preserves the natural proteins and the intense meat smell dogs respond to, as opposed to high-heat oven-drying which can mute that. For a Maltese that turns its nose up at dense, heavy treats, the lighter texture and strong lamb smell tends to work where other formats don't. They're available in 200g, 500g, and 1kg bags.

Chewing: why it matters for small breeds

Small dogs need to chew just as much as large ones. Regular chewing provides mechanical cleaning for teeth, burns off a bit of energy, and gives anxious or restless dogs something constructive to focus on. The problem for Maltese owners is that most chews on the market are built for dogs 3 to 10 times the size of a Maltese, which makes them a poor fit and sometimes a safety risk.

Pig ears are a common example. They work fine for a medium breed but they're too large and too tough for a small dog trying to manage the whole thing. Lamb ears are a better option: air-dried, 100% Australian lamb ear, and noticeably softer and lighter than pig ears. Cooee K9's Lamb Ears come in a 6 pack or a 12 pack. They're suited to gentle chewers and seniors, which describes most Malteses by temperament, and virtually all of them past 8 or 9.

Ingredients worth avoiding

A few things worth checking on any treat you're buying for a Maltese. Grain and wheat fillers turn up in a lot of budget treats and can contribute to the skin irritation and itching that some Malteses deal with. If your dog has been scratching more than usual, the treat bag is worth looking at before anything else.

Artificial preservatives like BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin extend shelf life. That's their only purpose. They add nothing for your dog, and there's no reason to accept them when single-ingredient air-dried treats don't need them. Hard-pressed rawhide is also worth avoiding for small breeds: it softens unpredictably and can break into pieces that are difficult for a small dog to handle safely.

For a fuller breakdown of what to look for across proteins and preparation methods, this guide to the best natural dog treats in Australia covers the key things to seek out and avoid regardless of breed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are bully sticks safe for Malteses?

Yes, when they're cut to the right size. A whole bully stick is too large for a Maltese to handle, but bite-sized pieces are fine for small breeds. Beef Bully Bites are specifically sized small for this reason, and the chewing action provides some mechanical dental cleaning along the way.

How many treats should I give my Maltese per day?

Treats should make up no more than 10% of daily calorie intake. For a 4kg Maltese eating around 230 calories a day, that's roughly 23 calories from treats. Check the per-treat calorie count on the packaging and keep track during training sessions, where pieces can add up without you noticing.

Can Malteses eat lamb treats?

Yes. Lamb is a well-tolerated protein for most dogs and a good option if your dog has previously reacted to chicken or beef. Single-ingredient lamb treats like Lamb Puff Cubes Small or Lamb Ears keep the ingredient list clean, which makes it easier to identify any sensitivity if one does come up.

What treats work best for training a Maltese?

Small, soft treats with a strong natural smell. You want something your dog eats fast so training sessions keep momentum and you can get more reps in. Beef Bully Bites or Lamb Puff Cubes Small are both well suited: small, easy to split further if needed, and the natural smell is enough to hold attention without loading up on calories.

Are Malteses prone to dental problems?

Small breeds generally are. Malteses tend to accumulate tartar faster than larger dogs, partly because their teeth are more crowded in a smaller jaw. Chewing on treats like Lamb Ears or Beef Bully Bites provides some mechanical cleaning, though it doesn't replace regular brushing or a professional scale-and-polish.

Malteses don't need a special formula or a dedicated breed-specific product line. They need treats that are the right size, made from clean ingredients, and prepared in a way that keeps the nutritional value intact. Get those three things right and most of the fussiness takes care of itself.

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