Maltese Dog Breed Origin
Share the breed standard.
Maltese dog breed origin. His exact place of origin is a mystery with conjecture including sicily egypt and southern europe but most historians pinpoint malta for the development of the breed. Maltese is an ancient dog breed whose exact origin is not confirmed but it is believed that they are from malta a tiny island south of sicily italy. It is thought to have originated in south central europe from dogs of spitz type. They were possibly brought by phoenicians and was spread around by them.
If you look far back long ago descendants are thought to be spitz type dogs possibly from sweden. Despite the name it has no verified historic or scientific connection to the island of malta. The maltese breed has existed for at least 29 centuries. Another possible ancestor is the tibetan terrier from ancient asia.
Dating back so far has caused a bit of debate as to the exact origin of this dog.