The most popular maltese haircut is the teddy bear cut, where the coat is clipped to a short, even length with a rounded, plush face. Of the 162 style-tagged maltese photos on Groomably, 80 wear the teddy bear cut, which is 49%, nearly half of everything coming out of Australian salons. The floor-length, silky white show coat that made the breed famous barely appears at all. The five maltese haircuts worth knowing are the teddy bear cut, the puppy cut, the bob cut, the summer cut, and, for the truly committed, the show coat itself.
That last one deserves an honest word up front. The show coat is the picture most people have in their head when they think “maltese”: a curtain of white silk sweeping the floor, topknot tied with a bow. It’s iconic, and it’s also a part-time job, which is why almost every maltese at the park wears something shorter. The teddy bear cut is the breed’s real signature look now.
The maltese coat, and why white changes everything
The maltese has a single coat: no woolly undercoat, just one layer of fine, straight hair that keeps growing. That means no seasonal blowout and less bulk than a doodle, but that silky hair matts readily at the friction points: behind the ears, in the armpits, under the collar, and anywhere a harness rubs.
Then there’s the white. A white coat shows everything: tear staining under the eyes, brownish staining around the mouth from food and water, and the grey tinge of a dog overdue for a bath. Tear staining in particular is the main reason so many owners keep the face shorter: less hair under the eyes means less for the tears to soak into, and a short muzzle is far easier to wipe clean. With a maltese, the face is half the decision.
To see these cuts on real dogs, the maltese breed page shows work from salons around the country, and the grooming gallery is good for browsing across breeds.
1. The teddy bear cut
The clear favourite, and by a long way. The body is clipped to a short-to-medium, even length, and the face is scissored into a soft round shape with the ears blended in, so the whole head reads like a plush toy. The rounded face is also practical: it keeps hair out of the eyes and makes daily face-wiping easier.
What to ask the groomer: “A teddy bear cut, even length on the body, with a rounded face and the ears blended in.” If tear staining bothers you, say how short you want it around the eyes, and bring a photo, because “teddy bear” means slightly different things in different salons.
Maintenance: Moderate. Brush and comb every couple of days, paying attention behind the ears and in the armpits, and expect a groom every six to eight weeks to hold the shape.
Suits which coat: Every maltese can wear it. It’s especially forgiving on coats that have had staining or matting trouble, because the shorter face and body reset things without going drastic.
Photo: The Dog Groomer Shellharbour, Flinders NSW — via Groomably
Our full teddy bear cut guide covers the style across breeds, and the maltese teddy bear cut page collects real examples on this breed specifically.
2. The puppy cut
The puppy cut is the teddy bear’s simpler sibling: a short, even clip all over with less sculpting on the face. The result is a fresh, fuzzy, low-fuss maltese that looks like a pup again regardless of age.
The line between the two is genuinely blurry, and plenty of salons use the names interchangeably. The honest difference is the face: teddy bear means a deliberately rounded, fuller head, puppy cut means short and simple everywhere.
What to ask the groomer: “A puppy cut, short and even all over, nothing fancy on the face.” If you’re behind on brushing, say so; a good groomer will go a touch shorter to buy you time.
Maintenance: Easy. A brush a couple of times a week keeps it tidy, and appointments can stretch a little further than the teddy bear.
Suits which coat: All of them. It’s the sensible default for owners who want their maltese clean and comfortable without much thought.
3. The bob cut
The bob cut is the stylish one, and it’s very much a maltese look. The body goes short, but the hair on the head and ears is left longer and trimmed to a blunt, face-framing edge, like a bob haircut on a person. The effect is elegant without the workload of a long coat.
What to ask the groomer: “A bob cut, short body, with the ear and head hair left longer and trimmed straight to frame the face.” A photo really matters here, because that frame length is the whole style.
Maintenance: Moderate, concentrated on the head. The longer ear panels need combing every day or two and will pick up food and water stains, so some owners use a snood at dinner time. The short body is easy.
Suits which coat: Best on a maltese with clean, healthy facial hair. If your dog has heavy tear or mouth staining, the longer face hair will show it, and a teddy bear or puppy cut will look better day to day.
4. The summer cut
The summer cut is the shortest practical option: the body clipped right down, with a little length usually kept on the head and tail so the dog still looks like a maltese. Owners book it heading into the warmer months, after a matting episode, or simply because their dog swims, digs, and rolls in things.
One caution that matters more for this breed than most: a very short clip means real sun exposure. Maltese skin is often pink and burns easily, so keep a summer-cut maltese out of the midday sun.
What to ask the groomer: “A summer cut, short all over, keep a bit of shape on the head and tail.”
Maintenance: The easiest of the lot. A quick weekly brush, and the coat dries in minutes after a bath, which helps keep the white actually white.
Suits which coat: Any maltese, and the kindest option for a coat matted beyond saving. It grows back.
5. The show coat
Here’s the honest section. The full show coat, floor-length, dead straight, parted down the spine, is spectacular, and it’s the rarest style we see. Keeping it means brushing and combing every single day without exception, because a missed day turns silk into felt. Serious show homes go further and keep the coat in wraps, sections of hair folded into papers or bands between shows to protect the ends from breaking. Add daily face washing to manage tear staining, because on a floor-length white coat, every stain is on display.
What to ask the groomer: Most salons don’t maintain show coats; this is owner territory with a groomer’s help. If you’re set on it, find a groomer with maltese show experience and expect regular bath-and-dry appointments rather than clipping. Bath-and-dry work is a big share of what maltese owners book, 67 of our 162 style-tagged photos (41%), though most of those dogs are kept at a comfortable pet length rather than true floor length.
Maintenance: Daily, genuinely. Brushing to the skin, face care, wrapping if you want the ends intact. There’s no shortcut, which is exactly why the teddy bear cut took over.
Suits which coat: Only a fully mature, healthy silk coat, and only an owner with the time. If either of those isn’t true, pick a style above and enjoy your dog.
For completeness, the rest of our style-tagged maltese photos are full grooms (32) and creative grooming (15, or 9%), the coloured-ear, dyed-tail end of the spectrum, which we leave to personal taste.
Quick comparison
| Style | Length | Brushing | Groom frequency | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teddy bear | Short-medium, rounded face | Every couple of days | Six to eight weeks | Most maltese, stained faces |
| Puppy cut | Short, even | Twice a week | Eight weeks or so | Low-fuss owners |
| Bob cut | Short body, long face frame | Daily on the head | Six to eight weeks | Clean faces, the look |
| Summer cut | Very short | Weekly | Eight weeks or so | Heat, swimmers, matted coats |
| Show coat | Floor length | Daily, plus wraps | Ongoing bath-and-dry | Show homes only |
How to choose, honestly
Start with the face. If tear staining is your daily battle, a shorter face, teddy bear or puppy cut, will do more for how your dog looks than anything else on this list. Then be realistic about brushing: a maltese coat matts quietly and quickly at the friction points, and a matted single coat usually has to be clipped off rather than combed out.
How often you book matters as much as the style; our guide on how often you should groom your dog covers the timing, and our dog grooming cost guide breaks down what salons charge. If you’re weighing up other small white dogs, the westie haircuts guide covers the wiry-coated one, and the maltipoo haircuts guide covers the maltese × poodle cross.
When you’re ready, scroll the maltese breed page to find a salon whose work you like, save a couple of photos, and be straight with your groomer about how much brushing actually happens at home. A crisp, well-kept teddy bear cut beats a struggling show coat every day of the week, and your maltese won’t miss the bow.
