Technically YES... but not since well before Christ - so I am pretty sure that instinct has long since been bred out of them. They are now a toy, comfort dog and have been for most of their existence. If you are interested in a more elaborate history (versus generic breed info) you might like to explore this site: http://www.annasheavenlymaltese.com/...e_history.html I found it to be very interesting.

Other sites also question the dogs origin, suggesting that they originated in Europe from a Spitz-like breed and were only later taken to the island of Malta and used as barter to trade with the Asian and Middle East travelers. After a period of time, travelers became accustomed to seeing this exotic and interesting little white dog in Malta and therfor assumed it indigenous to the Island and began to refer to it as a "Maltese"!!!

Just an excerpt:
As the Maltese was developed using miniature spaniel and poodle blood, and was primarily bred as a hunting dog, they were much larger in size than their present-day counterpart. When the smaller-sized Maltese began to gain ground in popularity, early breeders would often confine their breeding stock in pens too small for them to even turn around, so as to promote a smaller progeny.