AT BARELY the height of a tea cup, Maltese terrier pup Scooter could well be the smallest dog in world.

The tiny ball of white fluff is just 8cm tall and measures just over 20cm from his nose to his tail.

While Scooter is still young, he appears to have stopped growing.

The Guinness Book of World Records title holder - a long-haired chihuahua in America named Boo Boo - is bigger at just over 10cm tall.

Scooter's size is also evident in his weight, or lack of it. He weighs less than a block of butter at 400 grams - and that is while he is wearing clothes.

Owner Cheryl McKnight, from Gisborne on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, fashioned a regular purple sock into a jersey, which Scooter wears so he is easily seen around the house.

"It really is quite something. I can't take him for a walk or put a leash on him."

Ms McKnight said six-month-old Scooter came from a litter of three and stopped growing before he reached two months.

"He was the same size as the other two pups when they were born but as they grew, he didn't," she said.

Scooter's siblings were sold.

"Dogs have to weigh at least 870 grams before they can leave their mums for the shops, and he has not even reached halfway."

As Scooter scoots around the lounge floor, he is dwarfed by plastic toy figurines belonging to Ms McKnight's grandson.

When friends come to visit, one of the first things they say is that they want to take Scooter home with them.

"For the first 10 weeks or so I didn't really want him. I thought nah, someone else can have him.

"But over time I've fallen in love with him. I would hate to give him away now."

Ms McKnight's previous pet, a miniature orange Pomeranian, was killed in front of her by two other dogs two years ago.

"It took me a long, long time after that to even think of having another dog," she said.

Ms McKnight's sister, who breeds Maltese dogs, eventually gave her one and Scooter arrived a few months later.

Scooter feeds from an egg cup of food three times a day and sleeps in a shoebox, but "does everything a normal dog does", she said.

However, making his way up steps is challenging.

"Because of the height of steps, they would be enormously big steps for him. It must be like living with giants."

Scooter was originally named Pee Wee, but Ms McKnight decided to change the name, saying she didn't want him to suffer an inferiority complex.

Originally published as Scooter, the tea cup terrier