I dont have enough discussions with people on this forum. Thought I'd introduce a topic I have posted on another forum.
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More often than not an owner of a small breed dog does not put the same amount of training into their dogs as a large breed dog owner does. They think that because they are little they dont need the same amount of training. Because of their owners negligence they develop behavior problems.
Example:
Suzy Q takes little fifi the toy poodle to petsmart. Fifi is running to and fro on her leash. Every person and dog she sees she runs up to. She's been growling at everyone and has snapped at a few people/dogs. Suzy shrugs it off with a laugh. Fifi's just being adorable.
Now, here comes John D with his Mastiff, Fido. Fido is walking calmly at John's side, barely paying any attention to anyone else around him.
Fifi gets within range of Fido and immediately charges. Jumping up and yapping in Fidos face. Suzy laughs and remarks 'how cute' it is that Fifi is greeting Fido. Fido emits a low warning growl sending Fifi running back to her mom. John immediately re directs Fido's attention and attempts to leave before the situation gets any worse. Horrified, Suzy picks little Fifi up and demands that John 'control his vicious dog'.
Sound familiar?
This is something Ive encountered far too many times while out in public. And, it is something that I have observed. In general, owners of little dogs just do not control their dogs as well as they need to. They, for whatever reason, get this mindset that because their dog is small it is unable to do harm.
Now, dont get me wrong. There are many small breed dog owners that do in fact put a lot of time and effort into training their dog. There is always an exception. It just seems that I run into more that dont.
I dont know why people get it in their head that little dogs dont need training like large breed dogs do. I understand it is much easier for a large dog to cause damage, but damage can still be caused by a little dog. How many times have you seen a little dog provoke a larger dog? A lot of times, if people controlled their dogs, certain situations would be avoided.
Bottom line- Everyone, no matter what breed they own, needs to have control over their dogs. It seems to me that small breed owners find everything their dog does to be 'cute'. While, if something goes wrong, the automatically blame it on the large dog. They dont stop to think that precious little 'fifi' may be the one to blame due to their own ignorance.
Control your dogs people. Train them. Work with them everyday.
[This thread was sparked by a bad experience I had with an out of control dog approaching Travis and I at Petsmart. ]
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