Hurray for small dogs!!!

[KYS]

Originally posted by Sophies Daddy:
Small dogs are the best!
Personally, I think most big dog people have serious insecurities, but that is just my opinion...>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>

Since we have both small and large size dogs:
I think I can be pretty neutral.
Small or large, it's just personal preferece.
They are both equally wonderful.
Little dogs are just big dogs in small bodies.
As for Big Dog people having serious insecurities, I know you must be joking.

[HowieDawn]

HaHaHaHa Daddy, Behave yourself or we will send you to bed without supper!

[Sophies Daddy]

Ok, ok, not all big dog people have serious insecurities, in fact it is probably a relative few. Big dogs have their merits as do all dogs of all sizes.

...but...

I am an obedience instructor who mainly teaches basic and puppy obedience. I have seen so many men show up with their chests puffed out and sheepish women show up to class orientation with their big dogs. One man even asked at what point would he be shown how to teach his dog to attack. It is almost as if these people have "I need protection" written across their foreheads. A few of these people succeed and go on to competition level, but most of these people are never seen by us again after advanced beginner. A great many of these people don't want to take the direction necessary to properly train their dogs either. They seem to think that they know better which is just another sign of insecurity.

On the other hand, parents of small and medium sized dogs we teach usually come in happy and contented. They are usually much closer to their dogs and are more likely to treat their dogs like a member of their family. They seem to know ahead of time what obedience entails and usually listen to us more intently. They often practice more and their dogs perform better as a result. As a result, most of our dogs that continue to competition level are medium to small dogs (less than 60lb.)

Those people who have big dogs in our competition level training don't seem to pick their dogs for what they represent, but for the love of a particular breed. After seeing how much easier a small dog is to manage, however, "My next dog is going to be a small dog" is becoming a mantra among our competition people. These are just my observations over several years of training dogs.

Because I believe that a dog should be treated like a member of the family, I am turned off my anyone who keeps a dog merely for protection, a status symbol, or, God forbid, an outdoor dog. Unfortunately for big dog people, most of these neglected or abused dogs seem to be big dogs owned by big dog people (not including the much maligned, however unwarranted, pit bull terrier which is a medium sized dog). Those of you who welcome your big dogs into your family and treat them with the respect and love that they deserve, I applaud you and apologize for any insinuations I presented.

[KYS]

S.daddy you're forgiven.

Just to let you know, My husband
prefers small dogs too.
So when we are out walking, hubby
has the little one in tow and I am
walking with the monsters.
Hubby has always spoiled the little ones and does very little basic training.
I on the otherhand even it out by loving all of them and have always taken our
large dogs through obedience. In our household the large dogs are better mannered.
So I guess every household is different.

[HowieDawn]

Ok, I see where you are comming from now

------------------
"Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." - Mark Twain

[Sophies Daddy]

Originally posted by KYS:
S.daddy you're forgiven.


Hubby has always spoiled the little ones and does very little basic training.
I on the otherhand even it out by loving all of them and have always taken our
large dogs through obedience. In our household the large dogs are better mannered.
So I guess every household is different.

KYS,

Love your reply! I have met so many people that believe that, because they have small dogs (usually tiny) and they are more managable, that they don't need to be trained. They are usually o.k., but I have also met some real monsters in little dog clothing. My personal belief is that all dogs benefit from obedience. I am absolutely thrilled that you take your big dogs to obedience and I'm sure your household is much better for it.

If your husband doesn't want to train the little one, it may actually be in your best interest. Little dogs often do very well in obedience. You wouldn't want him showing up your big guys, would you? What kind of baby is it? I'll let you know if you are truly interested in a debate if the breed is one of the better training varieties .

[ktreva52]

Sophie's Daddy: I suspect what you have seen with the large dog people are the same type of guys that wouldn't ever neuter their dogs because they so identify with the male genitalia of their dogs. Most of these guys have no business owning another living thing, let alone a large dog that is rarely taught basic manners. Oh, well, off the soap box.
I, too, am a lover of all dogs and that includes the giant breeds (my sister breeds and shows Saint Bernards), but my dog of choice will be the Jack Russell Terrier. I recently lost my purebred JRT, but still have the JRT mix and she has been the best dog. One of those, "whatever you want me to do...." sorts, unlike our first family dog, an Australian Cattle Dog mix who was the most independently minded dog I know, but still a lover (also waiting at the Rainbow Bridge after contracting lymphoma and deteriorating in 2 months). Next year sometime, I intend to get another JRT to "sister" the memory of my beloved Trev. It is so much easier to keep a small dog in the house, although I would never advocate keeping any dog outdoors all the time. I had a lot of students that had Goldies and Labs and they were very willing to train them and work with them daily. The ones who didn't want to do that didn't come back to class. It was so sad for the dogs that their people didn't want to spend the time with them and teach them simple manners.....
Well, animals in general rule -- large or small and mankind needs to listen more to their needs than to keep pushing his needs upon the world -- oops, another soapbox. I'm sorry.

[lhg0962]

All dogs are wonderful, no matter what the size. In fact, my 85 pound Golden Retriever, Lilly, thinks she is a lap dog. One of my friends came by this morning and Lilly just put her head in his lap and sat there looking at him. He said, "Lilly, you should have been a Chihuahua so you could sit in my lap!". She really wishes she could be in your lap all the time!

[ownerof3dogs]

my dog Hercules (100 lb )does the same thing
he sit totaly in my lap. he thinks he wieghs only 10 lbs

[Sophies Daddy]

Aren't big lap dogs wonderful? It really shows that a dog is part of the family when it is in your lap regardless of size!

Ktreva,

Yes, the same people who want to keep a dog for protection want to keep their dogs "intact." One thing though, it doesn't seem to be a gender thing. Both men and women in this category seem to feel this way.

Then again, I wish Sophie wasn't fixed. It would be wonderful to keep her good traits going, even though she is slightly too tall for show quality. Maybe I'll have her cloned .


[This message has been edited by Sophies Daddy (edited November 26, 2000).]