I have never had a really large dog, not now or as a child, unless you consider standard poodles large..... I have/had two but they are only in the 50 lb. range. I love to have a dog in my lap and for that reason have tended to stay with smallish dogs. Even thought I love my granddog, Harlee, who is a Swissie and weighs about 95-100 lbs. I can't cuddle with her very well unless I get down on the floor. I will be sticking to small dogs in the future as I am not getting any younger and they are more manageable for me (bathing, etc).