some little dog owners...jeeez...

Jerks like that give us little dog owners a bad name.  What an idiot.  One of these days that little one is going to bark up the wrong dog and get hurt.... then the idiot owner will for certain sue the owner of the dog. 

I don't bring my little one near big dogs.  She's well socialized and does not bark at big dogs, I've taught her to ignore them (for the most part).  But, some large dogs have a very strong prey drive and she sure looks like a bunny. 

Here's the way I see that scenario.  The stupid owner has a small dog who is terrified of bigger dogs because the stupid owner has not taken the time to properly socialize his wee little friend, nor does he protect his little dog from intrusions by bigger dogs, because he uses her reactions as an extension of his manhood.
This sounds like a little tyke that is simply fearful, and yet, has had to take matters into her own little paws (best defense is a good offense) because of an ignorant human who mistakenly takes delight in thinking his fraidy dog is tough.  Then, he continues to make her escalate her defense because he starts liking it soooo much.
What an ignorant, insensitive jerk.

If we ever go to the dog park, and there are big dogs there, (there is a little dog section, but nobody ever uses it- it's really new to the area) I always ask the owner if their dog is okay with smaller alpha type of dogs. (Daisy's play style is rather rude to other dogs. She sniffs them then tries to hump them if they're bigger than her. [8|])
 If they say no, I don't get offended. I'm actually rather thankful when they say no and save the hassle on both parties. Daisy's best friend at the dog park is an 80 pound english bulldog. He's very gentle with her, and they play tag all the time.

I agree that people like that give small dogs a bad name. Makes me really sad.
The worst bite that was inflicted in me was a 5 pound chihuhua who growled and his momma thought it was so adorable. They didn't think it was adorable when ACO took the dog away for 10 days.

Its totally true that if Emma did retaliate she would most liekly be the one in trouble just because shes bigger.
 
Poor Emma!  Im glad shes okay, give her some nose kisses for me and tell her to forget about that ol dog!

On several occasions little yappy dogs have lunged and snarled at my dog.  Invariably, their owners think it's cute and funny.  People walking along think it's funny as well.  They'll call out comments like "that one's a scrapper!" or "Choose your battles, little guy" and everyone chuckles and smiles. 
 
If my dog snarled and lunged at another animal that way, I'd get some very dirty looks and someone would probably threaten to call animal control.
 
It's really disgusting!

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

Here's the way I see that scenario. The stupid owner has a small dog who is terrified of bigger dogs because the stupid owner has not taken the time to properly socialize his wee little friend, nor does he protect his little dog from intrusions by bigger dogs, because he uses her reactions as an extension of his manhood.
This sounds like a little tyke that is simply fearful, and yet, has had to take matters into her own little paws (best defense is a good offense) because of an ignorant human who mistakenly takes delight in thinking his fraidy dog is tough. Then, he continues to make her escalate her defense because he starts liking it soooo much.
What an ignorant, insensitive jerk.

I just wanted to say very astute interpretation, Anne!

What's really awful is when people hand their "adorable" dogs over to a groomer.  And the groomer's arms get shredded, and the groomer gets in trouble for being "mean" to Fluffy.

I just LOVE little dog people! ARG! Most of Emma's buddies are over 60 pounds, LOL. She got used to being squished as a puppy. She acts like a big dog, and I'm not saying that she has a Napoleon complex.... She really acts and plays more like a large dog than a small dog. The only thing that I really put up with b/c she's small is jumping, b/c I like her to put her feet on me and give kisses.

One day, people will "get it". I hope it happens soon. It's just crazy how little dogs so often get away with murder. We need to get all the i-dog little dogs together for play time, LOL!!

I'm sorry that Emma was bitten. I hope she doesn't get nervous of all the little dogs, in the future. Some of them are really nice

Thank goodness neither of you was more seriously hurt. As for that owner I say small dog with an owner who has a small mind. Some small dog owners are major PIA's.
**not directed at all of you small dog owners - just "those" types. I have similar problem with 2 pit and a rottie in my neighborhood. We say big dogs = small minds (under our breath of course - I like my skin)

Try owning german shepherds!
 
I actually had this experience with Thor a couple weeks ago.  He rode on some errands with us and got to get out and go into the feed store.  A little tiny mixed breed, about the size of a chi came racing at him and started chewing on his legs.  I immediately put Thor in a sit and told him LEAVE IT.  Of course he's looking at me like "but MOM....it's biting me!!"  And I ALMOST slapped the little dogs owner when he said "so much for a big tough dog".  I gave him the evilest look I could muster and said "so much for a WELL TRAINED dog that doesn't attack others, or an owner with an ounce of common sense".  I was soooo PO'd that I didn't even buy what I went in for.

Molly went to the vet for a manicure yesterday (my girl gets manicures not nail trims []) and when we came out of the exam room a lady was sitting on the set with a tiny little silky terrier.
Of course Molly wanted to play but I made her sit. Her backside was moving so hard with excitement she could barely contain herself.
The lady said it was okay if she came over to meet her dog.
I thought that was nice of her. I let Molly go over to this, maybe 4 lb., dog. I was simply afraid she'd break the thing trying to play with it.
But she got a good sniff and was happy. The little dog just sat there = no bark, no snarl....nothing. Probably knew if he moved he might get stomped flat on the floor
I liked the little dog's person's attitude though. She saw Molly is a young curious "let's play" kinda girl and gave her permission.
But I bet if I had let Molly go up to the dog without the woman offering she would have acted differently toward us.

Do you know what REALLY gets me? When people don't theink that their little dogs need leashes. I was at the vets last week paying for Sally's shots. This woman was in the waiting room with what I guess was a toy poodle. She had carried it in, had no leash, but had managed to make sure that the dog was dressed in a jean jacket for the occasion. Then she put it on the scale in the and it wouldn't stay there and kept running up to Sally. Sally just thought it was the greatest thing and wanted to play, but what if she wasn't so nice? I know many larger dogs of all kinds that believe that little dogs=prey. I don't let her play with tiny dogs because she plays like a football player.

We also has a rat terrier lose its mind when Sally and I went to the pet store a while ago. It would freak out and snarl and yipe everytime it caught sight of her. When it was on the ground it would lunge at her and when the owner picked it up it would struggle for all it was worth to get down and get to her. Finally the owners had to leave. If Sally would have been doing that, someone would have called the cops.

I do realize that all little dog owners are not like this, but I really have to wonder what some of them are thinking when they allow their dogs to do things like attack/directly challenge a dog 5x their size. Whether the dog is 5 lbs or 205 lbs dog aggression is niether cute nor funny. They are putting their dogs at risk.

here is another story, just happened today......its not as bad as what happened to emma or some of the other posters but.......hehehe, haha, this is kind of funny just because of what the owner said is soooo dumb:
 
i was walking jake around my apartment complex so he could do his usual squirting here and there.  we were on our way back home when we saw this lady with a tiny yorkie, maybe 5 pounds i guess (jake is 15 pounds), walking in our direction.  the instant this tiny dog saw jake she started growling and snarling like a maniac and pulling on her leash trying to get at jake.  we were about 20 feet from them on the other side of the parking lot.  she held her dog back but i couldnt help saying "oh my gosh....." in response to the ferocious little creature and she said "hes a really good dog".
 
....right.......
 
jakes not a big dog but most little dogs his size or smaller try to attack him.  he does well with large dogs as long as they dont try to hump him or play too rough at first.

At the vet the other day I realized I need to socialize Bailey more.  When we were walking out of the room there was a big lab standing in the waiting area and Bailey stopped FLAT in her tracks and I immediately scooped her up and kept walk so nothing at all happened but I totally picked up that she was unconfortable with him.  Dont worry nothing happened because I was quick to respond... but I need to start taking her around... and I have enrolled her in doggie classes for that sole reason since she already does lay, sit, stay, drop it, shake, high five, come... shes going good!  But we need to get her some socaliztion... I think shes gonna be big even tho shes little now.

ARGGGH on all stupid dog owners (both large and small)!!!  They give all  of us a bad name.  My littlest one, Misty, 5 lbs, I've had since she was a pup.  She is trained to be calm around all dogs.  It's not easy keeping that training in place, though, because, just as there are awful owners of small dogs, there are awful owners of big dogs.  I walk my dogs ON LEASH ALWAYS at the school grounds behind our home.  I cannot count how many times some outta control large dog, illegally off leash, has come charging at us full tilt, owner in pursuit screaming "down, sit, come, stay," all to no avail.  It scares the daylights out of the little one. If I am out on a walk, and I see a larger dog coming down the sidewalk on leash, I will always calmly cross to the other side of the street--not because I don't trust Misty, but because I don't trust the other dog. 
 
My adopted one, who is six years old, was never socialized as a pup, and he's one of those little dogs that if you saw him greet a bigger dog you'd be disgusted with me.  He's greeting impaired, for sure.   Barking, screaming, twirling, you name it, he does it.  I am presently taking him to obedience school, not to learn how to sit and stay and all, but to have him in a controlled environment around other dogs.  Just our luck, we ended up in a class with 6 other dogs, all around one year old--they are all dogs who had no obedience training as pups and what were cute antics at 10 pounds are not longer cute in a 70 pound dog.  These dogs are outta control.  There's a GSD who last week arrived with it's face all torn up "It got in a fight with the dog next door, you know, that happens sometimes after they are neutered, otherwise he'd never do something like this."  Okay.  Makes my little 10 pound darling look pretty sane. 

Yep, we've all been there. Big dogs, litle dogs, middle dogs. Some dogs and their owners make all of us have a bad name, or at least a bad migrane.
 
Just wish I could come back with a good come back like Glends had! I always think of it about 15 mniutes later...