Little dog/Big dog people

I think this is a terribly circular debate.  It seems like the "dislike" for the size (be it big or little) comes from experience.  I've seen poorly behaved dogs of all sizes.  I've seen dog aggressive big and little dogs.  I have no doubt that the little dog owners pick them up because there has been a previous incident with a large dog.  I have personally had to preemptively cross the street to get away from the worst behaved little dog I have ever seen.

The only thing this board can agree on is that a well behaved dog is our favorite kind of dog.   

Period.

I have one of the largest dogs at 142 pounds and one the smallest, a pug at 25 pounds.  And now an inbetween dog at 40 pounds.  They are all treated the same with exception my Swissie,  just can't sit on my lap!![]
 
My Swissie is much sweeter than my femaile pug.  My Pug gets into with other dogs becaue they bother her.  They like to tourment her, and try to get her to play so she is picked up or just jumps on our laps to get away from the others. 
 
The larger dog abosolutly torment my little girl.  I love both my large, medium and small dogs all the same.  But I will always be a large dog person at heart.
 
 

Almost every single little dog I have met is just horribly trained. Including the 3 I grew up with, why were our 3 like that while our collie was trained correctly. "They are little dogs. They cant do any damage". ha. Now i was very young really didnt have a say. Now as i see it I wish myf amily trained them better (They were not terrible. Used the washroom, didnt bite us, strangers a differnt story, didnt run away ect. Just not a perfectly trained dog in my eyes). My friend has a chiuahah whom doesnt even know his own name, she has had him since he was 6 weeks, he is now 7 doesnt listen to a single command. Poops and pees in every house he goes in to. Every other little dog I have ever met is just like this. But you know what it is not the dogs, they are capable of learning. its the ignorence of the owners.

I have seen people pick up their little dogs when I walk my collie, you know a collie who saves timmy from the well a supposedly not scary dog lol. Every where we go when he is on leash little dogs get picked up. That bothers me alot. To just assume my dg is as untrained as theirs. Although he is by my side looking at me. While their dog is snarling.

Every where we go when he is on leash little dogs get picked up. That bothers me alot. To just assume my dg is as untrained as theirs. Although he is by my side looking at me. While their dog is snarling.

I totally get what you're saying. I know small dog owners especially have to watch out for their dogs because they have little chance of defending themselves should another dog attack, and people do give us a wide berth when I'm walking Cadie & Riley. Oddly enough though, the only two "scuffles" that have taken place on a walk were both brought on by other dogs, all of which were small. The first was way back when Cadie was a puppy, and 2 dachshunds (off leash) ran up at her and began biting her legs. My dad had to kick them off and pick Cadie up. The other time was pretty recently, when someone's corgi mix bit Riley for no reason. The owner didn't even apologize...

Not only am I more a big dog person because of the things listed in my previous post, but because I have grown up with them. My mom wouldn't mind having a small dog someday, but my dad doesn't think they're "real dogs" and compares them to cats lol.

Maybe I got a mix of both feelings from my parents...if a chi came walking into my house one day, I'd love it just the same - and expect the same things from the chi as my setters.
 
ETA: I must say though, that not all little dogs are untrained. I'm sure the owners of little dogs on this forum have raised obedient dogs, and one of the dogs in Riley's obedience class was a chi/papillon mix. It seemed to be pretty well-behaved. []

ORIGINAL: rolenta

I'm sort of surprised there are so many people so outspoken about not liking small dogs. People are really sensitive when it comes to pit bulls and such.

Sorry to hijack some more, but this is kind of a sensative topic to me.  I know the OP didn't intend for it to be this way, though.  I'm not talking to you Hunterwayit.

Every time someone posts something like this on a dog forum it turns into a little dog bashing thread.  It gets so old hearing such bad things about small dogs that are just plain untrue from a lot of people that have never owned a small breed.  You CAN train them and MANY MANY small dog owners DO train them.  My four small guys are absolutely wonderful. 

Just as many people have out of control big dogs- or at least they do where I live.  There's a ton of different kinds of dogs of all different sizes that aren't trained and are annoying. 

This just gets brought up so many times, it gets really really old.  People are very hurt and angered if you generalize other types of dogs (bully breeds anyone?) and are quick to point to lack of training at their problems, but then will turn around and bash the little guys and generalize them too?

Small dogs are of a plethora of breeds with many different traits and purposes.  To say they're all 'little ankler biters that yap' is just plain ignorant.  Period.  You've got all kinds of personality, intensity levels, etc.  Some breeds are more vocal, some aren't.  Some are some of the most intelligent, goofiest dogs you've ever seen. 

*link removed* ranting is over...

I don't pick up the little dogs every time we see a large dog, but if the dog seems out of control or is offleash or if the owner is coming straight at me and we'll be close to the other dog, then I do.  Better safe than sorry witha  strange dog, in my opinion.

ORIGINAL: kpwlee
I find it insulting when people pick up their dog or cross the road because Bugsy and I are walking in their direction

You know that your dog is well behaved and well trained, but those owners of the small dogs DON'T. Why should we risk our dog's life just to avoid hurting your feelings? Many large dogs will attack small dogs not because they are mean or aggressive, but because they see little dogs as prey just the same as a cat or squirrel. The thing is, if it's a strange dog walking by, there's no way to know if it would be fine with little dogs or not until it's TOO LATE.

ORIGINAL: dubilpie

When I am walking my 2 little dogs and a big dog is heading right toward us, I am definately on guard and do pick them up. There have been too many times bigger dogs have tried to go after my little ones. I really don't care if the owners are insulted, my dogs need me to protect them, one good bite and they are seriously hurt or dead. If that hurts the owners feelings, oh well. My feelings don't get hurt if an owner crosses the street when we are coming,

Exactly.

I like dogs that are big on the inside. I'm not too wrapped up in the outside package as long as they have a big heart.

I grew up with small dogs, and I have always loved all sizes of dogs. When I was little we had two darling, incredibly well-trained shelties (probably more from their smarts than my mother's help). They lived an incredibly long time.

Now my parents have a corgi, who is heading into year 11. She's just as smart, just as well trained, and just as wonderful, but she probably won't live nearly as long.

When I went to get my first dog... I imagined something smaller, something between 20 and 50 lbs. And now I have my 70 lb moose of a dog, whom I love dearly. And I loved being a "big dog person." I like how he stands up tall to me and acts like he's small even though he isn't (meaning he thinks he can fit in my lap! I don't even weigh double what he does...). He's not better, or worse, just different. The thing I like least about him is how much Dane he has in him - I hope he gets his lifespan from the hound mix so I can keep him around longer.

To me, size doesn't matter. Beau chose me and that was the end of that story!

On a side note about the walking thing: My mother's corgi was continuously attacked by large loose dogs in our leash-law neighborhood. It has become habit for me to put distance between myself and other people walking their dogs. In fact, Beau is trained to ignore other dogs when he is on the leash, which stems from my mom's super leash-reactive corgi. When I see any dog coming - big or small, I always go into watchful, protective mode. Beau doesn't know how to talk like a dog, so he gets in a lot of trouble when he doesn't understand how to tell dogs he doesn't want to play, or that they are playing too rough. Small dogs have scared the crap out of him just as much as other large dogs have. He may be a special case, but how I keep him under control and safe is just what I do naturally.

ORIGINAL: Bawb2u

I like dogs that are big on the inside. I'm not too wrapped up in the outside package as long as they have a big heart.

Agreed. []

I hadn't looked at this thread until now and I think it's hilarious that it turned into a big dog vs. little dog drama! [sm=rotfl.gif]

I LOVE big dogs! And I LOVE little dogs! I just prefer to own big dogs. I prefer their temperament in general. But if I could, I'd have a Coton De Tulear in a heartbeat! I LOVE those little guys!

I don't think the people are so different, it's just preferences. Do you prefer a horse or a dog? A dog or a cat? A rat or a hamster?  Wanna argue about it or make fun of those who prefer the other? LOL

And if I could pick up my dogs when I wasn't sure about the approaching dogs, I WOULD! I would pick them up and protect them with my life. And I think it's silly to be offended by someone picking up their sweet little (virtually-defenseless) dog! My dog could gobble one of those in one bite! What's to be offended about?

Big dog and little dog owners unite! There's nothing to be offended about! It's all words. No one is mistreating your dogs.

And yeah... Big dogs wear cutsie silly clothes, too. Who cares?

I don't find myself in one category or the other.  My dogs range from an 80 lb. Lab to a 4 lb. Chihuahua.  Also, I'm sorry but manners are manners, no matter the size of the dog.  My pug has his CGC, as does my Lab.  The older Chihuahua will be next.  If an individual has a poorly trained small dog I think that chances are good they'd have a poorly trained large dog too.

ORIGINAL: FourIsCompany

And if I could pick up my dogs when I wasn't sure about the approaching dogs, I WOULD! I would pick them up and protect them with my life. And I think it's silly to be offended by someone picking up their sweet little (virtually-defenseless) dog! My dog could gobble one of those in one bite! What's to be offended about?

Big dog and little dog owners unite! There's nothing to be offended about! It's all words. No one is mistreating your dogs.

And yeah... Big dogs wear cutsie silly clothes, too. Who cares?

Thank you for lightening things up a little. [] Everything you're saying makes perfect sense and I guess a lot of us are being really sensitive.

I just remembered a really important point. When I had a Shar Pei I actually picked him up when loose dogs would come over! I would pick my 50 pound dog up like a forklift and walk away with him.

Another thing, people give me and my dogs a wide berth all the time and I'm not offended. A lot of people are afraid of dogs and others just don't like them. I do my best to make sure that my dogs never impose on other people.

Another thing, people give me and my dogs a wide berth all the time and I'm not offended. A lot of people are afraid of dogs and others just don't like them. I do my best to make sure that my dogs never impose on other people.

Same!

You know the biggest reason I pick up my dog when passing another (usually larger) dog? Because Rascal acts like a spazzoid until he gets within sniffing range of strange dogs and I don't want him to frighten them or piss them off. As my Sheltie got older she got very sensitive about other dogs being "in her face" and I don't want to impose my over-eager little guy on unfamiliar dogs. It's not fair for me to use strange dogs with unknown histories to "practice" Rascal's manners.

Wouldn't those of you with dog-aggressive dogs pick your pups up if doing so would keep them and passing dogs out of trouble?

How bout this as a peace-making idea - would those of you who get offended when people pick up their small dogs feel less offended if said dog-picker-uppers then smiled at you as they walked by?

Thanks for pointing that out, Cita.  A lot of times when a "big dog" person sees a "litle dog" person pick their dog up, the first thing they think is that the "little dog" person just assumes the big dog is going to attack.  It doesn't occur to them that maybe it's because the little dog is likely to try and start something with the big one.
 
Joyce

Yeah, not only small dogs wear cute clothes...

I know Annie looks miserable in this picture, but she really does enjoy all the attention she gets when she dresses up.