Anonymous wrote:Those who claim all small dogs are yappy and hyper are clueless about dog breeds.

You evidently have no knowledge of many small dog breeds which are neither, particularly if they have the right training by an educated and competent owner.

I agree. I have a small, miniature poodle (12 lbs). I have always had large dogs, but intentionally went for a dog under 20 lbs as my kids were young and I wanted them to be able to walk the dog without danger of being dragged or anything. He is a well behaved, trained dog. While he notices other dogs on the walk he will not break stride to meet the dog. He is athletic and gets 3+ mile walks every day and longer walks when I want to go out longer. My DD is now in HS and she runs - she often takes him with her. He never seems to tire. He has a great temperament and many kids in the neighborhood like to stop and say hi to him if he is out in the yard. I love his size as, for the first time ever, I have a lap dog. He lays in my lap when I watch TV. He is very portable in the way that if he gets dirty, it is very easy to pick him up and quickly wash him in the laundry tub. It is really easy to keep him clean! I have posted before as I had to get a poodle due to allergies in my family and after having my good little boy, I will never get another breed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 5 lb chi and people call it a rat, not a real dog etc.

The people who own dogs like this are usually obnoxious

Definitely.

I have a number of relatives and friends with little dogs and what I don’t like about those dogs is that a) many of them can never be house trained and b) almost all are unfriendly. I’ve never met a little dog that neither a nor b applies to. I see the appeal of a dog being small but friendliness and house training are more important to me. We have had big dogs that have both those qualities (golden retriever, Bernese mountain dog). Note this is not trendy but a long term sense. If anything it seems like small dogs have just gotten more popular. I remember 20 years ago a <10 lb dog was a rare novelty. Now I know 5 people with them that I can’t think of immediately.

I certainly don’t wear a dislike of small dogs as a badge of pride. In fact I would love to be proven wrong about a and b above - what small dog breed is uniformly house trainable and friendly?

Those who claim all small dogs are yappy and hyper are clueless about dog breeds.

You evidently have no knowledge of many small dog breeds which are neither, particularly if they have the right training by an educated and competent owner.

I've loved dogs my whole life, but developed a distaste for small dogs pre-Kindergarten. The big dogs I interacted with (family friends dogs, friends dogs, dogs on the street) tended to be gentle. For those, it was explained that while a full sized Collie was big, he would be calm. So while initially intimidating in size, I had many experiences at a young age with petting and patting a happy, chilled out laying down big dog. The smaller ones? Hyper and literally IN YOUR FACE as a kid. My big thing was always "does it jump?" because a Cocker Spaniel jumping at your face at 5 is way scarier than a sort of lackadaisical Golden Retriever. As a dog owner who is loving but also strict, I do agree people with small dogs often don't train them. Like it doesn't matter if they're doing zoomies all around the living room and jumping on guests on the couch trying to have a glass of wine because they weigh 8 lbs, even though it is SUPER obnoxious behavior. You can't get away with sh+t like that with an 80 lb dog. So yeah, like others, dislike of the small, yappy, and untrained has been a thing my entire life. There are a select few I have met that I adore, but that is the exception not the rule.

Anonymous wrote:Some small dogs are really annoying. I've met some great ones but I've definitely encountered the classic, yappy small dog.

There is a media stereotype that is based in some truth of the fussy small dog owner -- the person who carries their dog around in their person (even to places where you probably should take a dog, like the grocery store) and treats the dog like a human child. I've encountered people like this in New York and France, especially the latter where people take dog ownership very seriously. But not all small dog owners are like that.

Still, if I got a dog I'd want one that is more midsize. I love big dogs because they are so comforting -- there is something very soothing about taking a nap or watching a movie while a giant dog sleeps right next to you. But big dogs also shed a metric ton and also I would not want to have to scoop giant dog poop.

I think you meant to say (even to places where you probably should NOT take a dog, like the grocery store).

Some small dogs are really annoying. I've met some great ones but I've definitely encountered the classic, yappy small dog.

There is a media stereotype that is based in some truth of the fussy small dog owner -- the person who carries their dog around in their person (even to places where you probably should take a dog, like the grocery store) and treats the dog like a human child. I've encountered people like this in New York and France, especially the latter where people take dog ownership very seriously. But not all small dog owners are like that.

Still, if I got a dog I'd want one that is more midsize. I love big dogs because they are so comforting -- there is something very soothing about taking a nap or watching a movie while a giant dog sleeps right next to you. But big dogs also shed a metric ton and also I would not want to have to scoop giant dog poop.

Big dogs...big poop

I loved our miniature schnauzer. So intelligent, a real big dog in a small dog body.

I love our shih tzu. She looks like a Bernie puppy. Doesn't yap, doesn't shed, and portable.

I grew up with both big and small dogs. Loved them all, but still prefer big dogs. Trends have nothing to do with it.

Maybe it's just become trendy to consider something trendy once you have enough idle time to notice it.

Who cares what other people like? You do you.

FWIW, i never liked small dogs until we got a cockapoo and now I can't imagine having a bigger one.

I grew up with big dogs and still love them, but we fell in love with a particular small breed while living in the city and have had them exclusively since, even though we now live on a large enough lot / house to have any dog we want. Having owned both, I think small breeds are just much easier (our are not yappy at all, but there are some breeds like a yorkie or Chihuahua you couldn't pay me to own ). You can pick them up when they misbehave and the amount of chaos they can cause is much smaller, plus they have lower exercise needs, so lower maintenance.

That said, I wish I had a big dog when my kids were babies because my small dogs were terrified by these crawling creatures that were their size. And I'm always happy to go over to my friends' house who has three absolutely massive mutt-rescues that are the sweetest boys ever and want nothing more than to be loved on. But small dogs are just easier for us.

I’m always surprised how apartments often require dogs be small, when it’s the small dogs that make all the noise. And unless you have a 10,000 sf mansion, the size of the home doesn’t much matter to a dog of any size because it’s the walks etc that are important, not walks around the inside of the house.

I love all dogs but definitely prefer, and always had, dogs 60 plus pounds. Definitely very chill and confident. Not barky at all.

I've always hated little dogs. They're obnoxious and they just yap all day. And the owners are obnoxious too and let them yap all day.

I like small dogs