Why do people say they don't like small dogs?

GeeGeeboy

GeeGeeboy

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 March 2010
Messages
801
Visit site
Why is it? I've seen the comment a few times on this board and it really irks me. Surely if you are a dog lover you are keen on all breeds be it big or small and judge on the individual dog, not its size? I'm not saying that you can't prefer some breeds over others but to rule out lots of fab, fun breeds just because of their size seems a bit unfair.
 
I like individual small dogs and some smaller breeds but I'd never own one, they don't really float my boat as a rule, I'm a big dog person, I know plenty of people who say they don't like big dogs and it doesn't bother me.

There are horse people who say they don't like Arabs or cobs, doesn't make them not horse lovers!
 
Nothing more than just personal preference for me. I like large dogs! I don't dislike small dogs on principle, just can't think of a small breed/type I can really get enthusiastic about, if that makes sense? Obviously, I can think of a fair few individuals that I've met and liked, but I have limited brain cells so I need my schemas/generalisations/stereotypes whatever term you prefer. :D

Naughty little dogs are nasty little rats. Naughty big dogs are bullying, crap-for-brains ogres. Makes life simpler when you're feeling grumpy and can't be bothered with rationality and objectivity. :p:D
 
Echo what others have said. Plus I feel less bad about standing on my collie-sized dog than when I stand on my small terrier-sized-dog.
 
I generally like big dogs. The exception to the rule are what I call "proper" terriers :) I have a jack russell and a patterdale and love these types of small dogs. Little dogs with attitude :)
 
Well I dont say that, I have a small breed a Lancashire Heeler and 2 large dogs Dobermanns. I like dogs to be able to do a job, the Dobes guard the house and farm and so does the Heeler:D the Heeler to kill the rats and mice but the Dobes do that as well. They really compliment each other, Im sure the Heeler thinks she is a Dobe who hasnt finished growing yet:rolleyes:.


There are lots of other smaller breeds I really like Pugs and French Bulldogs but I wouldnt choose to own one because they wouldnt fit in with my lifestyle and satisfy the above criteria.
 
I took my pup into a tack shop with me a few weeks ago and a woman did a big loud display to her friends about how she 'hates smally yappy dogs and loves her big real dogs. german shepherds. proper dogs'.

I wasn't aware that cavaliers are fake. Hmmmm :o
 
I say I dont like small dogs because....well....I dont like small dogs :D

I was brought up in a household of cavalier king charles spaniels, and the first thing I did as soon as I was allowed was to buy a proper dog - a whippet :) Now I have rescue greyhounds, and they are proper dogs :D

What makes them proper dogs over CKCS? They are relatively free from the sort of selective breeding which leads to emphasis on abnormal physical characteristics, and they can catch their own tea :) The same cannot be said of CKCS...:p
 
Picklenash said:
I say I dont like small dogs because....well....I dont like small dogs :D

I was brought up in a household of cavalier king charles spaniels, and the first thing I did as soon as I was allowed was to buy a proper dog - a whippet :) Now I have rescue greyhounds, and they are proper dogs :D

What makes them proper dogs over CKCS? They are relatively free from the sort of selective breeding which leads to emphasis on abnormal physical characteristics, and they can catch their own tea :) The same cannot be said of CKCS...:p
Click to expand...

Ahhhhhh here we go here we go. Plenty of big dogs are bred for their looks! Plenty of big dog breeds have plenty of problems if not monitered when breeding! Dalmations - ears. Labradors - growths.

Honestly I'm going to go and cuddle my fake dogs in the hope that one day I'll have a 'proper' dog like you ;)
 
TinselCat said:
Ahhhhhh here we go here we go. Plenty of big dogs are bred for their looks! Plenty of big dog breeds have plenty of problems if not monitered when breeding! Dalmations - ears. Labradors - growths.

Honestly I'm going to go and cuddle my fake dogs in the hope that one day I'll have a 'proper' dog like you ;)
Click to expand...

Sorry TinselCat I actually read your post after I had replied, so I hadnt seen that you had a CKCS! My mother has bred/shown/judged them for over 30 years now (a stalwart of the breed no less :p) so I am aware of the bad press they frequently get, and have defended them from the ill-informed on many occasions on here myself :)

I agree totally that many large breeds also have significant problems - but I wasnt referring to them, I was talking about rescue greyhounds, which although not perfect are pretty good in health terms :):):)
 
PS - if you want me to cite other small AND large breeds that have selectively bred abnormalities - Pugs, Bulldogs, Great Danes, Dalmatians, Irish Setters, Labradors, Flatcoated Retrievers, basset hounds, cocker spaniels, American cocker spaniels.... the list is endless!
 
Picklenash said:
Sorry TinselCat I actually read your post after I had replied, so I hadnt seen that you had a CKCS! My mother has bred/shown/judged them for over 30 years now (a stalwart of the breed no less :p) so I am aware of the bad press they frequently get, and have defended them from the ill-informed on many occasions on here myself :)

I agree totally that many large breeds also have significant problems - but I wasnt referring to them, I was talking about rescue greyhounds, which although not perfect are pretty good in health terms :):):)
Click to expand...

I love cavaliers and will probably always own one. They suit my lifestyle down to a T. Friendly, cuddly, don't need lots of exercised but can do agility and long walks when asked.
I just get annoyed with this 'proper' dog lark, all dogs are 'proper' :rolleyes:

Although let me say I do love big dogs also. A red irish setter or a nice dalmation are next on my list.
 
It is that old cliche about horses for course isnt it - each different breed will suit a different person and their lifestyle/preferences/choices :)
 
I personally do not like small dogs, but then I do not like slobbery dogs, fat dogs, humpy dogs, snappy dogs, really moulty dogs, badly trained dogs, everyone is entitled to their opinion and choices and I really cannot take offence if someone says they dont like my bedlington, thats good, cos hes mine and I would never let them have him :) (mind you, everyone loves Flodden :p
 
I don't like small dogs - or long haired dogs, no-haired dogs, dogs that need clipping and trimming, dogs with very short legs, dogs with shortened snouts, wrinkly skin, dribbly jowls, that are prone to horrible diseases, that can't do a job that I deem useful or fun... I could go on. :p
 
Because they have not met the right "small dogs".......... has this something to do with breed?????? or sizeism?

Thre are quite a few "breeds", I would not give house room to but it has nothing to do with size.
 
Picklenash said:
PS - if you want me to cite other small AND large breeds that have selectively bred abnormalities - Pugs, Bulldogs, Great Danes, Dalmatians, Irish Setters, Labradors, Flatcoated Retrievers, basset hounds, cocker spaniels, American cocker spaniels.... the list is endless!
Click to expand...

What abnormalities have been bred into Flatcoats and Irish Setters? Genuine question.

ETA Nowt wrong with a small dog (see avatar)... she suits my little hobbit house just fine, and has a HUGE personality. And after a good mud bath I can just carry her under my arm and chuck her in the shower.
 
blackcob said:
Don't know about setters but flatcoats are known for their distressingly high rate of malignant cancers. Average lifespan only eight years.
Click to expand...

Really?? Gosh, how awful. I adore flatcoats and have always said I'd have one if I had the space. 8 years, that's terrible :(
 
I think that there are many owners of small dogs that don't know how to train a dog and let the dog do what it wants and only have it because its little and cute, those people tend to treat the dog like their child too, then you get those yappy, baddly behaved, snappy little dogs that give a bad name to all other small dogs. You don't tend to see as many badly behaved big dogs simply because they're not considered as cute as little fluffy breeds (dont get me wrong, i LOVE big dogs and i think they're very cute) so for those dog owners that simply dont have a clue, big dogs dont seem appealing. And when a little pug jumps on you when you get home people tend to go ''awwww he/she is happy to see me'' whereas if a great dane tried to do that you wouldn't be very impressed hence more badly behaved small dogs, they're allowed a lot more than small dogs. I love all dogs, small or big, i do have my preffered breeds but everyone else does too. I used to have a great dane and now i have a mini poodle, both of my dogs are well behaved, neither jumped up at anyone and did what they're told, they had the same boundaries and even after my dane has passed away, i still dont let my poodle get away with things, she is still a dog and has boundaries :)
 
Why would anyone want a small dog when you can have a 'proper dog' ;)


Only joking!! :) Small dogs personally do nothing for me and I never intend on having a small dog there is no particular reason why I just dont like them in the same way I don't like shetland ponies..... But I also never intend on owning anything that's not a Rottweiler (I also said I would never have children!) Mind you I have nothing against people who own small dogs or people who dislike Rottweilers! I am sure there are lots of people who don't understand my strange breed obsessions but I never ask them to! I just know what I like and nothing else will do.
 
PlanetHacking said:
Really?? Gosh, how awful. I adore flatcoats and have always said I'd have one if I had the space. 8 years, that's terrible :(
Click to expand...

Don't let that statistic put you off, I know plenty of flatcoats older than 8 (although my 2 are only 3 and 4 at the moment) - in fact there's a group on FB called Double-Digit Flatcoats :)

There are so many different breeds of dog because of individual taste and preference - I love all dogs, I don't dislike small dogs but personally wouldn't have one, I like my flatcoats and if we didn't have those it would be another gundog breed.

In the same way we like our TB's and wouldn't have cobs, whereas other people wouldn't touch a TB with a bargepole - personal choice :) I wouldn't call someone who didn't like them 'not a horselover'.
 
I love dogs, it's not the breeds I dislike it's the breeding I dislike. I have small dogs and love them. I don't have room for a larger dog.
 
I don't like small dogs as a rule and wouldn't have anything under knee height myself.

I like, and will fuss, my friends' Jack Russells etc but definitely wouldn't want one myself and when they bark it does sound 'yappy' and goes right through me :o- just not what I am looking for in a dog.

I don't really see what there is to get annoyed about though or why it would irk someone? :confused:
 
Its the same with small dog owners tho- some of them actively dislike big dogs. Each to their own.

I guess what irks me about some (not all obviously) small dogs is the level of pants behaviour they are allowed to get away with because they are small. If a Rottie/Staff/GSD was a gobby thing who ran up to all and sundry barking its head off the dog warden would be called- if its a pom/chi/jrt their behaviour is excused.

yes I know that is down to specific owners.
 
I have had chihuahuas, and you can't get much smaller than that. Treated as proper dogs they have real characters. I also love my daughters Lancashire Heeler, but I have to say I prefer larger dogs generally, and to be more precise my GSDs.
Having said that there are some large breeds I don't like, and individuals in small breeds that I know and think are gorgeous. I am with Lexie on the behaviour though, it never fails to annoy me when owners laugh at little dogs behaving atrociously and carrying on in a way that would probably have people screaming "dangerous dog" at one of mine.
 
It annoys me how kids are allowed to walk up to small dogs and touch them without the owners permission but their parents wouldnt allow it with big dogs. JUST BECAUSE MY DOG IS SMALL IT DOESN'T MEAN IT WON'T ATTEMPT TO KILL YOU!!!!

My dogs are really well behaved (apart from puppy who refuses to wee outside). Certainly not yappy (again apart from the puppy :o). They just suit my lifestyle to a T. We're looking at getting another big dog in maybe summer next year, but it will be primarily outside with good warm shelter.

It really is each persons preference but my dogs ARE 'proper' thank you all ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top