Train them ALL… please.

Adorable, isn’t he? I acquired this mixed poodle breed for a client in Atlanta and was lucky enough to have him live with me for a few weeks to develop and train. Bill Bailey was (and still is) a very charming, spunky and fun pup.

Smaller dogs definitely have gotten a bad rap over time. Just the other day, I had three SEPARATE daschunds come out of nowhere in attack mode towards one of my GSDs at a local park during a 3 mile walk…THREE different daschunds! My dog is neutral to other dogs and as we stood there, I noticed the reaction of the owners. The owners of the first daschund thought it was funny and laughed while their dog was acting the fool. They kept walking, dragging the lunging, barking dog behind them. The FAMILY of the second dog did the EXACT SAME THING, all five people laughing hysterically as their daschund lunged and barked, teeth bared. As my dog and I approached a gentle bend around the lake, we were met with another daschund who started lunging and barking and the male owner IMMEDIATELY picked the dog up and cradled it. The absolutely worst thing to do. Watch the next time you are out in public and notice when a member of the small dog. bridge looses its canine cookies…watch what the owners do. Small dogs are not a bad sect of the canine population, but the majority of the issues you see are due to how they are handled by the owners. Don’t fault the dog ;)

In my career, I have worked with A LOT of small dog of various temperaments and breeds/mixes and I can say that the rampant bad behavior of small dogs has to do with why people acquire small dogs. They are acquired due to space restrictions, living restrictions, spouse will agree to a dog as long as it’s not a big and/or shedding dog, and, my personal favorite…”My friend had one who was so adorable!”. People are not necessarily looking at temperament of the breeding stock. It is almost to believe that bad behavior/Napoleon syndrome is now accepted as the norm of these dogs and that should not be the case. Yes, doxies can be feisty but there is no excuse to know that trait and not work towards being able to control it when needed and channel it when appropriate. And yes, it can be done!

A dog is a dog is a dog and all dogs have brains and those brains need activity. Without mental activity, these tiny toothed tikes will find their own games to play.

A great trait of small dogs is that they do not need a lot of moving room to train. I am fondly remembering a maltese/poodle mix. TINY female tornado that was here for housebreaking. Tornado was an understatement and there was a lot of brain power under the hyperactivity, I would eventually realize. Her obedience was fast and furious but never static. I started teaching her trick work and balancing moves. She loved it! And most sessions were done sitting on my kitchen rug with some training tools.

To see her out in public, this tiny MalteseX girl was a spastic, wide eyed, non stop panting, hyper fluff. To work w her was to realize she had some super poodle brain power and her hyperactivity was due to not working that brain (and yes, she did succeed at housebreaking, too). I nicknamed her “Circus Fluffy”. Not the best dog to have when you are an older woman who just wanted a small dog to hang with in an Atlanta condo, but she was, in her own right, a great little dog with so much potential.

So, stop slamming those little dogs, people. It’s not their fault ;)

Little dog love,

Diana

Train them big, train them small