To Small Dog Haters

[Mal12345]

Why do you hate the small dog breeds?

I never knew anybody could be choosy over dog sizes until I was an adult. My first experience of this was with a postman, probably an ISTP. We brought our cockapoo over to his house (he was a relative), the dog jumped up on his lap, and he immediately pushed it off with an expression of disgust. Then he smiled politely and explained himself saying that, as a postman, he hates yappy little dogs.

But it wasn't a yappy dog, this cockapoo was relatively quiet compared to yappy dogs.

In another case, an ISTJ veterinarian took my $250 lahsa-poo puppy, choked it up against the side of his pickup and growled in its face.

He stated that this was a technique he learned from Cesar Millan, and that it was designed to teach the puppy who is boss.

At first I thought, ok, he's an eduated veterinarian thinking he was doing a good deed, although the puppy was scared of me (for some reason) for the next two days. Furthermore, this puppy didn't have any discipline problems whatsoever. The lhasa-poo breed is totally amazing in its intelligence, polity, and laid-back yet playful nature.

Since I worked with this veterinarian a few hours a week, I slowly learned that he believe his cattle dog was superior to my non-working breed, and all my efforts to convince him that dogs are just different, intended to meet different needs for humans, were met with little more than contemptuous smirks.

Why be such a Nazi over dog breeds?

 

[cafe]

Sometimes, because small dogs are, well, small, the owners of small dogs neglect to teach the dogs manners. Usually people don't do that with larger dogs because they'd be impossible to live with and/or get you sued. People associate the bad behavior with the size of the dog and become prejudiced against small dogs.

Or that is why I disliked small dogs for a long time. I have a min. schnauzer now and tried to make sure he had decent manners. I succeeded in making him pretty well-mannered with people, but he's kind of an asshole to other dogs. He has no idea he's only twenty pounds and 'real' dogs can eat him.

 

[Mal12345]

Sometimes, because small dogs are, well, small, the owners of small dogs neglect to teach the dogs manners. Usually people don't do that with larger dogs because they'd be impossible to live with and/or get you sued. People associate the bad behavior with the size of the dog and become prejudiced against small dogs.

Or that is why I disliked small dogs for a long time. I have a min. schnauzer now and tried to make sure he had decent manners. I succeeded in making him pretty well-mannered with people, but he's kind of an asshole to other dogs. He has no idea he's only twenty pounds and 'real' dogs can eat him.

Thank you for answering. I'm still a little traumatized over what he did to my puppy, because he's a veterinarian, and I'd just love to punch Cesar Millan right in the schnauzer!

 

[cafe]

Thank you for answering. I'm still a little traumatized over what he did to my puppy, because he's a veterinarian, and I'd just love to punch Cesar Millan right in the schnauzer!

He was a dick to do that. When you're in a job like that you have a responsibility to try to check your prejudices at the door. There isn't any reason to go hardcore on a dog who isn't behaving badly, IMO.

 

[Mal12345]

He was a dick to do that. When you're in a job like that you have a responsibility to try to check your prejudices at the door. There isn't any reason to go hardcore on a dog who isn't behaving badly, IMO.

I think he was using this Millan technique (which is real) as an excuse to do what he did because he hates my dog.

 

[cafe]

I think he was using this Millan technique (which is real) as an excuse to do what he did because he hates my dog.

I do too.

 

[ceecee]

My first experience of this was with a postman, probably an ISTP. We brought our cockapoo over to his house (he was a relative), the dog jumped up on his lap, and he immediately pushed it off with an expression of disgust. Then he smiled politely and explained himself saying that, as a postman, he hates yappy little dogs.

Did you ask before you brought the dog over or did you just bring it? I would likely push a dog of any kind off my lap too. Dogs can be trained to not jump on people, why would you not do that?

 

[Mal12345]

Did you ask before you brought the dog over or did you just bring it? I would likely push a dog of any kind off my lap too. Dogs can be trained to not jump on people, why would you not do that?

I said "we brought" although it wasn't my dog and I was just along for the ride.

 

[Mal12345]

And anyway, it wasn't exactly like this:

So the question is, why would you push a small dog off your lap? I say "pushed" but it really went flying.

 

[ceecee]

So the question is, why would you push a small dog off your lap? I say "pushed" but it really went flying.

I don't want a dog on my lap. I don't want a dog in my house. I don't have a dog and I don't want a dog and I don't agree with people who treat dogs like they are a human child and go with them everywhere and expect everyone else to conform to their way of thinking. I don't hate dogs at all, and wouldn't treat a dog (or any animal) badly but I don't want a dog in my space, including other peoples dogs.

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

Small dogs are useless.

 

[Mal12345]

Small dogs are useless.

There you go! Are you sure you're not an ISTJ?

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

There you go! Are you sure you're not an ISTJ?

Hah.

 

[cafe]

I got my small dog for the primary purpose of letting me know if someone was approaching my house. I do not live in a great neighborhood and a barking dog of any size can be a deterrent to casual burglars. He does just fine at that and little dogs are cheaper to maintain than big ones. They also have pretty decent life spans so you don't have to replace them as often. Puppies are cute, but training them is a pain in the rear.

 

[Oaky]

I definitely understand the prejudice from an associative standpoint. It's seems to be common that small dogs bark a lot. They're not much for protecting. They're often personal pets of people in high class society so are also possibly a sign of status. The way they look is often more cutesy or scrawny while bigger dogs look more muscly or lazy. Their confidence can be seen as arrogance. Their playfulness can be seen as arrogance. A perspective comparison can be made with the more popular cats (among the lower classes) which often shies away from unknown people or does not care. I often wonder if the owner is cause for a lot of the temperamental stereotypes of small dogs.

 

[Amargith]

Fwiw, Cesar Milan is a controversial character in animal training/behaviorism circles. His methods have been described as antiquated and downright cruel in some cases - though he seems to be willing to take risks no other dog trainer would - like working with cases of severe aggression. And he has had a lot of success there.

The most vital point of critique he gets however is that while his techniques may work for him - they aren't for laymen to use. In the hands of a laymen or an amateur, they are downright dangerous and harmful to both humans and dogs. And unfortunately, due to his show, many people who don't know what they're doing copy him. I worked closely with vets for a couple of years and took some animal behaviour classes myself, with a focus on felines - lemme tell you that vets should stick to their specialty or get schooling. I remember one of our vets not even realising he had to test the urine of a cat who was avoiding their litter tray for crystals or infection and just sending the customer home with a feliway - a band aid and ineffective without treatment either physical or behavioral. That was the extent of his interest and expertise in animal behaviour. He was an amazing animal dentist and radiologist though - his field of expertise.


As for your original question - many reasons have been mentioned already but:

* Small dogs tend to be yappy. This is often an overcompensation for their size. It's about bluffing you're more vicious than you look, in order to not end up on the bottom rank of the hierarchy. That and many of them have been specifically bred to be watch dogs - the way [MENTION=4]cafe[/MENTION] uses her dog - not guard dogs, which is where their yappy nature is put to good use

* Small dogs tend to be more ill-mannered due to pampering. Small dogs often look 'adorable' and physically have those really big eyes in a small smooshy face which triggers our nurturing side. It's a little trick Mother Nature uses to make sure we take care of our infants instead of eat it. It's basically a young animals defense mechanism in guilt tripping adults to take care of. It's better known as the 'D'awwwwwwwwwww'- effect you also see in kittens, bunnies, etc. Unfortunately, this leads to people not being able to say no to adult dogs who of course manipulate the situation the way any spoiled brat would. Add to that the smaller size and the fact that it doesn't have that big an impact when they 'misbehave' and yeah..you can end up with a seriously spoiled brat. It's kind of like how people will let a kitten bite their hands and feet as it doesn't hurt that much, then put down the cat for 'being aggressive' aka doing what it was taught when its adult coz then it fucking hurts.

* Men especially feel ridiculous holding the leash of a walking 'dust ruffle' (common nick name name for a Shi Tsu, Laso or York terrier at my parents place), ime. Even more so when it's their gf's dog. They prefer a dog who looks and can be threatening as they value those aspects in themselves or want them projected onto themselves. You see the same kind of projection in men who will adopt a male dominant pit bull, refuse to neuter him coz they over identify with their dog, and then have their spouse or girlfriend live in terror and under the rule of said dog as he considers him above her in the hierarchy and she is to listen to him - and get pissed when you suggest that the dog would be a lot happier without that sex drive he aint allowed to use. But you see the same with women who value 'being strong' and therefore consider having a little pooch too girly which is a stereotype they don't care to associate with - and the fact that Paris Hilton introduced the concept of Purse Pooches doesn't help with that disdain for little dogs that can't do anything for themselves.

* Lastly, toy dogs are sheerly for 'pet' purposes in many people's eyes. They're like a living doll, cute, adorable, and entertaining - and often get pampered in that way. It is easier to...take big dogs with 'serious jobs' more..well, seriously, I guess. The same seems true in human society, after all. Some entertainers may make ten times what a CEO makes, but most people will automatically consider the CEO top dog. An entertainer is after all..well, just an entertainer. A CEO concerns himself with serious business, supposedly. Starting a business is courageous, can be reckless, but is considered a risk worth taking and praised in society. Pursuing a career as an artist otoh is often considered frivolous or code for 'lazy' or 'floundering' as well as living in Lala land. The same rules for respect appear to be true for toy dogs vs work dogs.

 

[WhoCares]

I'm not a hater of small dogs, had plenty if them in my lifetime. But. Ill not have any dogs again. They can become a nuisance if not trained, and unfirtunately 90% of all dog owners fail to train their pets. So you end up with bored animals that amuse themselves by being overly territorial and barking all hours of the night. My mother has small dogs and they just bark constantly, its irritating beyond belief. She spends no time traning them, just leaves them roaming bored in her yard. She is the reason I will not own a dog again.

 

[93JC]

Not to belabour the points already raised but I'm not fond of (which is not the same thing as "I hate") small dogs because they tend to be very poorly behaved and socialized. In my experience they really are yappy and tend to exhibit other poor behaviours as well, such as jumping, growling and biting. The causes for this are up for debate but I would lay most of the blame on the owners. I also happen to believe that smaller dogs tend to be inherently less intelligent, making successfully training them substantially more difficult; breeding them for size and cutesy-poo looks has coincidentally bred out the 'smarts' too.


Not all 'big' dogs are inherently better behaved. My sister and her ex-husband had a Great Dane who was very poorly behaved, and the degree to which they let that dog's poor behaviour rule their lives was mind-boggling to me.

 

[cascadeco]

Not to belabour the points already raised but I'm not fond of (which is not the same thing as "I hate") small dogs because they tend to be very poorly behaved and socialized. In my experience they really are yappy and tend to exhibit other poor behaviours as well, such as jumping, growling and biting. The causes for this are up for debate but I would lay most of the blame on the owners. I also happen to believe that smaller dogs tend to be inherently less intelligent, making successfully training them substantially more difficult; breeding them for size and cutesy-poo looks has coincidentally bred out the 'smarts' too.


Not all 'big' dogs are inherently better behaved. My sister and her ex-husband had a Great Dane who was very poorly behaved, and the degree to which they let that dog's poor behaviour rule their lives was mind-boggling to me.

I don't know enough to comment/agree on correlation between less intelligence and smaller dogs, however, agree with all else. Most dogs are poorly trained, due to owners and/or mentality of 'omg I want a pet [but I'll be away from them for most of the day and therefore can't give them what they need, or don't care what they need and it's all about me and my having a dog that I don't understand]', I think it's just small dogs that are waaaay more annoying when untrained (due to yap and biting factor).

 

[HongDou]

Small dogs are useless.

Companionship and love is useless?