tinytawnykitten Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 We would like to get a very small dog. We have a small house and small children and a smallish fully fenced backyard. But it particularly needs to be a small dog as I care for other people's children full-time in my home too and I don't want potential clients to be put off as they would be by a big dog. I am thinking chihuahua or dachshund. Does anyone have experience with small yapper-type dogs? Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 A Jack Russell / cairns / sydney silky would be more suitable with kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilobite Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 chihuahuas and most toy dogs are pretty fragile and small children may be rough with them. I'd go for a pug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 They also tend to be hyperactive, poorly trained and hence more aggressive. I think the best dogs with kids are st bernards and english mastiffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Beagles! Not too big and very friendly with kids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilobite Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 poorly trained isnt a breed problem, its more of an owner problem. I don't want potential clients to be put off as they would be by a big dog I dont think st bernards or mastiffs are quite what was in mind though I agree they tend to have more docile temprements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Get a cat. Much better at disciplining children than a dog and the marks heal quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashzbetta Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 i only have greyhounds, border collie and a sheltie at the moment (however i have 10 dogs all up), small breeds can be snappy with children and i'd be looking for somethiing along the lines of a beagle as already said. would def not go chihuahua with small children, i only know 1 dashund he is nice but has many health problems I think you need to give us more information what sort of coat you can care for (can you handle a long haired dog or short hair, or one that doesnt shed?) do any children you look after have allergies? - do you need a dog without fur? (poodle or poodle/bichon cross?) how long each day will you have to exercise the dog? PM me if you need any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 They also tend to be hyperactive, poorly trained and hence more aggressive. I think the best dogs with kids are st bernards and english mastiffs. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 I agree with Ashzbetta. Really it doesn't matter what you get as long as you are prepared to train it and it suits your lifestyle. Most dogs come with some type of warning from other owners. All that stuff can be found on the net pretty easily. poodles and Bichons would be great. I have found them highly intelligent and easy to train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashzbetta Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 also - why are you wanting a dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobyn Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Chihuahuas and Dachshunds are not good breeds to have with children. They get small dog syndrome and get snarly and snappy when frightened. In general children dont know to approach a small dog quietly and slowly so they are almost always scared around kids. As would anyone/thing be, and then get defensive when something huge, fast, loud and unknown approached them. This goes for most toy breed dogs. It is however unfair to label them all yappy and badly trained, that comes down to, and depends entirely on the owner, not the breed of dog. (plus big dogs bark too, but because their barks are not high pitched they are not yappy) Anyway, I would not get either of those two specific dogs especially when there will be more than one child around. If you google dog breed selector there are many options to help pick a better suited dog breed for your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Get a cat. Much better at disciplining children than a dog and the marks heal quicker. :lol: "small dog syndrome" is because a lot of dogs were bred to be small but with the boldness and aggression more suited to a larger dog. For example fox terriers were literally bred to go down fox holes and terrorise foxes out of their dens. also please look into the issues surrounding 'pedigree' dogs. Often the inbreeding has been so severe that the animals have very high chances of certain inherited diseases and defects. I saw this documentary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedigree_Dogs_Exposed and felt so nauseas and angry afterwards. True working dog breeds are healthy (the need to be functional) but the show/pet types can be genetically doomed to cost you megabucks. (There will of course be those here that disagree, am just pointing a potential issue out without wanting to sidetrack the discussion) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 I saw that documentary, quite sad in places. Found out a while ago my boy has hip dysplasia, changes everything. If you are getting a pure breed I would advise getting some history and doing some research. Although take all of this with a pinch of salt, it is what it is at the end of the day. common sense and all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Hi TTK - we recently got 2 small dogs, a shih tzu x maltese, and a griffon x maltese - both are good for allergies and don't loose their fur (downside is that they need to be clipped). The griffon is smarter in my opinion and the shih tzu is stubborn - she doesnt listen most of the time but is cute so is forgiven . a couple of reasons we got small dogs was because of the size of our gardon, and because my wife and daughter weren't doggy people so I could never have gotten something that would jump up and nip at them. its all about the training and like many things its the time that you put into them so that you reap the rewards later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn87 Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 "Small Dog Syndrome is a label that implies a small dog will try to act larger than life to protect itself and its own interests. As with the fabled Napoleon Bonaparte, many of us believe a small dog has to puff up and bluster because everything in a small dog’s world seems large and threatening." http://asmalldog.com/small-dog-syndrome/ This has nothing to do with what has been bred into9 them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 regardless of how she has come to know the term as small dog syndrome, the information she was trying to get across was valid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 With a small home, a small yard, and several small children about, why do you want a dog? I am not sure I would have one if I was responsible for other people's children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 I have a Jack Russel cross and he's the most awesome bitsa. He adores children because children mean cuddles. I guess it's how you bring them up. Bit of a bonus because he's never had kids around him other than my young cousins a couple of times, but when he's in a situation with a million kids around he'll let them pat him and drag him everywhere! Weirdo! Personally i'd stay well away from chihuahuas! They're horrible snappy dogs. My flatmate at the time had one when i got my dog, it beat the hell out of him because we'd bonded for a few months and he didn't like anything else getting his attention. I was also out the other day and the tiniest cutest looking dog snapped and growled when i walked past with mine. The frighten me more than big staunch looking dogs! I find bigger dogs and crossbreeds to be best. My boy is mid sized and I guess i've just been super lucky he's turned out how he has. Crossbreeds sometimes tend to (but not always!) have less issues, in their heads and in general due to not being inbred as all hell! :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Plus it's pretty much a proven fact that smaller dogs are much harder to train. I was infuriated when my dog got the whole toilet outside all the time thing at about 3 months, when above mentioned chihuahua was having accidents at 2. Toilet training and all the lovely other things that come with puppies needs to be considered too. It's pretty time consuming sometimes. This is when I like cats and dogs much much more than kittens and puppies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrowssj Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 IMO small dogs are trained by fat house wives an in return end up being spoilt little yappers that pick fights they can't win. just today I saw this nice young girl ( ) running with her dog an this old man walking his jack russel (OFF THE LEASH idiot), the jack russel ran up an instantly fought with the bigger dog unprovoked an ive seen it happen time an time again(almost got out of car to help this poor girl she had no idea what to do) if you want to keep a small dog, make sure its WELL trained with humans AND dogs, its very important you take it to classes or the park on a regular basis at a younger age.its a dog just the same as a big one it NEEDS social interaction its not a toy, its not a play pet, its not your handbag accessory. sorry for the rant but the amount of times ive hand my very well trained lab get into pecking fights with smaller dogs..ive lost count. I think the worst thing about it all is usually the people with small dogs are stuck up an think its your dogs fault, il have you know my dog only ever wants to play with dogs it sees. Its so obvious in the way the smaller dogs behave an ive met alot of small dogs that are well trained an very acceptable to other dogs. my worthless 2 cents but something to think about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 its not a toy, its not a play pet, its not your handbag accessory. Small dogs are more inclined to attack bigger dogs in the way you describe. Then when the big dog responds it is so often the big dog that gets blamed :roll: due to being bred to think they are bigger than they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrowssj Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 yea an unfortunately ive seen it first hand with friends an familys pets, when I say to them "hey heres how it is" they instantly get defensive so now i just apologize an call my dog to move on. currently training our lab for agility maybe you'll see me on tux dogs show one day its a shame the earthquake has ruined our routine an training classes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Not all small dogs are aggressive, our Dachshund/corgi cross is a sweet natured wee thing and about as aggressive as a daisy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 ^ yeah you are right, it is easy to pigeon hole breeds according to limited experience. I can't tell you how many times people have gotten upset with my dog for defending himself. When you have a good looking dog though you have to make sure it is trained well, if it hurts a child or another dog there really is nobody else to blame. Not everybody has the same outlook on doggy behaviour though, some people wont even let their dog near mine and some people understand that dogs are dogs, asking them to act and behave like a human is plain silly. Technically that young girl shouldn't have been walking the dog ( if she couldn't control it that is ). No preparing for other idiots walking their dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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