Small dogs.

[Onyx]

I hate small dogs. Seems that every small dog I've ever seen has an attitude directly inverse to their size (Little dog, big attitude). Makes it even worse that tons of my neighbours have the tiny yapping things.

One of them just came over complaining that my dog bit theirs. Now, this struck me as strange as I don't have a fenced yard and, as such, have to put my dogs on leads when they go outside. So I peek around the back of the house and, sure enough, my dog in front and back are both still tied up. Normally I'm not a violent person but some people push me to my limits and I wanted to go in the house, put my boots on, come back out and make this dude kiss the curb after caving in both his orbital sockets. But, like I said, I'm not a violent person. So, instead of giving in to baser instincts, I took a breath and told him if he couldn't keep his dog from coming into my yard and f'ing with my dog then maybe he wasn't responsible enough to own a pet. I also pointed out the fact that, with the small stature of his pet, there's birds of prey around here large enough to make a meal of it and maybe he should keep a better eye out lest it disappear.

<insert deity here> I hate people.

[zebra]

When I see someone coddling their bejeweled chihuahua I want to tell them, "No wonder the dog is shaking, you just super glued a pink bow to its head."

[Onyx]

Originally Posted by zebra

When I see someone coddling their bejeweled chihuahua I want to tell them, "No wonder the dog is shaking, you just super glued a pink bow to its head."

Those oversized rats should be considered a crime against nature and outlawed. Then again, oversized rat isn't the right word. When I lived in New Orleans I saw rats all the time that were larger than one of those burrito dogs.

[Raveanya]

Ugh, I hear ya, I love animals but I just want to kick them, all though I don't, they just won't shut up! I was so fucking depressed when I was a kid because I begged my parents for an awesome large protective dog like we used to have *We had a great dane and then a Rottie-Border Collie-Lab mix* then mom brings home a tiny white miniature poodle... I have to take care of the damn thing when folks leave... *shiver*

[Underwater Ophelia]

My little pomeranian is a sweetheart.

[Onyx]

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

My little pomeranian is a sweetheart.

I've met a couple sweet pomeranians that weren't that yappy. The problem with the breed is a VERY strong little dog complex. First one I ever met lost its eye to a rottie fighting over a female.

[Still Jack]

I'm very intolerant of noisy dogs. I tend to try and shut them up with an air-horn and rarely ever prevail.

[Saya]

My chihuahua is the sweetest dog in the world. She's 16 this year and has few teeth left, she shivers and shakes and gives you puppy dog eyes until you finally pick her up, and she'll fall right asleep in your arms. She gets so happy when new people comes to the house her entire body wags and she starts to hyperventilate.

The "little dog complex" isn't really special to a breed, its also that they get raised differently from big dogs. With Jess since she does absolutely no damage and was abused before we got her (she'd go hiding and sulk if we ever had a angry tone), we didn't have the heart to ever get mad at her, and it was funny when she'd chase dogs five times her size around. Bigger dogs just typically get far more discipline. Funny, most small dogs I meet think they're big dogs and most big dogs I meet think they are lap dogs. My aunt used to have a huge German Shepard who'd insist on sitting on my lap and cuddling when I was at their house, they have one now who can't get out of the habit of jumping on everyone who enters the house, he nearly smacked the teeth out of my sister last Christmas jumping up on her, my aunt's boyfriend coddles him so much and they don't have the heart to really discourage it.

[Beneath the Shadows]

Originally Posted by Onyx

When I lived in New Orleans I saw rats all the time that were larger than one of those burrito dogs.

When I lived in New Orleans I owned a rat that was bigger than some dogs.

Now I miss my rat...

[Apathy's_Child]

I like terriers. They have a lot of character.

[Onyx]

Originally Posted by Saya

My chihuahua is the sweetest dog in the world. She's 16 this year and has few teeth left, she shivers and shakes and gives you puppy dog eyes until you finally pick her up, and she'll fall right asleep in your arms. She gets so happy when new people comes to the house her entire body wags and she starts to hyperventilate.

The "little dog complex" isn't really special to a breed, its also that they get raised differently from big dogs. With Jess since she does absolutely no damage and was abused before we got her (she'd go hiding and sulk if we ever had a angry tone), we didn't have the heart to ever get mad at her, and it was funny when she'd chase dogs five times her size around. Bigger dogs just typically get far more discipline. Funny, most small dogs I meet think they're big dogs and most big dogs I meet think they are lap dogs. My aunt used to have a huge German Shepard who'd insist on sitting on my lap and cuddling when I was at their house, they have one now who can't get out of the habit of jumping on everyone who enters the house, he nearly smacked the teeth out of my sister last Christmas jumping up on her, my aunt's boyfriend coddles him so much and they don't have the heart to really discourage it.

Isn't special to the breed. Special to the size. There's a reason small dogs act big and big dogs act small, confidence. It isn't limited to dogs either. The same behaviour can be observed in any pack/group animals, including humans. I find evolutionary psych facinating and when you look at it from that perspective the behaviour makes a lot of sense. Since were talking about dogs I'll use the wolf pack as an example. The pack is a very hyerarchical structure where dominance is constantly challenged and asserted. Now, due to reliance on the pack, if every time a higher member's dominance was challenged or needed to be asserted, someone got injured then the pack would starve. Have you ever seen where someone has an adult dog and they bring in another adult dog. Fights are par for the course as part of establishing their place on the pecking order. But, unless you're talking big dog on small dog, no one is going to get hurt. Most of the "bites" land next to each other or are quick nips. They don't really go for the kill at all. More of a show of force than use of force.

Same thing goes for primates and humans. This leads to more confident animals not feeling the need to show their dominance and small dogs that have confidence issues constantly needing to try and exert dominance over everything in sight. Also a big reason why small dogs tend to be the ones that feel the need to hump everything in sight as that's a dominate behaviour in the doggie world.

[Beneath the Shadows]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

I like terriers. They have a lot of character.

Not all terriers are small. Airedales certainly don't qualify as small.

[Solumina]

The problem with most small dogs is the owners, it is a lot easier to treat a small dog like a baby something that people don't really do with larger dogs but all dogs need about the same amount of discipline and so small dogs don't get proper care so they turn into spoiled brats.

[Onyx]

Originally Posted by Beneath the Shadows

When I lived in New Orleans I owned a rat that was bigger than some dogs.

Now I miss my rat...

I had a cool albino rat once. Him and my cat would curl up together on my chest and fall asleep. From what I've seen they're pretty good pets. Easy to care for and you can train them so they stick with you all the time. I had a friend who owned a rat and he'd pass out drunk at the park sometimes. The rat would just chill out inside his coat.

When did you live in New Orleans? I lived there from around Oct. '01 to May '03.

[Apathy's_Child]

Originally Posted by Beneath the Shadows

Not all terriers are small. Airedales certainly don't qualify as small.

There are some large breeds, but I'm not aware of many. I thought they were usually a smallish dog.

[Beneath the Shadows]

Originally Posted by Onyx

I had a cool albino rat once. Him and my cat would curl up together on my chest and fall asleep. From what I've seen they're pretty good pets. Easy to care for and you can train them so they stick with you all the time. I had a friend who owned a rat and he'd pass out drunk at the park sometimes. The rat would just chill out inside his coat.

Yep, that sounds about right. I used to have a friend who didn't like my rat. I could leave her outside with my hoody. She never ran away.

When did you live in New Orleans? I lived there from around Oct. '01 to May '03.

Then you arrived shortly after I left. I lived there from October '00 to April '01.

[Beneath the Shadows]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

There are some large breeds, but I'm not aware of many. I thought they were usually a smallish dog.

Generally, yeah, they're pretty small. I'm just saying that some are larger.

[Tam Li Hua]

For me it depends on the breed. Some are okay, but most -are- a bit annoying.

I prefer medium-sized dogs and cats.

[honeythorn]

Jack Russels can be rather snappy I've found. Both my grans and my aunt have had Jack russels over the years , usually from working lines, and if they get a cob on well, watch your fingers and feet!!!!!

I've seen one rip ten shades of shit out of huge German shephard who had simply walked past it. The owners managed to break it up after a few minutes of wrangling and swearing. The Shephard's long thick coat probably saved it from a hell of a lot of damage actually. Being small the Jack Russel just nipped in underneath and latched on like a manic rabid leech.

I really hate people who dress dogs up and do it seriously. It's all well and good for a laugh and a photo at say, halloween or something, but I mean those complete morons who make their dogs wear actual outfits every day, and even go so far as to put shoes on them. They usually carry the thing either under a arm or in a bag. No wonder they're nervous and snappy, they're treated like a combination of a baby and a fashion accessory, they never seem to get to use their legs, run around and sniff trees and other crap, and generally BE dogs.

[Underwater Ophelia]

Originally Posted by Onyx

I've met a couple sweet pomeranians that weren't that yappy. The problem with the breed is a VERY strong little dog complex. First one I ever met lost its eye to a rottie fighting over a female.

I haven't encountered many other pomeranians, but mine doesn't have the "little dog complex" at all. She knows she's tiny and killable.

[the-nihilist]

I've always wanted to go to that temple in India, the one where people worship rats and just let loose a bunch of rat terriers in there.

[HellforgedX]

I hate small dogs, except my toy poodle Peanut that I used to have. He always growled at everyone all the time, happy or angry or sad or bored or dead or sleeping. He kicked ass. Then he got cataracts and ran into walls all the time.

[Pantherlette086]

I have two chihuahuas. One is mixed jack russell. They both are sweethearts and love kids. They hardly ever bark either.

[Anarasha]

I have the cutest little dog, really. I think it's the owners that would be the problem, not the dog tbh o.o

[DemiGoth]

I like big dogs more than small dogs, i have a chesapeke bay retriever, and she's huge, and smelly... but still she's my favorite pet that i've had.

and i agree small dogs do get annoying and irresponsible owners are worse. my neighbor has a small dog and never lets it in the house and it sits outside and yaps like hell for HOURS. the horror....