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Regarding the yapping of small dogs, I have found the dogs usually reflect the owners and atmosphere of the home. Usually in a quiet home with calm owners most dogs will be mellow. I have fostered a couple dozen (all small except one lab mix) dogs over the last 4 years and they have been pretty quiet. There are so many small dogs that have solid, wonderful personalities.
My two favorite breeds are Papillons and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Papillons often love agility and are very intelligent and fall in love with their owners. They can be Yappy but out of 5 papillons that I have fostered, only one was Yappy. They were all alert, which I came to love. If an armadillo or cat walked through my backyard they would give a very low ggrr and leave it at that. One of the coolest dogs was a Havanese, loved to play and my neighbors would all comment on what a neat dog she was. Poodles are very intelligent as well and the two poodle mixes I fostered were easy to train with solid personalities. Maltese are so very sweet and their owners fall head over heels in love with them.
My first two dogs as an adult were Pomeranians, the male was a bit Yappy when he was young but that was my fault. He was very attentive and gave great eye contact. I taught him quite a few tricks which he enjoyed doing. I would put my finger on the top of my nose and go achoo and he would sneeze on command (my achoo) he also progressed to putting his paw on his nose before sneezing, lol. He was a nice dog but I doubt I'll have another Pom. I will have another Papillon as I'm forever spoiled to the breed. They are confident, intelligent, friendly and usually live well into their teens. I love the connection they develop with their owners and they, too, enjoy tricks. It is wondrous to see such a tiny animal with such intelligence and problem solving skills. They are cheap to feed, too.
So many who were big dog people transition into small dog people and are surprised to fall in love with the small dogs. My suggestion is to pick an intelligent breed that is attentive to the owner. As has been said earlier, the littles are so transportable.
We've had two Labs and an Irish setter and now we own two tiny 5 and 7 pound fur-babies. I loved our big family dogs when our kids were young, but our little pooches are the BESTEST! (and as a bonus, we get to snuggle in bed with them all night)
They are a mix of Yorkie/poodle and I've found this breed doesn't bark at all unless there's something that needs barking at. We've had three now and not one of them was/is a yapper.
Nope, I would never go back to owning a large breed dog. My husband never owned a small breed dog in all his 63 years and he LOVES our little ones now that he knows how personable they are. He still cries about our special little 16 year old girl we had to put down this past June. She was our first little one and so well behaved and smart, he instantly fell in love with her. She was his baby.
I am getting older too and one of my concessions to old age will be the size of my dogs. Right now I have a dobie, a weim, and a very senior GSP. All rescues. I got the Dobie last year and he is about a year old. He will be my last big dog. Just like you, I worry about getting them to the vet in an emergency situation. I have always loved big dogs.
Over the years, many of my friends had small dogs that behaved abominably. Maybe they were never trained because small is easier to manage? After all, a tiny chi jumping on you is no big deal where my dogs could knock you down. I hope I can find a smaller trainable dog down the road. One that is still a dog!!!!
You are expressing my feelings exactly! I wish you all the best in finding that small, trainable dog.
Ok, so I'm going to say what you didn't want to hear. Don't underestimate the Italian Greyhound. We have had one for years. She went to doggie daycare for 6 years with me where I worked. Yeah they have what I call little stick legs. She is tougher than I thought she was. Like any dog you watch the jumping around. I love the breed.
I was never around Greys before working in daycare. Boy I love them! When ever a sight hound was in the facility, they looked at me.
There are a lot of small breeds out there. We have had minpins for 30 years. They are not a breed for the person that wants a slug dog. We had a chessie for 10 years with our 2 minpins at the time. We always said the the brother/sister team didn't know they were minpins because of "Bogey" our chessie. Boy I miss the 3 amigos.
Good luck on your choice of a new companion.
I love your comment about the Greys looking at you! When I got my first rescue greyhound, I remember telling a friend, "She stares at me all the time--it's freaking me out!" Oh, but how I grew to love those moments of looking straight into her eyes and seeing her soul shining out.
I will take your input to heart and not totally discount the IGs.
Regarding the yapping of small dogs, I have found the dogs usually reflect the owners and atmosphere of the home. Usually in a quiet home with calm owners most dogs will be mellow. I have fostered a couple dozen (all small except one lab mix) dogs over the last 4 years and they have been pretty quiet. There are so many small dogs that have solid, wonderful personalities.
My two favorite breeds are Papillons and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Papillons often love agility and are very intelligent and fall in love with their owners. They can be Yappy but out of 5 papillons that I have fostered, only one was Yappy. They were all alert, which I came to love. If an armadillo or cat walked through my backyard they would give a very low ggrr and leave it at that. One of the coolest dogs was a Havanese, loved to play and my neighbors would all comment on what a neat dog she was. Poodles are very intelligent as well and the two poodle mixes I fostered were easy to train with solid personalities. Maltese are so very sweet and their owners fall head over heels in love with them.
My first two dogs as an adult were Pomeranians, the male was a bit Yappy when he was young but that was my fault. He was very attentive and gave great eye contact. I taught him quite a few tricks which he enjoyed doing. I would put my finger on the top of my nose and go achoo and he would sneeze on command (my achoo) he also progressed to putting his paw on his nose before sneezing, lol. He was a nice dog but I doubt I'll have another Pom. I will have another Papillon as I'm forever spoiled to the breed. They are confident, intelligent, friendly and usually live well into their teens. I love the connection they develop with their owners and they, too, enjoy tricks. It is wondrous to see such a tiny animal with such intelligence and problem solving skills. They are cheap to feed, too.
So many who were big dog people transition into small dog people and are surprised to fall in love with the small dogs. My suggestion is to pick an intelligent breed that is attentive to the owner. As has been said earlier, the littles are so transportable.
Wow, thank you so much for all the breed info--this is great! I started this thread feeling unsure and now I feel much more confident that I can find and train (and of course, love) a wonderful smaller dog.
We've had two Labs and an Irish setter and now we own two tiny 5 and 7 pound fur-babies. I loved our big family dogs when our kids were young, but our little pooches are the BESTEST! (and as a bonus, we get to snuggle in bed with them all night)
They are a mix of Yorkie/poodle and I've found this breed doesn't bark at all unless there's something that needs barking at. We've had three now and not one of them was/is a yapper.
Nope, I would never go back to owning a large breed dog. My husband never owned a small breed dog in all his 63 years and he LOVES our little ones now that he knows how personable they are. He still cries about our special little 16 year old girl we had to put down this past June. She was our first little one and so well behaved and smart, he instantly fell in love with her. She was his baby.
Oh, my condolences to you and your husband--it is so hard to lose such a beloved friend, and after such a long time, too.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It is so helpful to hear from people who have BT/DT!
OP, I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved greyhounds.
I too have been a big dog person for the whole of my life. I recently had to put my wonderful Siberian down and I miss him like the dickens - but, now that I am getting on, there is no way I could have another 95 lb. dog again. The last time I could lift him was when he was a pup - and in the last couple of years of his life I realized how awful it would be if he could not get somewhere on his own (and worse, if he could not still jump into the truck by himself when we needed to go somewhere or navigate the stairs into the house). He never made a sound - a silent Siberian .. not the howling type at all. I wish he would have barked occasionally mind you - he always knew if someone was at the door and I didn't notice or hear.
I also travel a fair bit so right now I am holding off on finding a new companion. When I do look for one though it will have to be 20-perhaps max 30 lbs. and if not silent, then one who just barks to let me know I need to check the door, etc. I think I can adjust to a smaller pup as long as I don't down to teacup size and it is not a yappy type. I love the look (and from what I know, the temperament) of the ****su and perhaps Maltese - but maybe the ones I have met are just well trained specimens. A spaniel or medium size poodle .. perhaps. I can't keep up with dogs like a min-pin any more either much as I wish I could - they are chase rabbits but so funny to watch at the dog park - leading a parade of big dogs round and round and never tiring.
I wish you luck in finding a new perfect companion - I am sure he or she is out there - and yes, I too think we big dog lovers 'can' adjust to loving smaller size pups. I am sure they will 'adjust' to us!
IMO there is a big difference between a 20-30 lb dog and a 6 lb dog (and I'm not referring to the weight difference). IMO dogs in the 20-30 lb range have a temperament much like large dogs. They also generally don't seem to have the housebreaking issues that much smaller dogs often to.
If you don't mind shedding, I recommend a corgi. They are a "big dog" in a smaller package. My cardigan acted a lot like my German shepherds.
A wonderful way to "try out" different breeds is by fostering for a rescue group. My rescue group sends out email blasts of the dogs in need and we can request whichever dog we are interested in. It's a good idea to get a feel for how the rescue operates as they do vary in the level of support given to foster homes. If you are seriously considering a particular breed, there are breed specific rescues although they often are not local. Fostering a 2 - 5 year old dog is the sweet spot, imo, as they are often settled but still with spunk and energy. As a perk, foster parents are usually given first dibs on adopting a dog and most foster parents end up adopting at least one of their charges over time. It's a great chance to see if the dog meshes in the home without the permanent commitment if it's not a match. I would recommend taking on an easy dog for the first time. The easy ones are a joy and usually are adopted out quickly.
YES!
We are a family who has only had spaniels. Springers and Brittanies (I know Brittanies aren't that big). Some of us had Labs, and lately, some have Dogo Argentinos. Anyway, they were all dogs which share common characteristics like needing to roam, and liking things like long hikes, and dragging home old rotten dead deer carcasses, and loaded Pampers from the neighbor's garbage.
Fast forward to now. We have a 17# dachshund. He's still feisty (we like that) but when we go outside he stays in the yard (a first). He likes to sleep a lot (so do we). All I'm saying is, you do not need to give up personality for size. You just give up some tension and hassle.
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