It is unfortunate that so many people think that small dogs don’t need training. Some small breeds need more training then bigger breeds. I’ve noticed over the years of doing dog training how many people let their small itty bitty dog get away with so much.
In the community it is expected to not let a big breed dog get away with unwanted behavior. Owners tend to work harder training a bigger breed dog, well because everything is 3x bigger then a small breed dog, such as; jumping, mouthing and barking. Majority of these unwanted behaviors are NOT tolerated with big breed dogs. Small breeds tend to get away with those unwanted behaviors due to lack of training and because people believe it is just as easy to pick up their small breed to stop those unwanted behaviors. Unfortunately, this does not STOP the unwanted behavior but can heighten the behavior to another level. Such as, protecting the person that is holding them, jumping on everyone, mouthing when being petted, just plain ol’ not learning good manners. Without training, small dogs tend to be nippy, aggressive with other dogs, unruly around small kids and yappy.
Small breeds should not leave their mother until 12 weeks old, unlike bigger breeds that are ok to leave at 8 weeks old. Their body weight and immune system aren’t as strong as a bigger breed dog.
Small breeds and children can be a bad mix, if you have young children under the age of 8, adding a small breed dog has to be carefully considered. Young children tend to think they are stuff animals and love to carry them around. If carried around on a regular basis, small breeds will wiggle their way out of those small young hands and unfortunately can fall and injure themselves. When combining young children and small breed dogs rules, boundaries and limitations need to be set up right away.
Training a Small Breed Dog is a MUST….
Harsh physical force doesn’t make sense when you are working with a small dog (or any dog for that matter), using gentle touch when training your small breed is the only way to train, they are little. Small breeds have delicate throats, legs, spine and hips, jerking on a collar can cause serious harm to them. A choke collar,martingale collar or anything of the such should NEVER EVER be used (including on big breed dogs too), there are kinder, gentler ways to train.
Your small breed needs to get use to all types of touching and to be accepting of any touching on their body. Your small breed dog should learn the five basic commands such as; Sit, Stay, Down, Come, Leave It. Teaching just the basic commands will help establish a loving, respectful and understanding relationship that you want with your itty bitty dog.
Small Breed Dogs need to be Walked too. Unless your small breed dog is injured, please do not use a doggie stroller. Your small breed dog wants to walk beside you, not ride in front of you, they want to explore and sniff just like the big breeds do.
Small breeds can become very territorial and it can be very convenient for a small breed to defend a lap or arm that is holding them. That is why it is very important to train your small breed that it is not their job to “own” you. When they “own” you, immediately put the dog on the ground and ignore, wait patiently for the dog to stop growling, barking or snapping before holding again. Owners of small breed dogs feel the need to pick up their small breed when they are behaving “badly”, this in fact, rewards the dog and produces a protective, snappy small breed in someone’s arm.
Have you ever tried to pet a small breed while someone is holding it? Majority of them will snap at your hand, I just don’t think that this is cute or fun to see and unfortunately a lot of owners just shrug it off or laugh. All the while petting their dog telling their itty bitty baby “it is ok, don’t be afraid”, when actually the dog is just guarding and not afraid one bit. The owner that is petting is rewarding and letting the dog know “good job for guarding me”…YIKES! With consistent training and teaching your small breed that they won’t be rewarded with you picking them up will help prevent this serious unwanted behavior that small breeds display.
Did you know that certain small breeds can take up 2 – 5 years to potty train, this needs to be taken into consideration when getting a small breed, so do your research to understand the potty training phase. If you don’t have the patient for this type of training, you might want to reconsider getting a small breed dog.
Baby Talking To Your Small Breed Dog Is Overrated….
Do not shower your small breed dog with nothing but LOVE and baby talk. Don’t get me wrong I baby talk my little fur kids, but their is an appropriate time and not an appropriate time. Choose your time wisely when using this type of squeaky, high pitch voice. Otherwise, you will be raising a spoiled, uncontrolled small dog that is not fun to be around.
A Small Breed Dog that is trained to have good little manners to be a GOOD LITTLE DOG is an enjoyment to be around!
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I have heard different opinions on this, I would recommend you talk to you vet prior to feeding your dog anything but a great quality brand of dog food from a pet store. The higher the quality of dog food brand the better for your dog. Stay away from any dog food or treats “Made in China” or “India”, “Mexico”….i hope this helps.