To strongly dislike small dogs

I have a JRT. I see some people eyeballing him and pulling their dogs further away as we pass. He's such a happy, little dog. Will interact if the other dog does for a few seconds, then carries on on his way. It's usually other people's dogs that choose to follow along with us 😁

He's never barked at another dog or shown any aggression. We have our usual routes and recognise some people so if they keep theirs off lead, we do the same. It's never been anything but a 2 second hello between the dogs and us owners and everyone goes on their way. If their dog does seem a bit tense, he reads the body language in a split second and moves away.

I actually love how great he is. He's amazing off lead and has immediate recall. If I drop his lead, he'll pause. If I tell him to wait, he waits. He's an absolute dream. JRT people always praise him and want to interact with him, but he's not really a people lover, he just loves being out and seeing other dogs. It's big dog owners who seem arsey (which I totally understand as I used to think all small dogs were crazy until I got my own!)

Obviously not everyone. Some people are odd or not nice. But I’ve got dozens of hearts on that photo so obviously a lot of people do like him. I get stopped several times on most walks by people wanting to fuss him. Two separate people came up to me in a cafe the other day to fuss him. You don’t have to like him, that’s fine. 😁

I voted yabu because it’s not the dogs I dislike, it’s some owners. I have met three different people now with small dogs who have told me they actually don’t like dogs. Two said they got their’s for their children, and one said they got a Bichon to (unsuccessfully) get over a fear of dogs 🤷🏼‍♀️. I think they all thought getting a smaller dog would be a bit like getting a stuffed toy that has come to life.

You can actually feel the anxiety radiating out of these people when I’m walking my calm and happy big dog nearby, and they are the types who tend to get hysterical and post things on social media about dogs off lead minding their own business, as they can’t be arsed/ are too scared/ don’t understand the need to recall train and socialise their walking teddies. It’s no wonder the dogs are anxious, nippy and yappy when they are being dragged round pavements and parks on tight leads getting picked up and hugged tightly if another dog so much as comes vaguely into sight.

On the other hand, my neighbour has one of those bald dogs with the floofy necks who is brilliant, plays nicely with ddog who is around 15 times his size and never yaps or nips. It’s because my neighbours are sensible, did their research into getting a dog and although theirs looks more like a cartoon cat than a wolf, they understood what they are signing up for. Little dogs like that, with sensible, dog loving and appreciating owners, I have no problem with.

Op your post sums up my dog.

Thank you to everyone who shared a pic, you all have the cutest dogs 😍

I like little dogs fine. There are certain breeds though… if we are going to have an issue with another dog (I had until recently one very friendly and one quite reserved but placid medium sized dogs), it was usually a Jack Russell. And yes the other dogs we had issues were small too - I think the owners tend to pick their dogs up which doesn’t help them with socialising. When I say issues I mean we’d be walking past and the other dug would snarl and growl and strain at their leash - my dogs would just look at them and go ‘ok just walking by here…’ But we’d meet plenty of lovely little guys too! Even friendly breeds can get aggressive if not socialised properly.

I hear you OP. I was leaving a cafe once with my large exceptionally well behaved dog who barely even glanced at other dogs. An out of control yappy little shit started lunging and yapping aggressively at him and scared the shit out of him. While the owners just sat and laughed. I asked them to get their dog under control and the dog's owner came chasing after me yelling "how dare you, my dog was attacked". Like that's got anything to do with anything. The majority of little dog owners think their dog can do as it likes and that it's funny when they are aggressive. Boils my piss.

A lot of people do if the number of loves my little dogs received is anything to go by. ❤️

Why do you feel the need to post a picture of your dog? You like to THINK everyone loves him. News flash. They dont

Owner of a golden retriever here too. I'm not particularly fond of small dogs but the well trained ones can be quite sweet. My issue is with the owners who usually have multiple small dogs because they're 'easy', walk them off the lead with no recall and allow them to run circles around my on lead GR while growling and snapping at him. It's always small dogs that do this and there's something about those owners who don't seem to care, or think their dogs are playing when they're clearly not.
Untrained large dogs is a whole other issue but so far they've been easier to avoid, at least in my area.

I don't think it's the dogs themselves, or responsible owners of any breed.

However, it is possible that the type of person, who fancies owning a dog but doesn't want to put much effort in, might be more likely to choose a small breed in the mistaken belief that it will require less effort? So you get a preponderance of bad owners having small dogs.

St Bernards are gorgeous dogs and Beethoven was my favourite childhood film 😍however, if one was to turn vicious for whatever reason (pain, fear, bad socialisation etc) I wouldn't fancy my chances against them whereas a small dog can be easily overpowered. If you google, there are recent news stories about attacks by St Bernanrds on both humans and livestock. It's an absolutely wonderful breed of dog - don't get me wrong - but it's still more dangerous if it decided to attack than a small breed.

That's right St Bernard's are really into mauling people...mine just lies there or licks people to death. She doesn't do a lot.

Small dogs are too fast for me. I cannot keep up with them if they run off. Too much hard work. My giant breed just plods along with my arthritic self🤣

You don’t seem to know much at all about dogs if you think that a Mini Schnauzer doesn’t like the beach, forests or walking!

Wouldn’t you object if you were mishandled?

Small dog breeds—such as Chihuahuas, Jack Russell Terriers, and Dachshunds—frequently bite humans, often ranking high in reported bite frequency statistics even though their small size limits the risk of fatal physical trauma. 1, 2, 3]
High-Risk Small Breeds for Biting

• Chihuahuas: Often top statistical lists for defensive or territorial aggression toward strangers and delivery workers. 1, 2]
• Jack Russell Terriers: Bred as high-energy hunting dogs, they possess a strong prey drive and can react aggressively if under-stimulated or mishandled. 1, 2, 3,
• Dachshunds and Poodles: Studies on canine behavior show these breeds frequently display snapping or biting behaviors when startled or mishandled.

Well that’s ok then…

The problem with smaller dogs is all too often people just don’t invest enough training and socialisation into them because they don’t think they have to. They think it’s just bigger dogs that need that time invested in training. Often they get bought for children who then don’t want to play with them when they realise puppies bite, then they spend the rest of their life shut in the garden yapping all day. At out training club it’s almost always the smaller dogs being brought in that have all the behavioural problems because the owner thought they could just bring a puppy home as a toy and it would train itself with no input whatsoever from them. There’s also the misguided belief that it just doesn’t matter as much if small dogs are badly behaved because it’s just cute and funny. Nobody would find a Rottweiler behaving the same way cute or funny.

I'm I agreement here. I have a Finnish Lapphund, all fur, just masses of it.
This has proved useful as small bitey dogs get nothing more than a mouthful of hair. My darling floof looks confused and wanders off.
Thing us small dogs are often picked up when their owner sees a large dog.
This exposes the small dogs tummy which makes them vulnerable and terrified.
There are only bad dog owners.

The only dog I’ve ever been bitten by is a golden retriever. I spent far too long being terrified of anything bigger than a staffie and yellow. The owners were irresponsible, and allowed their off lead dog to bite a 13 year old because it had zero recall, I still have a scar, it’s been over 25 years.
Big horrible nasty dogs that bite.
However, my Nan’s next door neighbour had two Shitzus which I was fine with as they have never barked, jumped or even acted like they knew I existed. Same for my best friend growing up and her staffie. Anything smaller I could get away from or kick if they bit me, a retriever or a lab was too big and powerful.
YABU. Smaller dogs are not necessarily all disobedient, but at least they can’t inflict the same damage that bigger dogs can!

My lovely “proper dog”on a beach adventure

I think big dogs can be great but really I want medium to small dogs. Much more portable and easier to fit in with lifestyle - think sitting on my lap in the evening.

I do have a small dog that barks at bigger dogs, only because when they were a puppy, lots of out of control spaniels and labs/retrievers (all whom seemed to be called Luna) wanted to “play” with them. Problem was these dogs were big, scary and had no recall so my poor little pup was terrified. Since then, my dog barks at anything bigger than they are. If only the bigger dogs had been controlled and trained.

My Westie is only 14 lbs, but she has the heart of a lion. Huge bark for a small dog, not yappy at all, and only barks when necessary (she thinks she’s security). Training her was easy, she’s super bright, and was the best company for our then 7 yr daughter through lockdown. The only downside is she really prefers my husband.

My miniature schnauzer seems like a wise scholar compared to my DM dimwit Golden Retriever. I mean he's a nice boy but so, so dopey. And all the hair and drool everywhere, I CBF with all that! And the bigger the dog, the bigger the turds!

I used to look down a bit on little digs until my last labrador died and I ended up with a little ratbag I found on the street and then adopted another little ratbag. They eat less, produce less poo, use the cat flap to nip out for a wee and smell less. When they are being disobedient you just pick them up and carry them. We fly a few times a year so it is also easy to take them. It is the difference comparable to owning a human toddler vs a dog in hassle in my opinion.

Gorgeous. I have a 13 year old lab, and my neighbour has a cairn. I'd definitely consider one as she is a fantastic dog.