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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think there's not much difference in having a small dog over a big dog?

80 replies

ishy90 · 01/04/2023 19:58

Okay i don't mean some giant breed like a Great Dane but is the difference between a breed the size of a Labrador and say a dachshund much different? Is it solely the amount of exercise?

Id rather a medium sized dog but DH is adamant he only wants a dog if it's a small breed? Asked him why and all he can give me is "well it's smaller" well no shit.

Surely there's not THAT much in it?

OP posts:
FizzyTango · 01/04/2023 21:16

I adore my large breed dog, but I feel very stupid for not realising what a huge difference size makes. For starters EVERYTHING is more expensive, I could afford the cost of living for 3 small dogs for the price of my 35kg dog easily.
Behavioural issues are harder, walking is harder. i think there’s a massive difference.

Newname221 · 01/04/2023 21:18

I personally don’t like small dogs and would class myself as a “big dog person”

I got a border collie as a “compromise” medium sized dog, but that’s pretty much the smallest we would have considered.

Shes the smallest collie I’ve ever seen. 10kg soaking wet.

Shes far harder work than my last dog who was a GSD.

LemonLymanDotCom · 01/04/2023 21:36
  • More portable
  • Smaller poos
  • Cheaper (less food required, as is less anaesthetic if they need an op)
  • Takes up less sofa/bed space
  • Generally lives longer

I love a greyhound, but couldn’t shell out for a bigger sofa at the same time as getting a dog, so got a toy breed instead. Small in stature, not in personality

TheoriginalMrsDarcy · 01/04/2023 21:38

The bigger the dog, the more mess and chaos they cause. I speak from having 2 labradors. More hair, more mud, more exercise and they take up more space on the sofa. They also require long walks and exercise. The smaller dogs (from what I gather from other smaller dog owners in my area) can get away with shorter walks.

Also, the bigger the dog, the slightly more expensive vet bills ( operations are based on weight, ie bigger dogs need more anesthetics etc... And flea and worming stuff is based on weight too ) and bigger dogs equals increased insurance. But I wouldn't be without my 2.

Ylvamoon · 01/04/2023 21:51

I think there is a difference besides costs and space.

Now I don't know if my observation is true but I think as a generalisation it will do!
The smaller the dog (breed) the more hyper they are. I think it's because smaller dogs have obviously smaller legs, heart & lungs. Which means in theory they are less able to keep up or do jobs for us. However if you then select the dogs who are naturally demonstrating to be more energetic than their size would suggest... you'll have an energetic/ hyper little doggy that's able to keep up.

I think for most large breeds it's the opposite...

happyumwelt · 01/04/2023 21:52

I have two large dogs - labrador retriever and golden retriever - and my sister has two small dogs (yorkie x JRT).

My dogs eat more, shed more and need more exercise but were easier to train, are much more chilled around the house and have very calm and friendly temperaments. My sister's dogs are smellier and snappier and aren't really trained.

massivenamechnage · 01/04/2023 21:57

massive difference

I had labs for years
I now have a very small cockapoo

I can pick him up- he is welcomed everywhere- he sleeps on the bed

Re the Jack Russell comment- he was badly mauled by a JR in the park 2 days ago and we are still all in a bit of shock!

airmax · 01/04/2023 21:58

Smaller doesn't mean easier. Smaller can still be high energy. Sounds like your partner wants a lower energy easier dog . I'd suggest googling Low energy dog breeds

Switchwitch · 01/04/2023 21:58

Well if you let it on the sofa then there's space issues.

NameChangingIsMySuperPower · 01/04/2023 22:00

I have a Lab. She is a moulty, massive, soppy beast, but I adore her. If I had a magic wand that could keep her the size (and the cuteness!) she was at about 15 weeks, I would wave it, as long as she still had the temperament she has now.

LuvSmallDogs · 01/04/2023 22:01

I enjoy my chihuahua's flexibility with walking - she's "happy" (actually I have to drag her out the damn house) with a short one in bad weather, enjoys bloody miles when it's nice, and a couple times when I've been too sick to take her out she made do with the garden and didn't go nuts and destroy the house.

She's easier to manage on public transport where dogs don't get seats/must be contained to a carrier.

People act like idiots around her, if they wouldn't pick up an unknown staff and put their face in its face without asking the owner, they shouldn't do it to her - she has teeth too, and they're lucky she's so good. These are adults I'm talking about btw, kids seem to ask before they stroke.

I feel nervous for her out and about, as Bully XLs are taking off in the area. I don't use the dog park anymore because it is always full of the things. Yes, sorry, MN, I am one of those owners who let's their dog run in places that aren't the garden or dog park!

ridemesideway · 01/04/2023 22:02

I’ve got something in the middle. A Springer. Not small and yappy (in fact he never barks, weirdly) and not a big dog.
Needs a lot of exercise though.

SapphireSunday · 01/04/2023 22:04

I have a quite teeny cocker spaniel (not quite 12kg as an adult) and I’m pleased he’s not bigger. It’s handy being able to pick him up when I need to, easy to get him in the car and in the bath etc. I wouldn’t want a dog that was loads stronger than me. But because he’s a spaniel he is full of beans so he feels like a lot of dog in a small package which is perfect really!

Plus he takes up hardly any room on the sofa once he’s all curled up, he is more like a large cat 😃

hannonle · 01/04/2023 22:05

I think only one person so far has mentioned bathing. So much easier to clean off a muddy small/medium dog when you can lift them in to the bath. If you have a shower, imagine trying to shampoo up a medium/large dog in there and not get soaked...

Putting a muddy dog in to the car is also a lot easier if you can lift them by yourself!

Personally I wouldn't go for tiny/small or any of the yappy breeds that get 'big dog syndrome' and I'd prefer a short haired one for practical purposes.

At the end of the day, just do lots of research and get a breed that you are both happy with. The last thing you want is to argue over 'I never wanted this dog' when things get tough.

GuyFawkesDay · 01/04/2023 22:05

GlassBunion · 01/04/2023 20:53

I have a golden retriever.

He thinks he's a toy poodle and is always trying to sit on my lap.

He doesn't fit.

Mine too. 20kg of dog on his back on my lap..... like a baby

LuvSmallDogs · 01/04/2023 22:07

Oh yes, bathing - my dog fits in the utility sink, very useful!

Youngatheart123 · 01/04/2023 22:12

Having experienced large and small dogs there is a big difference. Small dogs are much more manageable in every way as mentioned by other posters. Easier to train, transport etc and if you get a non shedding one hardly any mess to clear up! Choose a breed that's quick to learn, will walk and run for miles on a nice day and want to stay in if it's pouring....(poodle😂)

Whenharrymetsmelly · 01/04/2023 22:14

Smaller dogs tend to be less intelligent as they have smaller brains. That's why those very small ones tend to be quite aggressive

donttellmehesalive · 01/04/2023 22:18

Easier to get landlords to accept 'one small dog.'

Little dogs eat less/cost less. Even flea/worming treatments are cheaper for small dogs.

If necessary, a little dog can occasionally cope without a walk if there's space to exercise in the garden.

Some shops will let you in if you can carry your dog.

BeckyBeehive · 01/04/2023 22:31

For me it's portability. My dog weighs 13kg, she's nearly 15 years old and I can easily lift her in and out of the car, up the stairs etc. When she was younger she twisted her leg a couple of times on walks and I carried her quite some distance back to the car.

I've also encountered a few owners over my lifetime of owning dogs, who can't handle a larger dog. Once at a woodland visitor centre, the female owner of a German shepherd dog was pulled from the picnic bench she was sat at when her GSD wanted to get to mine. I witnessed a local lady being pulled over by her boxer dog in the street, and a friend of mine can't walk her GSD cross as he's too powerful, so her husband (who didn't want a dog, but that's a different story) has to walk him.

Squidge123 · 01/04/2023 22:33

Moomieboo · 01/04/2023 20:14

I've got a Labrador, and my friend has a dachshund. Smaller poo, less exercise. Although the Dachshund age 3 still pees in the house, barks and whines constantly and needs multiple coats, etc, as a big whimp!
Labrador was toilet trained in 3 days, live hit, cold, snow, and rain. Needs loads of exercise, but that's what I wanted too and he's just bloody amazing with our 3 kids, including a severely disabled kid who has wires all over the show!

Agreed! I had 2 labradors till recently when lost my older one and even having two were far easier to look after than my BIL's Dachshund that seems to bark constantly and still wees and poos in house, seems to run all over the sofa, cries if on own etc . I have had labs since 1998 and could never have a small dog .

Zwicky · 01/04/2023 22:36

I’ve got a 30kg greyhound. In many ways she’s perfect - doesn’t smell, low exercise needs, cuddly, quiet, affectionate. I don’t like that I can’t pick her up - she’s difficult to wash because I can’t carry her upstairs to the bath and she obviously doesn’t fit in the sink. I need a bigger car, she doesn’t fit on my knee, under a table etc. If I got another I would get a small lurcher or whippet.

AlwaysLatte · 01/04/2023 22:42

Having gone from a large dog to a small one and back to a large one, the main thing for me is being able to pick them up. If my 35k Labrador is not keen on leaving the park, then he's not leaving the park (we're getting round it with crafty good-related training).

AlwaysLatte · 01/04/2023 22:42

*food related

BeatriceLacey · 01/04/2023 22:48

I've got a large (40kg) dog and I adore him. He's big but gentle, really calm and great with other dogs and people. He could pull me over if he wanted (he doesn't) and actually helps me walk across icy paths etc He'll bark to alert me to something but is generally quiet. I think temperament is the most important thing.

I am probably a biased big dog person but I've met plenty of yappy reactive small dogs and I wouldn't really want a small dog myself.