Stop insulting my dog....and therefore me!

[2blessed2bstressed]

I own a chihuahua. He is lovely. He is clever, well behaved, affectionate, and ok....quite small. This does not mean he is a rat, something a proper dog would eat for breakfast, something that would be nice in a sandwich, or any of the other hilarious comments that we have heard in the last few days.
He's part of our family, so leave him alone!

[Purplemonster]

You can't win either way, I've got a GSD who is a big 'proper' dog and when you have one of those strangers like to yell at you that your dog is vicious, because all GSDs are vicious apparently...if only they could see the 'this is so undignified, I can't believe you're letting this happen to me' look in her eyes while my kitten jumps all over her, big vicious beast that she is...

[theodorakisses]

I do understand about small dogs. I have a teeny overbred snuffly bug eyed dog who was rescued but people think I am vain because I have her. She's ace and wipes the floor with the big guns (5 Salukis crossed with anything from a lab to a Pitbull and one pure Pitbull complete with ears and tail removed at birth, the bastards). I would rather encounter Pitbull pup than her if I was a burglar anyday, even though her deformed jaws couldn't do much harm her bark damages your ears and she would never back down. The exception is of course our motley gang of cats who she always shows her tummy to and if she is very, very lucky may get a sniff of their bum if they are in the right mood.

[LovesGSD]

Purple monster I'm the same I've got two GSD's and people even leave the area I'm about to enter lol even tho it would be mines running away if another dog came near.

[groovejet]

Wetthemogwai - My dog wasn't called ugly but a woman did approach us once to say that he looked snooty

Another person went to stroke him and changed their mind saying he looked fierce, which is probably the first and last time someone will say that - he is a Cav and generally just looks a bit mopey.

There is a man I met who walks his big lab /gsd?? cross who he says everyone avoids as they presume the dog is aggressive, he is friendly just sends out some strange body signals, as he was a rescue who had never been socialised. Problem is no-one goes close enough for the man to explain.

[FellatioNels0n]

I only know one chihuahua. It's a really horrible dog. It has a nasty aggressive snappy, confrontational nature. If it was a big dog it would have been put down long before now. Chihuahuas don't have a great reputation for being good natured I'm afraid, but because they are small it's easy to excuse/ignore it.

It really gets in my dogs' faces and snaps and barks and snarls at them, and blocks our path when we try to pass. (it lives a few doors away and is always wandering up and down the road on its own.) Luckily my dogs do not retaliate, otherwise they'd snap it's neck with one bite and they'd no doubt look like the bad guys.

And it is really, really ugly. I'm sorry but it is. It is virtually bald, and it has bulgy bug eyes. Who finds that attractive?

[SecretNutellaFix]

I love dogs.

Ok, most dogs.

I don't like snippy growly pampered horrors who, sadly tend to be chihuahuas, Yorkies and pugs. Many smaller breed dogs do not get trained properly because "they're small and cute". I had words with that owner.

[2blessed2bstressed]

Well mine is trained, thank you very much! He doesn't snap, he isn't hairless, or bug eyed, and he's not "pampered" either. Well, no more than any other loved family pet, no more than our other dog - a cairn terrier - who is not subjected to the same level of hilarious abuse, despite being a bit less trained, and a bit more bad tempered

[littlewhitebag]

I have lab pup and she is luffly. BUT she will leap like a crazy loon around the head of any.. and i mean any... dog she meets. You would all hate me.

[HoneyDragon]

Littlewhitebag

This one of the "joys" of lab ownership. The 2-3 years of shame faced Lab retrieval amid cries of "get that stupid bastard AWAY".

Why people insist on recommending them as an ideal dog for first timers and young families I don't know.

I adore mine, but it takes WORK to get then capable of functioning in polite society.

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

Labs are "blah"?
My lab is a total bouncy, slobbering, over friendly, won't take no for an answer nutter. Little dogs hate him and big dogs don't have the patience for him.

[HousewifeFromHeaven]

My pug gets called ugly a lot. How rude? I mean, it's not her fault is it?

[pugoff]

I sing Christina Aguilera's 'you are beautiful, no matter what they say' to my two, just so they don't get a complex. I am a mental tho...

[littlewhitebag]

At least I knew what I was letting myself in for, as we had a lab when I was younger. And I am taking her to obedience classes so she is slowly, slowly getting a few manners around other dogs. I dream of a day I can walk her off lead and she doesn't abscond at the first sight of another dog. On the plus side she has never been called ugly.

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

That's funny hesterton I imagine my lab has a dumb sidekick type of voice and bounces about with a "play with me, play with me. You are my friend. You move; you are my friend, play with me"

He hasn't quite figured out that "grrr" means "back off" yet, but he's only 18months of oversized lab puppy, and he is slowly getting there.

[HoneyDragon]

Yes, my friends horse had quite the crush on me. The more I yelled "get off you big dumb bastard!" The more he leaned

[Missboobyvontits]

i own a chihuahua and completely agree with the OP, our little dog is an absolute delight and we all love him to bits but people think its ok to call him a rat or worse. i also come from Essex so feel like a complete cliche but he would hate being put in a handbag, he loves long walks, having kids around playing in the snow basically everything a so called pampered pooch would not like.

[ruledbyheart]

I have a chi x and I get it every time I'm out, I have had people call their dogs away because my dog is too small to play she is regularly referred to as a rat dog and because of her breed she must my snappy.

I hate it she is probably the best trained pup I've ever had the pleasure of bringing up, she is a rescue and had a dodgy start but she has no issues, she can play with the bigger dogs as she lives with one and has learned when to use her height to her advantage.

I hate people calling her a rat or not a proper dog, she looks like a dog, acts like a dog and certainly smells like a dog therefore she isn't a rat.

Probably doesn't help she does have a pink collar lead harness and coat but I refuse to carry her anywhere I just think she looks pretty.

[FellatioNels0n]

One of mine is a leaner. Visitors find it most disconcerting.

[FellatioNels0n]

I understand that though ruled. If many people's experiences/perceptions of chihuahuas is that they are confrontational and snappy then it's no surprise that people are nervous about allowing their much bigger dogs to play with them. If is goes a bit wrong and the bigger dog reacts or retaliates the chihuahua is probably dead, let's face it. It's not worth the risk.

[monkeyfacegrace]

Meh. You're over thinking this.

I have 3 Pugs. They are all fecking ugly....if you dont like that breed. They have the faces only a mother loves. People tell me they are ugly all the time, doesnt bother me.

[FellatioNels0n]

I think pugs are adorable. Yes, they have a certain oddness about them, but it's a cute oddness. For me comparing a pug to a chi is like comparing Yoda or ET (ugly but cute) to Gollum (just ugly).

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and never more so that with a dog.