Fantasy book series with small dragons

[WiseUpJanetWeiss]

Does anyone know what this series (or possibly just one book) was? I read them in the 80s I think. Everyone acquired a cat-sized (possibly - it's just a vague memory) dragon at some point. I think they were similar to daemons or Harry Potter wands in that they paired to their humans.

Was it the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey? The little dragons appear in the first book about Menolly, Harper of Pern.

Are you sure it was dragons? Sounds similar to Philip Pullman dark material books but not dragons

Oh it could be the Anne McCaffrey ones, thank you. I had that in my head but a quick google suggested the dragons were full size. I will seek out that first book again.

Definitely not His Dark Materials - they were dragons not daemons.

There are small and large dragons in McCaffery.

Yes I think the Pern ones too. They bond to their humans.

The little dragons are called fire lizards and as pp said, they ‘impress’ on their humans.

Wonderful, thank you. Fire lizards! I will definitely re-read.