Can small dogs get away with anything?
I have nothing against small dogs. Some of my best friends are small dogs. I loves me a small dog, almost as much as I loves me a big dog.
But, being a big dog’s human, I’d have to agree with Joan Klucha, a British Columbia dog trainer: It’s not entirely right — emphasis on entirely — for big dogs, and their humans, to be held to a higher standard than small dogs.
Klucha, in a column for the North Shore News in Canada — one I’d guess she’s going to take some grief for, diplomatic though it is — points out that little dogs can get away with a lot more than big dogs can.
A case in point is poop, which is what she starts the discussion with, recalling a visit to a client who, once she saw the condition of her home, Klucha assumed wanted help with house training.
“Oh, we don’t care about that,” the client said. “They are little dogs. Their poop is so little we clean it up and it’s not a bother at all. It’s their barking; it’s driving us nuts.”
A little dog can jump up, drop a load, be yappy, be rambunctious, even attack, but it’s often not taken as seriously as when a big dog does those things. As Klucha notes:
“There is a general consensus among many people that the size of a dog determines its behaviour, meaning a small dog automatically means a good dog. Let me set the record straight: The size of a dog is never the issue that determines whether a dog is good or bad. It is always the owner.”
Klucha points to a recent case in Ontario in which a small dog bit a child and the dog’s owner argued her dog was too small to be vicious, and not a threat to anyone.
“If this was a large dog, the outrage over the incident would have demanded that the dog be euthanized,” Klucha says.
“When someone sees a small dog lunging, barking and snapping while pulling at the end of a leash, they chuckle to themselves or don’t give it much thought. If it was a large dog behaving like that, animal control would surely be called out to deal with the situation.
“Small dogs get away with many inappropriate behaviours simply because they are small … Large dogs live under a microscope and are scrutinized for every misdeed.”
When you have a big dog (and mine’s 130 pounds) you do have a heavy responsibility. But small dog owners have a responsibility, too, and while most live up to it, there are those — not you, of course — who think their precious little one can do no harm and let them get away with anything short of murder.
Where the double standard most offends me is when it’s in the form of rules – at motels, in apartment complexes or from other entities that set weight limits under the thinking that big dogs automatically cause bigger problems. That’s just wrong.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
I’m going to go pet a little dog now. His name is Bogey. That’s him in the picture. He lives a few doors down, and he’s very well behaved. I will try to make sure my dog Ace doesn’t pee on him again. Even though Bogey likes to walk under Ace — perhaps for the shade, perhaps for the view, perhaps for the sake of sniffing – he doesn’t deserve a surprise shower.
Being a big dog owner, making sure that doesn’t happen is my responsibility.
Posted by jwoestendiek March 14th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: ace, animals, behavior, big dogs, bogey, discipline, dogs, double standard, joan klucha, manners, obedience, pee, perceptions, pets, poop, rules, small dogs, standards, train, trainer, training
Comments
Comment from Lori
Time March 14, 2012 at 10:26 am
I won’t tell Chi-Chi you were busting on small dogs! But I have to add that a part of the difference is not as much size but power. When two healthy dogs of different sizes have the same reaction to an event, i.e. biting, the larger dog is perceivably going to do more damage than the smaller dog. The larger dog is stronger and more powerful due to their size alone. Should they be turned away from hotels and rentals? Absolutely not. I know people like to give examples of what they see in situations like this but there are problems with all size dogs and all size breeds! And I can easily find a many people to provide a situational example of choice.
Comment from Tina
Time March 14, 2012 at 4:58 pm
All too true.
I sometimes feel sorry for little dogs.
Many times their needs are not met because the people don’t understand that they’re still dogs and need all those dog-things (walks, treats, leadership and training, as well as lots of love) same as big dogs.
We’ve always had big dogs. Our first dog was bigger than Ace!! He was a Pyrenees, Rott, Shepherd mix. At his prime weight he was ~180lbs.
As a big dog, he took on the role of referee at the dog parks. If he heard a scuffle breaking out, he’d go step in the middle of it (seriously, he’d just walk right in and stand there), and all the other dogs (big and little) would quiet right down and move on to other things.
Comment from vida
Time March 14, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Too true, and I have a small dog as well as a large one. I try to keep the small one in line but honestly it’s harder than with the big guy. It sometimes seems to me that big dogs usually have less to prove.
Comment from jwoestendiek
Time March 14, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Tina, Ace does that exact same thing. I sometimes wonder, if he were smaller, if he would still consider himself the sheriff of the dog park — whether it’s a function of size, or ego, or just thinking, for no good reason, he’s a hero.
Comment from selkie
Time March 15, 2012 at 6:18 am
you are SO right… like for some reason, people don’t think the NO PETS rules in grocery stores and similear places doesn’t include THEM, because their dog is small. Frankly, my terrier (since deceased and very much missed) a pom/jack mix was my most viscious dog – he had had a horrible life before me and showed it – and small or not (he was 18 lbs) his teeth did some SERIOUS damage on people – SERIOUS – I used to get the oddest looks as when I had to go somewhere where I know my dogs would be interacting (whether or not they liked it) with my terrier muzzled and my two GSDs (90 lbs and 70 lbs) NOT. Overall, I feel SORRY for most small dogs I see- they are treated like toys or objects not dogs and don’t get to do “dog” things – and no, not all small dog owners are like that – but enough that I think it is more likely than not that they lose out on being DOGS.
Comment from katherine
Time March 14, 2012 at 8:32 am
it’s definitely true. i get a little more scared in the small dog park than the big dog park because the small dog park seems full of people who don’t understand their dog. i had a woman yell at my dog once when he went up to her dog, sniffed her dogs butt, and then bowed in play position and tried to get her dog to play. her dog stood there and bared it’s teeth while at her feet and she yelled at my dog for barking. her dog was scared beyond belief, and i think she was scared to an extent, which was reflected even more in her dog. in the larger dog park most have a better grasp on their dogs personality (not all) and keep a good eye out for them – i haven’t had a single issue pop up there – but i have seen plenty of terrified or agressive small dogs under 20 pounds patrol the small dog park!