Little Dogs

Pawz4me wrote:
I think in your last sentence you engaged in the exact type of breed generalizations that Dr. Doug's linked article warns against. ;)

Yeah, I figured someone would call me on that. ;) But I do think there is a big difference in an individual owner understanding the breed tendencies and being aware of them and being able to counter those tendencies if they manifest in the dog with proper training versus labeling all dogs of a breed as dangerous, stupid, etc.

As stated, the owners and environment have a lot to do with the dog's behavior. IMHO, that means using every tool in the book to best understand your dog and its behavior. Considering breed tendencies is simply a tool - not a catch all.

I'll also clarify that I am talking about personality tendencies such as excessive shyness, intelligence, stubbornness, activity level, etc. - not labels like "dangerous breed", etc.

I think some breeds have certain character "tendencies". Doesn't mean that all dogs of a certain breed do it but that a large number do because of their breeding/job they were bred to do. I generally don't judge a dog by its breed but I have yet to conquer my fear of GSDs. I have only been around a couple of GSDs and they weren't well adjusted but that was due to the owners, not the dogs. I see them as protectors which makes me nervous.

Back to the topic: Our older (little) dog will start barking but we immediately intervene and she stops. Thankfully, she doesn't do it very often. Our younger dog doesn't bark unless something really scares her and no amount of discipline can correct that.

toedtoes wrote:

dturm wrote:
I get a professional SmartBrief email daily that basically searches animal related stories related to veterinary medicine. Yesterday's brief pointed to an article about a study from Penn.

Basically, there are breed tendencies but such a wide variation within a breed and so much cross-over behaviors (they studied aggression) that generalization about breeds becomes a problem.

Serpell says the C-BARQ data paints a more complex picture than expected, even within breeds. So judging a dog based solely on its breed overlooks one of the most important aspects of its behavior: The influence of its owner and environment.

This is a link to the story PRI (public radio international)

I think that is very true. A "breed" problem only seems to exist when a particular breed becomes excessively popular. At that point, there are more "inappropriate" homes for dogs of that breed than there are appropriate homes. The inappropriate homes don't do their research before buying/adopting the dog, and then don't make any effort into properly training the dog. And they don't realize that the effort required to train a GSD or Golden Retriever will be greatly different than the effort required to train a Jack Russell or Siberian Husky.

I think in your last sentence you engaged in the exact type of breed generalizations that Dr. Doug's linked article warns against. ;)

I never see a big dog barking out the front window of a Class A at everyone who walks by. But I can't walk around a CG without encountering a little dog doing just that. Yeah, it's probably the owners' fault, but it's easy to think it is due to the type of dog.

Smaller dogs have a higher pitched bark than bigger dogs. Humans tend to get irritated by higher pitches more, so the small dog's bark is noticed more readily, but nearly all dogs bark.

dturm wrote:
I get a professional SmartBrief email daily that basically searches animal related stories related to veterinary medicine. Yesterday's brief pointed to an article about a study from Penn.

Basically, there are breed tendencies but such a wide variation within a breed and so much cross-over behaviors (they studied aggression) that generalization about breeds becomes a problem.

Serpell says the C-BARQ data paints a more complex picture than expected, even within breeds. So judging a dog based solely on its breed overlooks one of the most important aspects of its behavior: The influence of its owner and environment.

This is a link to the story PRI (public radio international)

I think that is very true. A "breed" problem only seems to exist when a particular breed becomes excessively popular. At that point, there are more "inappropriate" homes for dogs of that breed than there are appropriate homes. The inappropriate homes don't do their research before buying/adopting the dog, and then don't make any effort into properly training the dog. And they don't realize that the effort required to train a GSD or Golden Retriever will be greatly different than the effort required to train a Jack Russell or Siberian Husky.

The psychology of small dogs: I read this on the 'net' so it must be true.

There are a number of behaviors that are common to small dogs acting dominantly, so much so, that this type of behavior observed in smaller breeds, has inherited the label ‘small dog syndrome’ or ‘little dog syndrome’. Some of the common behaviors that characterize ‘small dog syndrome’ are listed below.

Your dog has developed the habit of sitting on you, or jumping on you, or next to you, when he pleases.
Your dog does not allow you near him when he is eating or has a toy he is playing with
Your barks excessively to get your attention.
Your dog is over protective when other dogs or humans come near you.
Your dog growls when you attempt to move him from his favorite resting place.
Your dog is generally stubborn and refuses to follow commands given to him.
Your dog displays an exaggerated reaction to being left alone, characterized by constant barking, or destructive behavior.

I get a professional SmartBrief email daily that basically searches animal related stories related to veterinary medicine. Yesterday's brief pointed to an article about a study from Penn.

Basically, there are breed tendencies but such a wide variation within a breed and so much cross-over behaviors (they studied aggression) that generalization about breeds becomes a problem.

Serpell says the C-BARQ data paints a more complex picture than expected, even within breeds. So judging a dog based solely on its breed overlooks one of the most important aspects of its behavior: The influence of its owner and environment.

This is a link to the story PRI (public radio international)

Hiker_01 wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I've heard that all new Class A's now come standard with a little dog.

We're paying extra to get a model that comes with three cats instead.

Cracked me up!!

2oldman wrote:
I've heard that all new Class A's now come standard with a little dog.

We're paying extra to get a model that comes with three cats instead.