Are you a "big dog" person or a "little dog" person?

[Mona]

DEFINITELY BOTH!! I have always had at least one of each. We've had a Great Dane/Mastiff cross, Great Danes, a Lab cross, an Anatolian, a Great Pyrenees, and Boxers for the "big dogs" throughout the past 30 + years, and for small dogs, we have had Terrier crosses, Chihuahuas, Toy Poodles, a Shih Tzu, a Boston Terrier, and a Chinese Crested/Chihuahua mix.

We have also owned Whippets, which really are a more mid-sized breed. LOVE THEM ALL!!!

 

[little lady]

I always considered myself a big dog person. The bigger the better. In fact I used to regularly declare that small dogs weren't real dogs at all, they were 'scraps left over from making the real dogs'

But... I have been forced to eat those words and am now a lover of both. I do not love every breed whether they are big or little but I got a Boston Terrier for my birthday 2 years ago and I am thrilled to have her in my life. She is less than 20 lbs but can hold her own with my 135+ lb Bullmastiff while still being small enough to cuddle on my lap, travel in my vehicle and go with me almost every where. I too worried a bit when she first came here to live that she'd be hurt by the big guy but she just walks all over him.. literally and figuratively

Here is a picture of my pair. Love em both but for different reasons.

Love the pics of these two!! Cute!!

 

[Sonya]

I've always thought of myself as a big dog person....didn't care much for ankle biters..Labs are my favorite and always will be. Brutus was 120lbs and not fat at all, just a huge lab, people thought he was mixed w/great dane as he was so tall for a lab. We got Radar when Brutus was about 4, who is the mix in my avatar, he is what I consider medium size, 50lbs. Then came Tanga who is the rat terrier in my avatar, I consider him small at 15 lbs, but he is also tall as he has long legs and only a couple inches shorter than Radar but much smaller physique, he is perfect for our lifestyle, tough but small enough for us to pick up w/o getting a hernia. The 15-20lb dog size works well for our lifestyle...boating, camping, traveling. We actually had to buy Brutus a pontoon boat as he got older he could no longer get in our ski/fish boat and aside from the fact he was too big to pick up, it also hurt his back end when we would lift him, so yep we bought him a boat. At 50lbs, Radar is not easy to pick up but it can be done. I don't think I would ever get anything smaller than 12 lbs as although they are easy to cart around, I would worry about a super small dog getting hurt, stepped on in our active lifestyle. My Mom has a yorkie, at 3 lbs it is so fragile...if it gets caught in the door it could be killed, those tiny ones are just too fragile for us and they also seem difficult to train/housebreak from what I've researched...cute, yes, but not for us. When we settle down and don't travel around so much I WILL get another lab, just waiting for the right time.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Love the pics of these two!! Cute!!

Thank you. We are rather biased but we think so too.

The funny thing is that the little one is the undisputed princess of the house. Every one bows to her.lol. Its not that she is snippy or cranky at all, in fact she is very sweet and just loves to play with anyone who will go for it, but she is still the boss. She reminds me of the TV show "Dinosaurs" that was on a few years ago, her motto is "Gotta love me, I'm the baby" LOL And the big guy, Magnum, just has the kindest, easiest going personality of any dog I've ever owned. He's an excellent watch dog and keeps the wildlife away but never shows the least bit of aggression to any other dogs or to people. We had Magnum's mom too and she was a big hit at the vets office for her agreeable nature. She was so easy to deal with even for the less pleasant procedures they had to do that they never had to sedate her or worry about restraint if it was going to be owwey for her.

 

[Sterling]

I love all dogs all sizes. I've had large, medium and small sizes in the mix. My preference however for my person...I guess you can say I'm a big dog person. Just love those big majestic dogs that behind closed doors turn into mushy, goofy big lugs!

Right now I have 2 dogs...the older one is a Boxer and very independent. My other one is a Cane Corso (Mastiff family) and my heart dog. She has been my shadow from day one. Wherever I am you can be sure she will be there with me. She is a protection/guard dog and I have fallen head over heels with this breed. You can see a slide show of my girls on my website under On The Ranch "The Girls of Wolf Moon Ranch".

Reighnmaker...I LOVE your Bully and your Boston!

 

[shorthorsemom]

I am an all dog person, small medium and large....I LOVE dogs.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Thank you Sterling. It seems we have similar tastes in dog breeds.

Your 2 are wonderful looking dogs. That may be one of the nicest looking Boxers I've seen in some time. So many are almost 'delicate' it seems, I like a dog that has some bone

even my small dog is a bit of a brick. I'm very attracted to bully breeds and mastiff types.

 

[Sterling]

Thank you Sterling. It seems we have similar tastes in dog breeds.

Your 2 are wonderful looking dogs. That may be one of the nicest looking Boxers I've seen in some time. So many are almost 'delicate' it seems, I like a dog that has some bone

even my small dog is a bit of a brick. I'm very attracted to bully breeds and mastiff types.

Thank you! My Boxer is a smaller (in height) 75 lb. girl. Bulky but not long legged. Her mother was the old type of Boxer and her father altho not too boxy, was not the leaner long legged type either. My Boxer before her was the long legged lean type. I've also seen where breeders are now trying to make the Cane Corso more stocky. Give me a stocky Boxer, but give me a long legged and taller Cane Corso.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Thank you! My Boxer is a smaller (in height) 75 lb. girl. Bulky but not long legged. Her mother was the old type of Boxer and her father altho not too boxy, was not the leaner long legged type either. My Boxer before her was the long legged lean type. I've also seen where breeders are now trying to make the Cane Corso more stocky. Give me a stocky Boxer, but give me a long legged and taller Cane Corso.

In every breed and every animal it is the same. Breeders are always adjusting the type. Sometimes thats a good thing, sometimes not so much. I have a neighbor here who has a Cane Corso and she (its a female) is no where near as nice as yours.She is only about the size of a lab and not very stocky at all. She's still a pretty dog to look at (okay only a mastiff lover would call them pretty I know

) but no where near what yours is.

 

[Sterling]

She's still a pretty dog to look at (okay only a mastiff lover would call them pretty I know

) but no where near what yours is.

Mastiff lover indeed.

As with any breed I think it not only takes an overview but to know them is to love them. I have seen Connies as your friend's is on the smaller side, but still with that same personality we all know and love. Thank you for the kind words on my Lakota....I'm sure she will give me a big smile when I tell her other people have commented on how pretty she is.

 

[Minimor]

Generally 'big dog' here. We did have one wonderful small mixed breed dog, we think she was schnauzer/poodle, possibly had a bit dachshund in her. She was a house dog but was sturdy enough to come outside with us, and she was great at chasing mean tomcats out of the yard, she'd bark to tell us if a horse was out--just a real good little dog. If we could find another like her it would be okay, but the small, yappy floor mop type of dog don't do us much good.

So, we stick with bigger dogs that can be outside with us--German Shepherds have always been our favorite breed. We currently have Arielle, who is a sable Shepherd of Czech breeding. She's finally getting good this year (2 years old) but has been very slow maturing. She now keeps people out of the yard and just in the past few weeks has been chasing the Cottonwood Critter out of the yard, so she is finally earning her keep.

This is Arielle at the age of 6 months:

 

[~Lisa~]

I am a dog person period. I personally do not like generalizations about small useless dogs or big wild dogs LOL

I have alot of dogs ranging in size from about 4 lbs to 75 lbs. They are all inside dogs and get along great. The little ones play with the 75 lb golden puppy and we have not had any issues they all seem to know when play gets a bit to rough. The advantage the little ones have is when they feel it is getting to wild they quick duck under a chair or couch or even the bed and the golden is to give to really get under there so they have a safety zone LOL

 

[Minimor]

Now this is funny, after I said that a floor mop type of dog isn't of much use to us. I was hauling a load of old rotten hay to the dump at lunch time, and I came up on this little thing running down the road. I got close & it veered in front of my truck, then when I stopped it came around to the side of the truck to peer hopefully up at me. Yep, a little floor mop sort of a dog!

I opened the door & she tried to jump in, so I got out & put her in.

I have no idea where she came from--there were no houses nearby. The closest place was about a mile away & there was no one home there. I wasn't leaving her there on the road, just in case someone had dumped her out & she didn't have anywhere to go and not with the Cottonwood Critter being still out & about & preying on pets in this area. She has no collar, no tattoo.

If I don't find her owner we will have to decide if we will keep her or find a new home for her. She is currently sound asleep on the couch; apparently she is a lap dog & sleeps on the couch, not on a chair, and certainly not on the floor. She is okay with cats but snarls ferociously at big dogs. (Cottonwood Critter, BEWARE!)

 

[Sonya]

awee, she's cute as ever Minimor! Looks like you got yourself a "floor mop"! lol.

 

[dixie_belle]

Well, my husband and I have differing opinions on dogs. He likes big dogs, and if they are extremely hairy, even better. So HIS dog was Cinnamon, the great pyrenees We just had to have her put down recently, as I have posted, due to having bone cancer. He is presently looking at another rescue, this time it is a St. Bernard mix. Sigh.

MY dog it Bitsy.She was sooooo cute still is, especially in her pink, leopard print coat.

So he will have a BIG dog and I'll have my little lap dog. (But we all know whose dog is cuter!!!)

 

[dgrminis]

I am both... We have 2 chocolate labs (one is just a puppy) and then we have a blue heeler and also 3 pomeranians. So I would say it is VERY possible to be both... I cannot imagine my life without either size of dog...

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I like both, grew up with all sorts and variaties of dogs all different sizes. I don't think I would own a 100# plus dog, only because I'm so small it would be harder for me to train it to behave! I am currently owned by a 5lbs Toy Fox Terrier, Teo. My sister and I do tease at times that he isn't a real dog. Teo does come out to the barn with me, but I am careful about keeping him away from the young horses, they are more likely to hurt him because they are curious. I want a standard poodle, but have to wait until I can afford one, after feeding a little dog for so long, I think the dog food bills for a big dog would be sticker shock!

 

[shadowpaints]

we currently have

3 Shelties ( Star, Merlin, Destiny)

A black lab (Violet)

A blue doberman, Odie.

we have a farm dog also he is a stbernard mix.

i like big and small LOL

 

[Eagle]

Minimor is now converted to the small useless dogs, lol just you wait and see how great they are! My yorkie barks in the bulldog's ear when she hears something and won't stop until the big fat lump gets fed up and goes to investigate what is happening outside, they also keep the mice out.

I only take Izzy the weirmaraner down to the stables though as the yorkies are just too small and would get hurt.

 

[Minimor]

I don't know--this small, useless dog just might become a hairy little pancake if she stays around here. She is not horse smart & was determined to follow into the horse paddocks this morning--and I have horses that will chase dogs....even stomp dogs. I had to chase her out of the front corral several times. She was ferocious about chasing the big dog but finally gave that up when Arielle ignored her. She was bouncing around & snarfing at a cat once, trying to make him run (he wouldn't).

I just saw an ad for Shepherd puppies--the same breeder that I got Arielle from. Arielle's father Jake was killed in a freak accident last year. Now the lady has apparently acquired a new male, Joey, and he is one handsome guy. Unfortunately for me she is raising only registered pups now (Arielle's mother was purebred but not registered) and while Jake's registered pups were $800, Joey's are now $1200. Too much out of my price range.

Do you 'spose she'd trade a Shepherd pup for a Shih Zzu?