Good Dogs come in Small Packages

By Gillian Ridgeway

Condo living is on the rise all across the country.  There are whole sections of newspapers dedicated to living in smaller spaces.  Is it any wonder that we are gravitating towards smaller dogs as our companions?  While there will always be those who feel that only dogs over a certain body weight are “real dogs”, make no mistake.  They may not be comparative in size, but certainly match in character and ability.

While little dogs have portability on their side, this can be a detriment to their upbringing and training.  These dogs can be taken everywhere with us, but instead of walking they are often carried.  This may appear to be convenient, but may hinder the dog’s social development.  It allows the dog to view other dogs from above which may provide a false sense of security.  If he does encounter a dog at his level, he may not be equipped to read their body language and this may cause problems.  Teach your small dog the same way you would teach a large dog.   Arrange a play date with a neighbor who has a well-behaved larger dog and this will give your little tyke some quality socialization time. Due to their size, they may be unsafe at a large dog park. 

While it is nice to have all the dogs playing together, an injury may occur simply because their playmate is much larger.  Big, friendly Lab type dogs love to play with everyone, but they might overpower a toy breed (although the terriers will most likely keep up).   Keep in mind that there are some dogs who may view a small dog, especially if it is fluffy, as prey and decide to chase him.  Always keep safety in mind and without being over protective and over cautious, just be aware of your surroundings.

Housetraining may be trickier with the smaller breeds.  They have a smaller bladder, and most of them need to have a toilet break more frequently.  You may look into the option of training a very small dog, which lives on the 24th floor of a condo, to use an indoor toilet.  A boot tray with a layer of paper serves this purpose very well.  Dogs tend not to soil their den area and this is the basis of most housetraining.  Teaching a small dog to not soil your home is like teaching a large dog not to soil in a mall.  Comparatively, the size of your home can be overwhelming to a tiny dog.

Teaching a few words to your diminutive friend can have its own set of challenges.  Many people chose not to train a very small breed, and that is indeed unfortunate.  While it is true that these little tykes would not cause many problems if left untrained, it is a shame for them.  They like to learn just like their larger counterparts, and do extremely well when given the opportunity. One of my favorite dogs of all time is Cashew, a 5lb Yorkshire terrier who does obedience, agility, flyball and travels with the Superdog Performance team.  He is a clever, spunky little fellow with a handler who never allowed him to get the idea that he was small.

All dogs should be shown the rules, and should be aware of the basics. Teaching a small dog some obedience words can definitely be hard on your knees and joints.  It requires a lot of up and down movement from you to teach even the simplest word like “sit”.  Each time your dog raises his behind, and you need to replace him into position…it is a long way down. One handy trick to teach your petite pal right away is to catch his treat.  With this skill accomplished, you will be able to toss a treat each time your dog exhibits the correct behavior.  Your back will thank you!

Using techniques such as clicker or shaping techniques will help you immensely.  Rewarding your dog for the behavior that you are looking for, while ignoring the rest, will mean that you can wait until your dog sits, and then give him a tasty treat.  Eventually, he will understand that sitting nicely in front of you is preferable to jumping up on you.  This requires that you keep your patience in check.

One idea for teaching smaller dogs is to use a platform or low table.  Make sure it is safe and has secure footing for your dog.  Using a rubber mat on top will help.  You can work your dog on the table to teach him words such as lie down or stay.  Keep safety in mind, and if using a table, you should be fully supervising your dog.  By using a platform, he can learn the body position of down without anyone looming over him.  This can be then transferred to the floor and he will already understand what your are expecting him to do.

Another thing to keep in mind when training a small dog is where his focus point is.  Large dogs see your hips; medium size dogs see your knee level and small dogs see your feet.  Keep this in mind when training and especially when you are returning to your dog after an exercise such as stay.  Place your feet quietly and calmly when standing by your dog.  If you are not aware of where your feet are, and you come towards your dog too quickly, or with too much noise, you may find that he will jump out of the way.  One thing that small dogs learn really fast is how to keep out from under our feet! 

A suggestion would be to initially work around your dog in your socks or bare feet, while in the house, until he learns the required behavior….and to trust your feet.  Some of these dogs are smaller than a pair of shoes when they are full-grown.

If you are interested in doing sports and activities with your smaller dog, check with your trainer and Veterinarian.  They will advise what options you have.  A toy breed scaling a 6-foot agility A-frame is like a large dog scaling an A-frame as big as a house.  Just because it can be done, you will need to question if it should be done. Some of these breeds may have very fine bones and safety may be an issue.  On the other hand, the terriers are small, but are stockier and are quite suitable for many sports and in fact excel at them. 

Find an activity that suits you both and your little friend, and start training. There is one last thing about having a small dog.  They take up so little room and are relatively inexpensive to keep and take care of, that is very easy to see why people like to have more than one!!

Gillian Ridgeway, AHT, has worked with dogs for over 33 years. She is director of Who’s Walking Who in Toronto and Ajax. A consultant for TorontoBarks.com, Gillian also writes for Dogs, Dogs, Dogs!, Dogs in Canada. She has appeared on Dogs in Canada TV, Global television, Q107 radio and in Toronto Life, and is co-author of the book, “Citizen Canine.” She travels with the Iams SuperDogs Performance team and teaches learning theory at University of Toronto. Gillian can be contacted at 416-465-3626; www.whoswalkingwho.net

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