Why You Ought To Get A Small Dog

Dogs bring many benefits to their owners. Dogs are an unequivicable source of companionship, they can help reduce your stress levels, improve your blood pressure, they love unconditionally, improve your mood, and provide an excellent incentive to exercise more. If you want to meet more people, nothing beats a dog for bringing strangers together, particularly fellow dog lovers. And if you’ve got kids, dogs can teach them how to be responsible and care for others.

But, what type of dog should you get – large or small?

Obviously, if you don’t have a big yard or live in a condo, your choice will be made for you. But even if you are blessed with a large backyard, there are distinct benefits to getting a small dog that impact on other issues than the size of your home.

For example, if you have pets or children, a smaller dog can seem less threatening. Breeds like the Tibetan Spaniel dog breed, maltese, chihuahuas, and miniature poodles, and similar lap dogs, are not really suited to families with small children.

For older people, a small dog is a more realistic choice. This is also a valid point for individuals who are frail or sick, or just not very strong. Large dogs weight more – so they are going to be correspondingly more difficult to handle on a physical level. To illustrate, walking an excited, large dog on a leash might be near impossible if your dog becomes intent on chasing a car, or another dog. And there will be times when you’ll need to pick up your dog. If you don’t have someone readily available to do it for you, this could become a issue, especially when your dog ages. Will you be able to handle him to check his teeth, and be able to establish yourself as ‘top dog’ when training your dog.

Additionally, large dogs generally need more exercise, although some smaller breeds also require a lot of exercise as well. This is particularly true for working dogs that also come in small sizes, such as the border collie dog breed. Border collies are very high energy, active and smart dogs. They were bred to herd cattle and sheep, and consequently they have particularly high stamina and endurance. They can run for hours, although as a pet owner, two hours of exercise – both physical and mental, ideally – would be sufficient. So, for a person who works long hours, unable to devote the time to your dog, a breed like the border collie would not be the right pet.

If you’ve got a family with children and you’d like a small dog, you could consider: {Kerry Blue Terriers, boston terriers, border terriers, English Cocker Spaniels, Miniature Australian Bulldogs, Miniature English Bulldogs, Miniature Australian Shepherds, and bichon frise}. And small breeds like the French bulldog, which are happy and easygoing dogs that love their humans, and don’t need a lot of exercise, are recommended for the elderly. French bulldogs are even used in pet therapy in aged care homes.

Published on April 18, 2009 under Dogs And Family
Tags: advantages, Dogs, small dogs

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