I have a small dog, but don't dress her up as she has plenty of fur. I also like big dogs but at my age, it is easier and cheaper to own a small dog. When my youngest was still home she had a Rottweiler and she was the sweetest and best dog ever. I would not have wanted to try and hold her in my lap, sweet as she was! Izzi is a Pomeranian and I have had her for about ten years.

Sue

Toy Poodles: Intelligent, affectionate, non-shedding, self warming, hypo-allergenic.

I've had both-2 standard poodles, 2 vizslas, a blue heeler, and now a mini poodle and a bischon. They are not really tiny dogs, they weigh 11 pounds. But they sure fit in your lap nicely. They are certainly less expensive to feed, but their vet costs are equal to larger dogs. They don't need as much exercise, and do need coats when it gets cold. I was never a small dog person until I adopted one, and now I'm sold. They have such great little personalities!

We have a 13-pound Yorkie. The larger Yorkies are not "yappers" and they do NOT shed. That's the main thing for me! My brother-in-law and his wife were here for 3 weeks last month, with their yellow lab. Fantastic dog, but the shedding drove me crazy. I had to "swiffer" the kitchen floor every day, and my vacuum cleaners were on overtime duty.

I took this picture just this morning, because I thought it was so cute. They have always seem to just tolerate each other, but lately they started getting a little more chill me. Maybe they're just Giving keeping

Oh my goodness, I didn't proofread on my phone. Tried to say they seem to be enjoying each other more these days, or maybe just keeping warm. White one is Penny, a rescue bischon. Black one is my Dusty boy, mini poo

I took the pup shopping!

I have 3 small grand dogs, poodle rat terrier X, I adore. I am a big dog person. I like the challenge of hard, goofy or stubborn, smart dogs. I think it's all in the training. My grand dogs are well trained. Too many people don't bother training little dogs. They are cute so they are allowed to get away with nonsense.

Every time I think I have met the most difficult dog the next proves me wrong. My current Rottie is the most hard headed, intelligent dog I've ever worked with. Because she is so smart, training her is a joy. You only have to show her something new a couple times for her to get it. She loves to perform and is a showoff. But because she is so willful and imaginative, with a high drive, keeping her focused is the biggest challenge.

I have a friend who raised great Danes for years. Then a few years back when she was dogless a stray chihuahua came along. She took it in intending to find it a home. Ended up keeping it. Perfect dog for her current lifestyle which includes a lot of travel by plane. A packable pooch.

Oh my gosh, my BF has a sweet Chihuahua. That dog goes everywhere with her - everywhere. She claims it has separation anxiety and must never be left alone. Actually this can be said of my friend as well. In this way, they are good for each other in therapeutic ways. However, it does get a bit annoying at times. For instance, the dog gets fleas and I have a cat in the house plus two others outside/inside. I began asking that the dog not be brought in because it was causing "distress to my cats". I mentioned fleas one time but my friend was very indignant that the dog did not, so I went the cat route. At first my friend was very upset but now she leaves the dog in the car and her visits are much shorter. The dog does not wear a collar and never will according to my friend as it is unnatural for the dog. And never on a leash. I understand perhaps the leash thing and its tiny neck, but a harness may work. But I can swear this will not ever happen either.

Am I jealous of the dog? I don't know, lol. I think it's a control issue. My house, my rules. ; )

We had a toy poodle, Mickey, years ago. Then we had Maggie and Allie, hound mixes, I loved them all, but the big dogs had my heart!

I was never a small dog person either. We had several Great Danes over the years and a Doberman and an Afghan hound plus a few other mix breeds. When we got Mia I didn't know what to do with her. But she stole our hearts immediately. She is a toy fox terrier and she knows how to use the cute card extensively! Everyone falls in love with her. She loves every one. I worry because she will go with any one too. She doesn't like to wear clothes any more but she gets very cold so sometimes she has to. I lost a lot of her good clothes and coats in the flood. She has her thunder shirt she tolerates it. Sweaters make her itchy and she lays on her back and does this very funny wiggle movement to try to scratch her back. She is amazingly intelligent I didn't expect that. My last Great Dane was the smartest dog I ever had the pleasure to be around. I really miss him. He would back up to me and plop his butt in my lap, so he was still a lap dog lol. Mia would be happy to be carried in her daddy's arms all day long.

We have some sort of small German Spitz/Pomeranian type dog. My dog is 13 lbs. It's a nice size. He's portable and can go many places with us. It's actually less expensive to take him on car trips rather than to board him or hire a sitter. He's smart and has us well trained. We call him a drill sargent because he loves discipline and order. He loves herding children if they violate his rules. He barks, but isn't really a yipper. He usually has something specific he wants to say. He's not usually a lap dog, but he does like to follow me and dh around the house and stay close. He has a lot of hair, but constant shedding isn't usually a problem unless we are changing a seasonal coat.

I had big dogs for my first two...greyhound and an Afghan hound. When it came time to rescue another dog, I went a smaller route and got two 25 pound dogs. Yes, they weight exactly the same and you would never think so. One is

a Boston terrier mix and the other a standard dachshund, and their weight at the vet check up is within an ounce or two of each other. They do have the same diet, get the same food and exercise every day but their builds are so different. Husband has them on his lap, but not me. I prefer cuddly cats.

I'm a big dog person. I prefer pit bulls,but had had a German Shepard and have both pits and some pittie mixes too right now. However, i LOVE little dogs too. But right now,big dogs fit my life better and all but one of mine were rescued off the side of the road. It's easier,I think, to find a home for a small dog so as long as I'm able,I will keep big doggies. But, my hearts big enough for both. ALL DOGS ROCK!!!!!! :)

Eld. What a sweety. My Little Lil (Lily) is a Chihuahua/ yorkie mix. She got enough of the yorkie genes to be non shedding except a tiny bit in the spring.

Yep the little guys are real babies. They chill quite easily which can pose a safety risk when they curl up under a throw on the sofa and no one knows she's there. But they really need a blanket. They also are high energy dogs and will run and play off their food quickly. They do much better either free feeding, unless they are big eaters, or giving 4 smalls meals a day instead of two. As for their rep of being barkers and ankle biters this is dependent on how their human has raised them. They do tend to be a one person dog meaning they may love everyone but will have one person they adore. They are true lap dogs and will not be satisfied sitting beside you they want on your lap with your hands on them. Lil sleeps with me and has her own poly filled comforter with a cotton duvet cover on it at the bottom of the bed. She has doggie steps to get in the bed. The most funny thing ever is watching a tiny dog carry around a plushy toys twice her size. I highly recommend a tiny dog of course Lils the only dog I've ever had. I'm sure love doesnt discriminate against size.

We're dog-sitting daughter's dog for a week. She weighs 3 lbs, and in my eyes she's a little doll ~ if you can get by the tongue which sticks out the side of her mouth lol. She's a Chorkie, which is a combo of chihuahua and yorkie. Always had pomeranians which weigh more and really shed. My problem was figuring out how much to feed her, but that seems to have worked itself out. Here she is:

Over the years we've had three German Shepherds and a slew of rescues ranging in weight from about 40 lbs. to over 100. Our last two dogs were a Husky-Shepherd mix and a Briard. Toward the end of their lives I found it difficult to walk them in winter. Our dirt road ices over, and after falling twice and injuring my knee I resorted to letting the dogs out on a 30-ft. lead tied to the back door. Hardly satisfactory, but they were elderly by then.

For the first time in almost 50 years, I have no dogs. Part of the reason is the inability to give them enough exercise in winter. Another part is the cost of dog ownership. Friends have urged me to get a small one, but small dogs don't seem like dogs to me. They're cute, but they seem like another species. After reading the above posts, though, I'm thinking maybe I could be converted. I don't know if a little dog would fill that particular void though. Meanwhile, I love my five cats. :-)

Justlinda she's a doll.

Does her tongue always stick out and why?

A chorkie. Thats what my Lil is. But holy moly the high price. Yes they are very sweet and precious but they are still a mixed breed so I've never understood the cost. I suppose its because of demand.

Mama, I have read, and heard, that up in Canada the Chorkie is a recognized breed by the breeder's association. Won't place any bets on that, but I've heard that from several different sources.

Only when she's very relaxed does the tongue stick out, otherwise it's in. Sort of like an inney-outy belly button, only it's an inney-outy tongue, LOL.

I have a miniature Lhasa Apso. He is only 7lbs. I like little dogs because they don’t require as much care imo as a larger dog. They like to take lots of naps and their potty is little too which is a plus. My dog just likes to snuggle. He is so small that he can’t go outside alone as we have lot’s of natural predators that could harm him. He uses doggie potty pads.

I do love these pictures. Our family always had big dogs -- shepherd mixes, labs and boxers. One day a little dog ran up on the lawn and wouldn't leave. We remembered a dream our father had before he passed away -- it seemed to be about a little black dog. So we kept her. She was charming and feisty. We always said that she came to show us that little dogs were great too. My one reservation -- small dogs yes but no teeny dogs for me. That's because whenever I see one of these bitesize dogs in my vicinity I think about somebody stepping on one, or closing a door on one. They are too vulnerable. Any cat that size knows how to get out of the way but little dogs don't know how much danger lurks.

There are choices. No one size fits all.

I love and have always had large dogs and really don't like smaller ones. A dog to sit on my lap, carry around? No thanks.

Bleu, so true. My DD's dog kept following me outside to my deck without me realizing. She could have gotten caught in the door. Now I'm shuddering just thinking about it.

Yes, they are delicate.

Did someone mention blankie? She loves her fluffy blankets.

I prefer small dogs. Most of my dogs are medium sized though, and that is okay too.

I too prefer small dogs and that is what we have had. Although corgis are short, they are really "big" dogs with little legs! Our current dogs are two shelter dogs -- one is half chihuahua (we did the DNA) and the other is supposed to be chihuahua/rat terrier mix but I don't think so and she's bigger.

Tiny dogs do feel more like infants. I grew up w/Great Danes and Dobermans and several years later love and dote on a mini schnauzer and a mini poo. But it wasn’t that we wanted to relive baby days, we wanted to be able to take our pups in our travels. When we had our beloved lab Kramer, traveling was a hassle.

Mini Italian greyhound when we got her.

Yaya, she is adorable. I think I just didn't expect to be so smitten with the tiny dog!

I am still thinking about her.

I don't think I would go as small as a chihuahua but I wanted something small for my next dog after my golden.

Then....life has a way of happening and decisions are made for us. Oldest rescued the pit mix and it was evident that she couldn't take care of him. He slowly started spending time with us and wheedled his way into our hearts. Never in a million years did I ever think I would say that I have a pit mix.

Yayagal your dog is adorable ...we always had them growing up.

We had a few medium sized dogs around 35 to 45 pounds. Then came our 75 pound dog. After that we ended up with a 10 pound dog. We took her every where. After her we went 1 year & 3 months without a dog. I was very surprised when my husband said he would like another small dog. He said that little Biscuit was fun to travel with. So we took our time & we ended up with Ali who is 12 pounds. We have had her for 2 weeks & she is working out great. And bonus she loves to ride & is very good riding. I enjoyed our bigger dogs, but enjoy the smaller ones because I can pick them up. Now that I am older I always said that with a big dog that if I had a vet medical emergency & my husband was not at home, I would have to call some one to help lift her up to get her to the vet.

Eld6161 My granddaughter has a pitbull mix named Darby and she's the sweetest dog with the sweetest face. When my grand moved in to a condo she heard a noise one day coming from the dumpster and, lo and behold, it was a puppy who would become her Darby. This dog adores her and she feels so secure with Darby always with her.

Dolly, that must have been so much fun growing up with the mini, they're so smart and playful.

Yayagal -- what a cute puppy -- but how big is a fullgrown mini Italian greyhound?