Why Toy Breeds? Discussions

I never considered a toy breed, in fact after only gundogs I sort of considered them not real dogs (oh the shame).

I landed on them after typing in the breed characteristics I wanted, the lifestyle I lead and other requirements eg low tendency to bite children, into a pet finder where they tell you the breeds that may meet your criteria and after writing down the breed names I went onto google to see what they looked like. I was taken with the endearing faces of the Bichon and the mass of white fluff so if the personality was a fit then good.

My husband is also more of a gundog person and didnt particularly want a Bichon but we have both been completely converted. He now says he wouldnt want any other breed!

They are clever and affectionate and give so much fun and lightness into any day with their antics even a heart hard to their charms will eventually melt.

Advantages
Being able to afford the best quality food, treats or suppliments because they don't need much.
A high cuddle factor.
Having a happy wagging fan club greet you or follow you round.
Being able to take with you easily- hotels, shops and friends you stay with.
Discovering they are very similar to all other dogs!

Disadvantages
Being sneered at by people who dont consider them proper dogs! That'll learn me!!

The 13kg dog I had for a week did bigger poos than my 35kg dog ever did.

I'd be terrified of hurting a tiny dog accidentally. My Lab might screech if I step on him but he's not likely to break. Plus a lot of the toy breeds seem to have higher grooming requirements than I'd cope with.

I would never tell someone their dog was ugly or call it a rat or anything though.

You do worry at first, but they are just as hardy as the biguns!
We've trodden on the boys before, and even dropped one of them once
But they were perfectly fine!
Mine do TINY poos, it's great lol
Chis have very low grooming requirements which is brill, long haired don't require trimming either, I just give them a quick brush over on an evening whilst i'm watching tv!
I do trim the fur round their pads once in a while though.

I have 4 dogs in total a Westie, Boxer and 2 Chi's and to be honest prefer small breeds, reason being I am getting older and they are easier to look after in terms of walking etc My boxer is hard work in that area and obviously big dogs as mentioned by others means big poo's, big food bill, big vets bills etc

My Chi's are adorable and for us it's the way forward, not to be fooled by the little dog needs less exercise, kerching! wrong, they still up there with the best of them but small in lots of other ways

My two are less than 5kg each although I dont really think they would come under the toy group. I always preferred large dogs but Totts has won me over. She is an amazing little dog. Perfect cuddling size and she can just snuggle up all day long.

One thing if found a pain was training as I do a lot of luring which would require a lot of bending down (before I learned of the wonders of a target stick) lol.

Other than that I just see them as the same as my larger dog.

At first because I was used to Muffin who is much larger I was constantly watching my step and "losing" Totts as I was used to looking to a certain height, then once i adjusted to look lower she will have been right by my side the entire time that was rather embarrassing the first few group dog walks we went on where im calling her and shes just looking up to me as if hello you called? I used to stumble over her a lot but im just used to it now i suppose. Shes a hardy little thing.

Totts gets a lot of comments about being a rat as she is so tiny. Also get a lot of not being a real dog. I think anyone with a small dog can vouch for the fact they are all dog, many with huge characters in a tiny package.