I like to put my foot in my mouth

[Nik]

I was at our local Harvest Festival and one of the booths had some cute dog sweaters. I saw one that I wanted to get for Diesel but they all looked far too small. So I asked the lady running the booth if she had any larger sizes.

Now it may be the case that before heading to this booth I had just been to the "wine slushy" booth where they were giving free samples of their wine slushy mix using actual wine. It may also be the case that they had over 30 flavors. And it is entirely possible that I taste tested every single flavor and a couple of them twice to help me make a decision. It is also quite possible that I don't have a very good tolerance to alcohol since I just don't drink very often.

"Oh no. I find that owners of smaller dogs are the ones that like to dress them up." She said.

"Oh," I replied wrinkling my nose in distaste. "I don't much care for smaller dogs. I never really saw the point. If you want a small pet then you can get a cat . They can catch mice and bugs for you but small dogs really don't have much purpose."

I am fairly positive that my face was scrunched up in my "yuck" face as I pictured all of the little rude ankle biters who treated my big beautiful angel dogs horribly over the year. Aggressive little untrained furry Napoleans. And why should they get all the clothes and the cute stuff? They are basically only over grown rats anyhow.

Stuck in my train of thought it took me a minute before I noticed that the lady I had been speaking to seemed to be turning various shades of red and purple and looked rather angry.

"Little dogs certainly do have a purpose!" she sputtered. "They are companions and can be service dogs and..."
She was working herself up into a real rage and it didn't look particularly healthy.

"Oh. Well yes of course they can be great companions. Ummm... Ya that's great. Okay. Bye." And with that I fled.

So before those of you who have loved little dogs get angered with me. I will say that I have met a few little dogs that I liked. But, whereas it is only a handful of little dogs that I have liked. I pretty much have universally loved every large dog I have ever come in contact with. And yes I do know that it is the owner's fault when the dog acts like a little poop. But, as we have all discussed most small dog owners seem to think it is totally cool to not train their little dust bunnies.

 

[DennasMom]

Too Funny!!

Sounds like the sweater-seller was out of her element as a booth/customer service person, though... HA!

 

[Iulicris88]

So funny.
For the record, I have a "dog bites" plate on my front gate and everybody thinks that it's for te Cane Corso that lovingly likes to freak random people out by raising his melon sized head over the same 6 foot tall gate. But nope, it's for the ankle biters. And I literally mean ankle bitters.

 

[NYDDB]

I have to agree with you, wine slushies or not.

I have a few friends who, after owning several different dog breeds or rescues through the years, have settled into owning little dogs as they have gotten older. "It's a big dog in a small package!," they say. Ummmm.... no (I really hate that phrase!). It's a tiny screeching, biting thing with an attitude. And it also tends to pee and poop inside the house.

My big dog mastiff is neither of those things. He has a temperament that is calm, stable, and quiet. He is also protective, when need be, but overall easy-going, fun and is about as active as I am. And completely house-trained.

I don't know....if I can't have those qualities in a dog (or mostly those), I would probably decide not to have a dog at all...

 

[sjdavenport]

I have a small dog. We inherited my dad's 7lb chihuahua last year when he passed away. She has manners (mostly acquired after coming to us), is quiet, doesn't bite, is completely house trained, is obedient, trustworthy off leash, has good inter-dog skills, keeps up on walks and hikes, and I STILL feel like she is useless as a dog. I am just really, really not into the whole small dog thing. I often feel like I have a rodent scurrying around my house. I do feel a little bad that I don't feel more affection towards her, but thankfully my fiancee likes her, lol. Wine slushies sound like an amazing idea though!

 

[sjdavenport]

Wow, photos happen really big now, lol. Haven't posted a photo since the new format.

 

[Jeremyd1960]

Our little pack.

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[Jeremyd1960]

Left to right, kelpie mastiff x, daniff, labrogie (black), American Bull Dog x Bull Arab, the terrier.

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[Lisa Drew]

LOL! I thought I was the only one who called them "rat dogs"! I have had smaller dogs and loved them, but I prefer the larger breeds. I too have found that it is very hard to find things in "XL dog size" for our big boys & girls. We had to custom order Garm's bed and it took forever to find a collar. We had to buy basket ball size balls, lol. Was afraid he would swallow the smaller ones. I have found over the past 10 yrs that things are getting better, with more available now. To be honest, the smaller dogs always frightened Garm and he would avoid them, lol.

 

[Elana P]

I was at our local Harvest Festival and one of the booths had some cute dog sweaters. I saw one that I wanted to get for Diesel but they all looked far too small. So I asked the lady running the booth if she had any larger sizes.

Now it may be the case that before heading to this booth I had just been to the "wine slushy" booth where they were giving free samples of their wine slushy mix using actual wine. It may also be the case that they had over 30 flavors. And it is entirely possible that I taste tested every single flavor and a couple of them twice to help me make a decision. It is also quite possible that I don't have a very good tolerance to alcohol since I just don't drink very often.

"Oh no. I find that owners of smaller dogs are the ones that like to dress them up." She said.

"Oh," I replied wrinkling my nose in distaste. "I don't much care for smaller dogs. I never really saw the point. If you want a small pet then you can get a cat . They can catch mice and bugs for you but small dogs really don't have much purpose."

I am fairly positive that my face was scrunched up in my "yuck" face as I pictured all of the little rude ankle biters who treated my big beautiful angel dogs horribly over the year. Aggressive little untrained furry Napoleans. And why should they get all the clothes and the cute stuff? They are basically only over grown rats anyhow.

Stuck in my train of thought it took me a minute before I noticed that the lady I had been speaking to seemed to be turning various shades of red and purple and looked rather angry.

"Little dogs certainly do have a purpose!" she sputtered. "They are companions and can be service dogs and..."
She was working herself up into a real rage and it didn't look particularly healthy.

"Oh. Well yes of course they can be great companions. Ummm... Ya that's great. Okay. Bye." And with that I fled.

So before those of you who have loved little dogs get angered with me. I will say that I have met a few little dogs that I liked. But, whereas it is only a handful of little dogs that I have liked. I pretty much have universally loved every large dog I have ever come in contact with. And yes I do know that it is the owner's fault when the dog acts like a little poop. But, as we have all discussed most small dog owners seem to think it is totally cool to not train their little dust bunnies.

 

[Elana P]

Wellll.....

I happen to like little dogs......

BUT, I LOVE BIG DOGS!!!!

I said that to a Great Dane Breeder that I know, and her face went fom to in a split second. It was hilarious.

I am honestly torn on this subject.
We have always had large dogs, until I came home with an Australian Silky one day many years ago.

A toy??? Hardly !!!
Joey, was a firebrand of a little dog.
Sharp, intelligent, and very much a Terrier in every way.

The next small dog (and the only bitch I have ever shared my home and heart with) is our Katy, who came to me at 5 months after a rough begining.
Katy, is half JRT, half Japanese Chin, and I swear the little thing is somewhat conflicted at times.

To the world, Katy, is a fiesty JRT, ready to take on the whole world. For me, she's the most loving, loyal, and adorable dog you can ever have in your life. She loves to cuddle, keeps my back warm in bed, and gives sneak kisses that tend to go half way down your throat, before you realize what's happening, lol.

She is extremely protective of me, and would fight to the death if anyone tried to harm me in any way. Of course, it would definitely help that she has a big brother, and a growing Charlie to back her up if the situation ever came up. That said, Katy would be the front line, and if Danny and or Charlie were to knock an assailant down, she would rip his throat out.

I always say, that if our Katy was a big dog, she'd be dangerous .

Here's to our tiny Kate .

 

[Kelly]

Totally not into small dogs in general. But if I were to get probably would be a jrt.

I have a theory about why most small dogs are annoying. People who get bigger dogs typically realize they are going to have to put some time, money and effort into this so they are more committed. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say they want a small dog because they're easier I'd be rich. Those are the people who are parading around with their evil mini monsters, laughing off their bad behaviors. Proudly stating their munchkin thinks he's a big dog ....NO he knows he's a little dog and is feeling rather inadequate about it and it's really not cute.

However, the well behaved small dogs that I have met are typically
part of a pack that includes large dogs.


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[cj-sharpy]

Totally not into small dogs in general. But if I were to get probably would be a jrt.

I have a theory about why most small dogs are annoying. People who get bigger dogs typically realize they are going to have to put some time, money and effort into this so they are more committed. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say they want a small dog because they're easier I'd be rich. Those are the people who are parading around with their evil mini monsters, laughing off their bad behaviors. Proudly stating their munchkin thinks he's a big dog ....NO he knows he's a little dog and is feeling rather inadequate about it and it's really not cute.

However, the well behaved small dogs that I have met are typically
part of a pack that includes large dogs.


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Ifs there's one word I can use to put you off JRTs it's Toby.
The second would be Sally.

Guess who's owned two dogs that define the word terrier.....in fact that's an insult to terriers.
They were terrierists.
Sally was the cutest most adorable dog ever. I was only a kid (I was 19 when she passed) but Sally was MY dog.
Yeah yeah my mum paid all the bills but Sally would run off from her off the lead but would always stay with me, she'd go mental when mum or sis came home but be calm and collected with me. It was me she choose to die next to.
Sounds sweet yes?
Well yes she was, but I'm the first to admit she was a dick.
She wanted nothing more than to kill ANYTHING small and cute. My little sister included.
JRTs have a unique ability to combine intelligence and idiocy.
She was the most adorable little bag of live one minute and a ferocious killer the next.

That said I miss her a lot. Apart from Max the mastiff she was by far the most bonded dog I've ever known.

Toby.

Toby is my partners JRT that I took on along with 3 kids and a cav King Charles.
In order of NEED Toby is at the top.
I was told the first time I walked in to my partners house I would need to bribe Toby with ham. (No chance in gods earth I'm doing that)
Toby is a jerk.
I love him. I refused to bribe him and approached his aggression with an attitude of "I'm in charge and I'll be nice to you but I won't take your shit" and Toby now loves me. He comes to me for hugs before my partner (which she hates haha). I've crate trained, taught him to find hidden treats and managed to get him off the lead.
That said he's still a dick. He still wants to kill everything, he barks at shadows, attacks caroline if she hugs me and picks fights with tractors.


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[Nik]

I agree that the best small dogs I have met happen to have owners that also have big dogs. It is most definitely the attitude of the owner in those cases.

CJ-Sharpy I can relate to your description of the jrts in your life. When I was small my mom got a pomeranian, named Kenya. That dog was a total jerk. She adored my mom and tolerated me but she wanted to kill anything or anyone else that came near her. And she was sneaky and smart. She would trick people into petting her by acting happy to see them with tail wags and jumping up for attention and the moment they got close enough she would full on attack them with no warning even in retrospect as a more knowledgable dog owner I am convinced that she mimicked happy and calm body language etc. on purpose. I couldn't have friends over without warning them to ignore her and avoid her. She was fine with me and fiercely protective of my mom but she was the biggest jerk to everyone else.

Now the picking fights with tractors is a new one to me. lol That is hard to picture.

 

[Kelly]

...starting to rethink JRTS lol

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[Iulicris88]

Ifs there's one word I can use to put you off JRTs it's Toby.
The second would be Sally.

Guess who's owned two dogs that define the word terrier.....in fact that's an insult to terriers.
They were terrierists.
Sally was the cutest most adorable dog ever. I was only a kid (I was 19 when she passed) but Sally was MY dog.
Yeah yeah my mum paid all the bills but Sally would run off from her off the lead but would always stay with me, she'd go mental when mum or sis came home but be calm and collected with me. It was me she choose to die next to.
Sounds sweet yes?
Well yes she was, but I'm the first to admit she was a dick.
She wanted nothing more than to kill ANYTHING small and cute. My little sister included.
JRTs have a unique ability to combine intelligence and idiocy.
She was the most adorable little bag of live one minute and a ferocious killer the next.

That said I miss her a lot. Apart from Max the mastiff she was by far the most bonded dog I've ever known.

Toby.

Toby is my partners JRT that I took on along with 3 kids and a cav King Charles.
In order of NEED Toby is at the top.
I was told the first time I walked in to my partners house I would need to bribe Toby with ham. (No chance in gods earth I'm doing that)
Toby is a jerk.
I love him. I refused to bribe him and approached his aggression with an attitude of "I'm in charge and I'll be nice to you but I won't take your shit" and Toby now loves me. He comes to me for hugs before my partner (which she hates haha). I've crate trained, taught him to find hidden treats and managed to get him off the lead.
That said he's still a dick. He still wants to kill everything, he barks at shadows, attacks caroline if she hugs me and picks fights with tractors.


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Awww, now you make me want to get one, and I already have 4 dogs. I love tiny evil dogs, the more crime proned they are, the better.

 

[Elana P]

I agree that the best small dogs I have met happen to have owners that also have big dogs. It is most definitely the attitude of the owner in those cases.

CJ-Sharpy I can relate to your description of the jrts in your life. When I was small my mom got a pomeranian, named Kenya. That dog was a total jerk. She adored my mom and tolerated me but she wanted to kill anything or anyone else that came near her. And she was sneaky and smart. She would trick people into petting her by acting happy to see them with tail wags and jumping up for attention and the moment they got close enough she would full on attack them with no warning even in retrospect as a more knowledgable dog owner I am convinced that she mimicked happy and calm body language etc. on purpose. I couldn't have friends over without warning them to ignore her and avoid her. She was fine with me and fiercely protective of my mom but she was the biggest jerk to everyone else.

Now the picking fights with tractors is a new one to me. lol That is hard to picture.

 

[Elana P]

Hey Nik,

Katy, does the exact same thing your Mom's Pom used to do, lol.

She will sit all nice and sweet, until someone decides to get too personal, then watch out!
But you know, if you know dogs, and if you look at the expression in the eyes, you will know to stay clear. Also, not every dog wants to be touched by everyone on the street or in the park. I really appreciate people who ask, before rushing in and gushing all over my dogs .

Speaking of extremely protective, here's a little story for you of the JRT spirit.

After losing my son in the Spring of last year, several of his friends would come to visit and spend some time.

Well one young fellow, decided to offer a hug, while I was sitted on the couch with Katy at my side.

A fairly big, tall young man, with a rather large nose, he swooped in with his arms outstretched.....

Need I say more? The poor boy almost lost his nose that evening to the ravening and ferocious Kate, who took the hug for an attack and lunged at his face. Luckily, I was faster than her and managed to grab and restrain her, while the poor fella jumped back almost falling on his butt on the floor.

Never underestimate the protective instincts of a JRT, or a JRT cross.

 

[dpenning]

Hey Nik,

Katy, does the exact same thing your Mom's Pom used to do, lol.

She will sit all nice and sweet, until someone decides to get too personal, then watch out!
But you know, if you know dogs, and if you look at the expression in the eyes, you will know to stay clear. Also, not every dog wants to be touched by everyone on the street or in the park. I really appreciate people who ask, before rushing in and gushing all over my dogs .

Speaking of extremely protective, here's a little story for you of the JRT spirit.

After losing my son in the Spring of last year, several of his friends would come to visit and spend some time.

Well one young fellow, decided to offer a hug, while I was sitted on the couch with Katy at my side.

A fairly big, tall young man, with a rather large nose, he swooped in with his arms outstretched.....

Need I say more? The poor boy almost lost his nose that evening to the ravening and ferocious Kate, who took the hug for an attack and lunged at his face. Luckily, I was faster than her and managed to grab and restrain her, while the poor fella jumped back almost falling on his butt on the floor.

Never underestimate the protective instincts of a JRT, or a JRT cross.

I'm sorry for your loss. No parent should ever lose a child. It is just not the natural order of things.



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[Elana P]

I'm sorry for your loss. No parent should ever lose a child. It is just not the natural order of things.



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