Big Dogs or Small Dogs?

I would instagram that face all day.

I was anti-little dog until my parents got a Havanese, and it has kind of brought me around to the "bred for generations to be nothing but an exceptionally emotionally well-tuned lapdog and ladies' entertainment." He is just the best-tempered and least anxious and least demanding dog ever and apparently will keep his playful puppy temperment indefinitely. He's neither willful or particularly intelligent, but after 3 collies and a standard poodle who was nothing but a selfish pain in the ass, I think we were all ready for something very sweet and quiet and not too bright.

Before moving to Chicago, one of our Dane's two best dog friends was a Havanese

I ASK YOU

http://www.7cedarsranch.org/Havanese_puppy.jpg

like i said, it's not all small dogs who are awful - it's the shitty owners with neurotic and aggressive small dogs who let them terrorize MY dog, while i'm expected to restrain her. there's a dude i see on my way to work a lot who lets his chihuahua off leash to torment neko every time we see them. i've never seen ppl with big dogs do either of these things.

xp if you could just drop that dog off at my office that'd be swell

chihuahuas are p gross

http://i.imgur.com/6o41kBK.jpg

Enid, my tiny dog in the foreground, friend's medium sized dog in the middle, my dog's best dog friend Norris in the background - they were kind of the same size when they were puppies, now he's ten times larger.

xp if you could just drop that dog off at my office that'd be swell

― Disagree. And im not into firey solos chief. (Phil D.), Thursday, June 12, 2014 4:33 PM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

MY OFFICE TOO

Havanese puppies 4 evry1!

http://twinshavanese.com/images/havanese8.jpg

This is the best thread. :')

I love miniature Schnauzers, Boston Terriers, pugs, and Jack Russell Terriers, so I guess small to mid for me.

I voted "Pets are the worst" btw.

Not that I needed a reason to post his picture on ILX but I feel like I haven't done so in a while so here's my monster being particularly cute this morning while perfecting the pug head tilt:

http://i57.tinypic.com/o7n6ee.jpg

Although Norris clearly does not suck and has an amazing face with actual sad eyebrows, c'mere guy, I have a chew toy with your name on it, yes that's a good man, get the chew toy! Go get it! Yes, you're a good doggie!

well if everyone else is doing it...

this is Vonn wondering why I'm still in bed late on a Saturday morning

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/1501036_10100109566943827_7986281953596015801_o.jpg

Norris :)

Vonn!

I'm guessing there is some food off-camera in Joygoat's pic?

I was watching ilxor Yerac's lovely lovely boxer a couple of months ago and he's the nicest and would like to have more people and dog friends but everyone crosses the street when they see him. Tragically misunderstood. ;____;

boxers are ridiculously sweet ime

slightly overly hefty boston terriers own

http://i.imgur.com/4jQ4RU7.png

boxers are silly goofs and I love them

My mother inlaw had a shihtzu named bella and as adorable as she was, she was just a pain in the ass. it wasn't the dog's fault, my MiL indulged her like a furry princess and would never follow through on any kind of training becuase she didn't want to upset the dog and it was like aaaaagh.

I mean, to the point where the dog wouldn't eat if anyone was looking at her, wouldn't eat wet food unless it was *warmed slightly*, wouldn't eat off anything but an actual plate...it goes on

the biggest problem is that she couldn't socialize at all with other animals, she was snappy and irritable whenever other dogs were near and would always start shit with my brother in law's docile bigger dogs...but my MiL was convinced that they were 'picking on her' and wouldn't hear a bad word against her. it was just a nightmare when they ended up all sharing a house together.

she got adopted out to a friend of my MiL's after MiL passed away...the friend lives alone and her children are all grown up, and can shower Bella with all the attention she demands. being in a 3 dog house was no place for the Princess, that's for sure.

oh and whenever you sat down she would jump in your lap and repeatedly lick any exposed skin including feet and it was groooooossss

she was cute as hell though

@ENBB, your dog is so cute!

Aw, thanks. He's pretty ridiculous and he knows it. (btw: Best Beloved Benson)

that's sad to hear about the shihtzu. almost any bad habit w/ food can be broken, generally thru a little trick called 'starve them', but socialization stuff is difficult to repair. i socialized my corgi like crazy but totally forgot to socialize her w/ kids (most of my friends are childless) and the first time she met a small child she was over a year old and it blew her mind, she was terrified of it and for the longest time would let out this low disapproving 'ooo' whenever she even saw one down the street. she's gotten alot better but even now she just kinda freezes w/ this awkward weird forced smile on her face, i can tell she feels awkward and uncomfortable, it's like watching my grandmother eat chinese food. the licking of skin was the dog wanting salt.

@ENBB: Haha. Nice! Didn't see that thread!

I feel super lucky to have a big dog breed that is so stuffed animal muppety that nearly nobody finds him intimidating - basically if somebody shies away I know they have actual dog issues and we play it cool

Anyone here ever experience progressive protein loss with their dog? Baxter (that brown & white spaniel I posted above) just got results from a blood test that are really scary. we took him to the vet last week due to excessive vomiting & panting. he's been dropping protein levels in his blood for a few weeks now and I just found out I have to take him to the ER tonight in order for him to be seen by a specialist. Kind of freaking out. He's only five years old and I'm not ready to lose a pet.

D: That sounds awful! Really hope the worst will be averted!

Thanks! I'm hoping whatever this is can be treated.

Pancreatitis, maybe? If my dog starts vomming, that's my first thought.

vomiting is better than diarrhea i guess, hopefully it's not some kind of renal failure, maybe just a parasite. hopefully it will be something that can be treated w/ some ease. hoping for the best.

Yeah, pancreatitis and renal failure are big concerns. Unfortunately his diarrhea has been really bad, too. Google searching this stuff isn't really doing wonders for my anxiety.

Only worry about renal failure if the pee is weird. Pancreatitis affects dogs of any age, though. Whippetlurcher has recovered from his December pancreatitis attack but ooooh boy £3000 vet bill followed by *expensive* gastro dog food.

Best of luck, Darin.

yikes! well, glad your pup is doing better now, Suzy. Some Web MD research leads me to believe Baxter is dealing with some sort of lymphangiectasia issues, although the causes can be anything from parasites to cancer. I'm frustrated that we've already spent $700 this week on blood tests, medications and x-rays and we still don't have any clue as to what's up.

anyway, enough of my downer talk - back to the big dog/small dog debate...

thanks, Carl!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

If I had a house (instead of a small apartment) I would absolutely own a Newfoundland. When I was a kid there was one that lived a few blocks away and the first time I walked past its house it was sleeping on the lawn and out of the corner of my eye I thought it was a boulder until it moved.

Baxter is doing better! While he does suffer from some lymphangiectasia-type symptoms, he is improving dramatically and his prognosis looks good. Things are looking up for the little man.

that's very good to hear, i was just reading about him upthread and hoped he was okay.

Glad to hear that! I was wondering too.

Newfoundlands are awesome.

Also hooray for Baxter!

Oh and

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m134/johnjusten/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-05/E0CCB4A2-E18E-4592-82FD-57085D3D4E43.jpg

HENRY

There's something beneath that enormous beast -- it looks like a rug?

no chihuahua no credibility

I loooooooove other people's dogs...big ones, small ones, doesn't matter...but I'm way too much of a procrastinator (and, frankly, kinda lazy) to own a dog that needs to be walked and stuff. Cleaning my cat's litter box once or twice a day is more my speed.