General Training: Little Dog Syndrome and the Leader of the Pack

While I was in the hospital, I had several nurses who each had dogs. Of course, this leads to the "how do I..." questions.  Bless their hearts!

Nurse #1 tells a story about her little (toy-sized) dog who is a toy hoarder, yappy, and bolts.  I look at her very seriously and say  "She's spoiled."  The nurse blinks twice and replies sheepishly, "well, yeah, maybe a little."   I proceed to describe all of the things that the dog does - or doesn't do - and all of the things the owner likely does and the nurse's jaw drops.  "You're dead on right.  That's exactly it.  That's my dog.  How do you know?"  I tell her my "secret" is simple. 

I. Understand. Pack.

I understand that a small dog doesn't really KNOW its a small dog and therefore is allowed more freedom and leeway than you'd expect out of a larger dog.  A small dog doesn't understand why the supposed pack leader is making baby noises at it.  It only understands one thing - its a dog.  Its not a baby, its not a child.  Its a dog.  *Because* its a dog, it only comprehends dog pack mentality.  It has no concept of relativity of size. 

People get small dogs for a variety of reasons.  Most of the time they want the companionship of a dog in a tiny package.  The problem with small dogs filling that role is that *typically* speaking the owners tend to baby and spoil them because they're "just so adorable and cute!"   The owners also don't immediately put an end to obnoxious and nuisance behaviors because, well, the dog is only 10 pounds!

Wrong.

The mantra for small dog owners is this:  "If it would not be acceptable in a larger dog, then it is not acceptable in YOUR dog." 

No one likes going to visit someone only to be greeted by a pack of yapping, unruly and undisciplined little squeakers! (I'm getting a migraine just thinking about it)  Good manners are good manners - period.  As the pack leader you must have a standard of expectation for your pack - whether its an only-dog 10-pound Papillon or an 80-pound Beauceron.  Once you establish your baseline, you have to remember that dogs are black-n-white creatures.  Its either 'yes, this is ok' - or 'no, it is not acceptable' - there are no 'maybes' or 'sometimes' for dogs.  

I've seen a 15-pound Jack Russell Terrier bite an 8-year-old child in the face.  If you think your dog cant be JUST as dangerous and terrifying as an untrained 80-pound golden or boxer or newfie - think again. That child was taken to the ER where he had 20 stitches.  And before anyone says 'it was all the dog's fault,' it wasn't.  The dog was undersocialized, spoiled and then ignored repeatedly, had not been taught any manners or rules and was acting on pure instinct.  The dog's fault?  Hardly. 

So, for all of you 'huggle, snuggle, umpkin, poo' people out there with your trendy toy-sized dogs who think they run the roost, stop and realize that not only are you NOT helping your dog by babying it and treating it like a baby, you're hurting it because you're forcing it to do the only thing it instinctively knows - step up and assume an alpha role.  In the absence of leadership, even a timid canine will take a stand - but its stressful on them and they have no context at all for how to BE a leader, so their fear gets channeled into acting out and aggressive behaviors.  They're scared and unsure - NOT their faults.

So, next time Schnuckums starts yapping up a storm at you, or lunges on your guests as they walk in or even jumps up onto the couches uninvited and unceremoneously scoots you over - remember, they only know they're a dog.   They're doing what dogs do.  YOU need to do what alpha leaders do and start taking control of the situation by teaching them what is and is not acceptable.

Ten pounds or 100 pounds - all dogs need the safety and surety the fundamentals of dog training provide.
Jessica and Ranger
Lunar K9 Training - Service Dog Team