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Originally Posted by redvalaria  you said it all there: you don't breed for the pet market. and that's fine. I have no intention of ever showing again, and my big guy is used for search and rescue work by local law enforcement and is a sucker for kids, little dogs, anybody in need. I just get a little defensive when people talk about little dogs like they aren't dogs. I dress fergus (for warmth, in winter) and he wears a bow or "sprout" most of the time, but he also swims with us, runs in the park, terrorizes the squirrels in my back yard and is generally the "doggiest" of the three. I always say he is 40 pounds of dog in a 5 pound dog suit.
to each his own... |
Ahh! But, I do place the dogs that I don't keep in pet homes. My dogs are dogs 100% and very well socialized. I don't put clothes on my dogs, like you only for warmth in the winter, especially when they've been cut down after they've obtained their Championship. My dogs all swim, and terrorized squirrels, rabbits in our backyard when we lived in Texas and occassionaly a black lab that happened to jump over our fence (fortunately the lab was frightened of the yorkies). They are treated as dogs. My point is I've studied canine behavior and have witnessed how fast canine behavior takes place. When that happens the smaller dog is the underdog. All it takes is a split second. I have several friends that show and breed yorkies and Dobermans. But, never are the two breeds allowed to play together. The Dobs are trained to lay down when the yorkies come into the room. But, the breeder exhibitors that I know will not place their yorkies in homes with large dogs.
It's wonderful that it works well for you, but it's not always that way. There are those that aren't as expert with big dog little dog situations and that's when the tragedies can come into play.