I am reasonably sure that noone in my family would say anything about Mina like that. Mostly because they all really enjoy breathing. When I talk about Mina's newest dress or whatever else I have purchased for her. My daughter's boyfriend smiles and tells me how cute I am, He is 6'4" and fills the doorway. Mina can sit in his shoes.

I have encountered that and also people saying "that's not a dog, it's a rat" and I really just laugh and let it go. It depends on who is saying it and how it's said but I find that most people are trying to be funny and I just laugh it off and you would be surprised by how many of those people are the one's who come back later and pet them and one guy even calls my little dog princess. I think to myself, you were calling her a rat last week! I also understand why some people say that because I really don't treat my dog like a dog in a lot of ways. I really baby them and almost treat them like babies....

I have an in-home business, so lots of people get to see my babies. I have heard...... "what is that, a rat?", "that's not a real dog!", "here kitty, kitty!"
My response is "I love my babies, I don't make fun of your choices"

I've had people walk up to me and laugh at the size of my yorkies, and they'll have a golden retriever sized dog, I get to laugh right back at them when I bring out our 130 pound dog - they shut up pretty fast. :D

On the flip side, I was traveling with Zoe in Oklahoma and stopped at a McDonalds to walk her. While I was walking, a HUGE, burly, rough guy gets out of his 18-wheeler cab and walks across a big adjacent parking lot to get to us. I wondered what in the world was about to go on...
He cooed and ooohd and ahhhd with delight like a little boy! Asked if he could hold her, baby talked to her, told me how beautiful she was, and said she'd made his day. Big ol' brute snuggling up to little 3-lb Zoe in her dress harness and bow! Still makes me :D!
Ya never know!

LOL yes. It's usually males who randomly make comments about Teddy. I don't take it personally- I just assume they're too socially awkward and are stuck in the 3rd grade. :rolleyes:

LOL over here we have a different kind of "river rat" and they are much much more than 20 lbs. :cool::D

A yorkie isn't a real dog to them, bc their "real" dogs are outside in the back yard with no interaction all day, get thrown some kibble once a day, and are lucky to have clean water to drink. Outside in the summer in 100 degree heat, still outside in the winter in freezing rain. If that's how they treat their "real dog" then, nope Uni is not a "real dog".

Its never the really big guys who say anything- they have nothing to prove. ;)

LOL:thumbup:

This is totally true! I have had these comments before and I just think to myself how much better of a life my dogs have. My dogs get go to the park daily, go to places they would never dream of taking their dogs and have more social experiences than their dogs ever will. If being cooped up in a house and backyard is a "real" dog, then I don't want a real dog!

My husband and I get told Sophie isn't a real dog all the time. Depending on who says it, it doesn't bother us...my grandpa refers to her as his furry bowel movement...but we know he is joking so it doesn't bother us.

The people that bother us are the ones we encounter in random pet stores or at the dog park. At the park this guy at the dog park (who thinks he is the top dog and is a regular...so annoying) laughed and told us that rats aren't allowed at the park and that his dog is trained to hunt rodents and birds. My husband then asked him if rats weren't allowed, why was he there. Immature yes, but it made the guy shut up and leave us alone. We have had problems with him since we started going...we take my mom's lab there and sometimes Sophie tags along...and he tells us that there is no way Sophie and the lab get along because Abby (the lab) should want to hunt Sophie...um, ok?

Then this lady saw her in Petsmart the other day and told her husband that Sophie is the kind of dog she wants so she can put it in her purse, and her husband told her that he would only have a real dog.

Or this one time this lady had a dog a bit bigger than Sophie and had her dog on the conveyor belt thing at the store and she asked us why Sophie was on the ground. She said, "Twinkle doesn't go on the ground, it is dangerous for him...you should be ashamed letting her walk on the ground, you must not care about her" ... my husband told her that he feels sorry for him if he isn't allowed on the ground and she replied with, "well, I didn't get one this small to walk on the ground, I wanted one I could put in my purse and not have to take on walks" ... yup, sucks when actual small dog owners barely even consider their own dog a real dog.

Lol I am DYING here!!! that was too funny.

My ex said the same thing when I told him I was getting a yorkie. I was like look I live in manhattan- why would a big dog make sense???

Besides having a big dog is like having another fully grown person around... thats the amount of space they need... plus more

OMG that's exactly what his uncle's dogs are like! They are NEVER allowed in the house and pretty much roll around in dirt and poop for days, or get thrown in the dark garage.

Ya! We do all treat our Yorkies like humans! His uncle thinks a real dog is something you pretty much neglect. :mad: