By Maurie Kelly

Pets Come First

This month we wanted to focus on our smaller pups. Little dogs have a reputation for being, let’s just say, a bit difficult. Many people believe they are “barky” or “yappy” and nervous or call them “ankle biters”. But we adore them at Pets Come First. Little dogs are different from medium and large dogs but not necessarily because of their size.

The American Kennel Club cited a study by a team of researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna who studied little dogs and tried to determine if they really do have specific traits and if so, are the traits genetic or learned behaviors. Turns out it is a little of both! It seems that little dogs are more excitable and anxious generally, but this may be for a good reason. The study found that owners are less consistent in training smaller dogs and may spend less time on mutual activities like walking and playing. Many small dog owners exercise their pets less than they would a larger dog, so they simply spend less time together in a structured way.

Rover.com looks at it another way. People train small dogs very differently than medium and large dogs. Small dogs can jump on you or someone else and it is often ignored–what harm can a chihuahua do when it jumps up on you? If it was a medium or large dog, they would be told “No” or “Uh Uh” and instructed to get down. Little dogs basically get away with it. In addition, it is harder to train little dogs because they can eat less. Treats are a great training and reward incentive but if you have a little stomach, there is only so much training you can do.

Our little dogs at Pets Come First are located in the building in several rooms where they can roam more freely while still having a bit of their own space. The one thing they all have in common is that they may be small in size, but they are big in terms of personality.

The “Littles” as we call them often come in extremely unsocialized and frightened of people. One dog that came to us very scared is Midget. When Midget first came to us, we couldn’t even handle her. She would hide under anything she could find and refused to come out. With a lot of patience and love we were finally able to get her to start accepting treats and eventually she allowed us to handle her and take her for walks. Not only does she let us handle her, but she also insists that we carry her on her walks. She certainly has us wrapped around her paw.

Another favorite is Zoe. She is an older girl who is very shy and quiet. Zoe, a chihuahua, is extremely gentle and sweet and was scared at first. She quickly warmed up to our staff and volunteers and now goes out on walks with all the other littles.

We know Zoe would love a nice soft place to rest and relax. If you like older dogs, Zoe is a good choice. She still has spunk but loves to just hang out and chill.

Two recent additions to our Littles group are Tazz and Growler. Don’t let the name fool you, Growler isn’t much of a growler. These two are hilarious and easily warmed up to people. They walk like champs and are extremely easy going. Cute as buttons too.

A volunteer favorite is Boo Boo. He is the sweetest guy. He wags his tail nonstop and always wants to join in on walks. The minute our dog walking volunteers get to the shelter, he is at the door waiting for them to come get him.

Teddy is a little dog with lots of personality and spunk. We love Teddy, mostly because he is so smart! He has learned so many commands but does ask for treats as a reward as you can see in the picture.

My own personal favorite is Pebbles the Chihuahua. She is so cute and so excited to see our volunteers that she races up to the door the minute they walk in and jumps up to greet them.

Our dog walking volunteers have been working hard to train our Littles. Most of them have mastered “sit” and “stay”, though it is still hard to keep them from jumping up on us when we walk in to say hello. It seems to be true that size does matter when training–even at our shelter.

All of the dogs in this article are currently available for adoption. If you are interested in meeting them, please fill out an adoption application on our site (https://petscomefirst.net/adopt/ ) and come visit with our Littles. You will leave with a big smile on your face and no bites on your ankles.