My cousin and I were having a discussion last night because she got a new dog - a toy poodle. I told her that I prefer large breeds such as labs and golden retrievers because they are more huggable and friendly. She said that toy dogs are also very loyal, and they are easier to maintain.
I love all kinds of dogs - pure breed or not. What is your preference?
For most of my life, I have had the larger dog breeds. We lived out in the country, and there are always predators nearby. A Great Dane is much less likely to be carried off by a coyote or a hawk than a Chihuahua is ! Also, the larger the dog, the better of a protection as a guard dog they will usually be.
The kids and I went out horseback riding almost every day when the weather was nice; and the dogs always went along with us. If we had had small dogs rather than large ones, it would have been extremely hard for them to keep up with us as we rode back on the steep mountain trails for hours on end.
Now, I live in the city, and I am a whole lot older, my health is not good; so I am not out there doing all of those things that made a large dog almost a necessity.
I find it much easier to handle a tiny dog, and My Chipper is about 6 lbs, which is easy for me to pick up and carry, give him baths, and things like that.
He is an inside dog, so there are no issues with predators, and when he goes outside at nite to do his business, I am always standing right at the door to make sure that he is safe.
So, I think that one size is not better than the other, per se; but it is important to choose a dog that fits your lifestyle.
I prefer larger dogs. I have a 90lbs Alaskan Malamute and a 85lbs German Shepard. I feel larger dogs are better protectors. Like you said they are quite huggable. But growing up my household always had smaller dogs. My family dog was a Pomeranian and we loved her to pieces. Dogs are great all around but I do prefer a dog that has some weight to it.
I would always go for a small dog because of convenience. We treat our dogs like family and we bring them to vacation trips. It would be too difficult if our dog is a big one for the transportation will be a problem. What we do is to rent a van and off we go with our housemaids who handle the dogs. And small dogs are nice to cuddle and stay on my lap during trips for vacation. And even when we take a joy ride here, they are easy to carry.
Personally, any small or medium sized dog would suit me just fine. I've always wanted a Siberian Husky but they need lots of room to run around because I was told they tend to be destructive when bored. Right now, we also have a toy poodle that belongs to my aunt and I have my own shih tzu. Their sizes are convenient for us now because we can still have them inside our home and are not destructive. Smaller dogs are easier to manage depending on the type of owner you are. Plus, when it comes to bathing smaller dogs are no doubt easier to handle. Of course, depend on you and what you want. The important thing is to be a responsible pet owner no matter what kind of pet you have.
We seem to have a preference for medium sized dogs. In my region, dogs are used for guarding purposes though they are good companions anytime. To this end larger dogs are preferred and we had one which was christened Simba for his size and valour in guarding the homestead at night. But I have recently developed a proclivity for small dogs which look exotic. I have also noted that small dogs are frequent feeders and are always foraging for edibles while large dogs have one large meal and spend most of their time lazing around though they are active at night. This has to do with their surface area to volume ratio and the need to conserve energy.
I love larger dogs but I have nothing against smaller breeds. I'm the type to love all the animals, haha! Personally I'd just get a dog from larder lines since they're big, soft and warm! I live in a country where it's cold for the most part of the year so it would be nice to have something to cuddle with on a cold night. If I'd live in a country where you wouldn't have to freeze constantly, I'd probably get a smaller dog since I can't stand to take large dogs to their long walks! Also, smaller dogs would drown in the snow we get, and I definitely don't want that to happen!
