Think Little
A dog in my Intermediate class is teeny–about three pounds–and Adorable and Clever. He learns quickly and does all the exercises well, thanks to a mom who works a lot with him. The entire class gapes at his cuteness and obedience perfection and obvious love of the games.
He’s not the first. Another lil one just graduated to the next level, and she is also attentive and intelligent and driven. She too has many fans.
They are lovely little dogs, but I think they get extra attention because people often are so surprised that of course little dogs can do what big dogs can do. We see a lot of larger breeds in formal obedience classes–without training, those dogs might take their handlers skating down the street or they might knock down their family members when the doorbell rings. People who have bigger dogs in their lives often take class after class so there is less chaos at home. But those little breeds can (and should, I would argue) be as trained as their larger cousins. Spending an hour in class weekly with dogs of every size keeps them social and keeps their neurons firing and bonds them with their people.
Let’s see more of those miniature breeds move beyond the basics! They too can learn two hundred words! They should compete in obedience and agility trials and become Canine Good Citizens Extraordinaire. The tiny dogs in my classes should be the rule, not the exception–though they are exceptionally CUTE!