Have you ever seen a mini dog like a wiener dog or a toy poodle that thinks it truly is a big dog? These dogs always make me laugh. They go out of there way to try and yank their owner to the side while they charge the "big" dog, and try and show it who's boss. I always find myself thinking that big dog is going to squash you pup!!
I think the little dog syndrome has something to do with seeing the bigger dogs. You see big dogs all around you all the time, and you think well I must be a big dog--dog's don't have mirrors to constantly look at, just dog bowls full of water.
My family just bought a puppy last summer--and by family I mean my mom--we came up with a bunch of names, but my mom settled on Kangaroo. We now call her Roo, Roo Dog or Roo-Roo. My brother calls her the terrorizer. She is an Airdale Terrier (think a Jack Russel but black and brown and a whole lot bigger). She weighs 120 pounds of muscle and is barely a year old. The thing about raising Terriers and especially Airdales is mastering them--Roo is our 4Th Airdale-- they have a tendency to do what they want, and when they want to do it.
Airdales back in the day were bred to be a bear catcher--they have a square jaw that truly locks into place--, and somewhere along the line someone thought it would be fun to try and domesticate them. In Europe because of how big and strong they are, they were bred to be police dogs. In the movie Titanic you can see an officer get onto the boat with two of them.
So imagine our surprise when this huge dog who can pretty much destroy anything and everything turns out to be a complete wuss. She has big dog syndrome--she thinks she is a small dog. Roo now only thinks that she can fit onto your lap, and she will try. She doesn't just try and get on your lap while your watching TV or eating something, but when you're doing homework or just sitting outside.
Roo although she she stands with her head coming up well past my hip cannot jump onto the bed or the couch. Now of course she can pretty much walk onto the couch. Her operation of getting herself onto things is to stand on her back legs and stretch her paws as far forward and dig her claws in and try and hoist herself up--sort of like climbing-- She doesn't realize she can jump.
Even more wierd is that when you've gotten tired of hearing her moan and whimper, and help her up onto the bed...she can't get OFF the bed. If dogs could be afraid of heights I would think she was, but it's more than that. She jumps fearlessly off the deck, big rocks, and trails. She doesn't THINK she can. She will scoot herself to the edge and slowly tip herself towards the ground--those big paws stretching to reach the ground before her face does. When she gets close she usually backs up and sits herself up and whines and moans at you--hey it worked before--to try and get you to help her off.
After a long battle she finally will get too much momentum going and her paws will reach the ground before she has a chance to pull up, and she's free! You can see the relief of it on her face-- the accomplishment-- as she runs towards you only to knock you down with her excitement.
I know that little dog syndrome and little man syndrome are closely related, but I don't think I ever want to meet a man who has big dog/man syndrome. Getting Roo on and off the bed is bad enough.
I have included 2 pictures of Little Miss Roo Dog.. She was only 8 months old....
I think the little dog syndrome has something to do with seeing the bigger dogs. You see big dogs all around you all the time, and you think well I must be a big dog--dog's don't have mirrors to constantly look at, just dog bowls full of water.
My family just bought a puppy last summer--and by family I mean my mom--we came up with a bunch of names, but my mom settled on Kangaroo. We now call her Roo, Roo Dog or Roo-Roo. My brother calls her the terrorizer. She is an Airdale Terrier (think a Jack Russel but black and brown and a whole lot bigger). She weighs 120 pounds of muscle and is barely a year old. The thing about raising Terriers and especially Airdales is mastering them--Roo is our 4Th Airdale-- they have a tendency to do what they want, and when they want to do it.
Airdales back in the day were bred to be a bear catcher--they have a square jaw that truly locks into place--, and somewhere along the line someone thought it would be fun to try and domesticate them. In Europe because of how big and strong they are, they were bred to be police dogs. In the movie Titanic you can see an officer get onto the boat with two of them.
So imagine our surprise when this huge dog who can pretty much destroy anything and everything turns out to be a complete wuss. She has big dog syndrome--she thinks she is a small dog. Roo now only thinks that she can fit onto your lap, and she will try. She doesn't just try and get on your lap while your watching TV or eating something, but when you're doing homework or just sitting outside.
Roo although she she stands with her head coming up well past my hip cannot jump onto the bed or the couch. Now of course she can pretty much walk onto the couch. Her operation of getting herself onto things is to stand on her back legs and stretch her paws as far forward and dig her claws in and try and hoist herself up--sort of like climbing-- She doesn't realize she can jump.
Even more wierd is that when you've gotten tired of hearing her moan and whimper, and help her up onto the bed...she can't get OFF the bed. If dogs could be afraid of heights I would think she was, but it's more than that. She jumps fearlessly off the deck, big rocks, and trails. She doesn't THINK she can. She will scoot herself to the edge and slowly tip herself towards the ground--those big paws stretching to reach the ground before her face does. When she gets close she usually backs up and sits herself up and whines and moans at you--hey it worked before--to try and get you to help her off.
After a long battle she finally will get too much momentum going and her paws will reach the ground before she has a chance to pull up, and she's free! You can see the relief of it on her face-- the accomplishment-- as she runs towards you only to knock you down with her excitement.
I know that little dog syndrome and little man syndrome are closely related, but I don't think I ever want to meet a man who has big dog/man syndrome. Getting Roo on and off the bed is bad enough.
I have included 2 pictures of Little Miss Roo Dog.. She was only 8 months old....
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