Weird question from this weekend

[Laurelin]

We were working meet the breed- Laika's owner, me and the pap breeder I met that day. We had four dogs, Mia, Summer, Laika and Jack. Laika and Jack are both oversized, Laika's a puppymill rescue.

Anyways this girl came up and was loving on Mia and asking questions. After petting all of them, she got back to Mia and asked me 'So this is as big as they get?' pointing to Mia.

Now first this strikes me as a weird question because Mia is the smallest at the meet the breed booth. So obviously they get bigger, right? Am I hoping for too much common sense?

So I say, 'No, she's just a baby. She'll be as big as Summer'. Laika's owner points out that the others are oversized but Summer is average.

The girl frowns and says 'Oh that's just too bad. I've always wanted a dog that would stay tiny.' Then she left, seeming really genuinely put out. So I'm sitting there thinking A) if you want a dog Mia's size, she's exactly the size of an adult chihuahua and then B) How is 3 lbs that much of a difference? Summer is a whopping 3 lbs bigger than Mia. Would it really make much of a difference handling a 4-5 lb dog compared to a 7-8 lb dog?

The weirdest part was that I had so many people say something similar. 'If only they stayed as small as Mia...' I guess I just don't get it. Summer is a really little dog already.

[sammgirl]

Er...really?

At first I think I read it wrong. I thought you were kidding, but then I realized you weren't. I think the paps are pretty small. I mean, it's not like when they're puppies they're the size of Mia but when they're grown they get as large as a Great Dane :P

[Xandra]

I guess they want to carry it around in a bag or something... I guess 3 lbs would make a difference? When I think of a dog that weighs in the single digits for Chirssakes I'm already nervous. I mean that is TINY. I have RABBITS bigger than that!

I think it comes down to people looking at animals as these pre-visioned accessories. People think of "little dog" and they think of a hamster-sized dog because it's "cute" or how about "petite." With the larger breeds you get the opposite. "My presa (or GSD, dobie, rottie, corso) weighs 210 lbs!!!!" I will make a *generalization* that females are usually drawn to the "cute" little breeds and men to the "monsters." Take what you want from that. Either way it's perverse. They don't want a dog because they want a DOG, they want a dog because they look at it and get ideas or feelings that actually have very little to do with the dogs itself. If that makes sense.

[Laurelin]

Originally Posted by sammgirl

Er...really?

At first I think I read it wrong. I thought you were kidding, but then I realized you weren't. I think the paps are pretty small. I mean, it's not like when they're puppies they're the size of Mia but when they're grown they get as large as a Great Dane :P

Oh I wish I was kidding but it's really incredibly common. I think it's sad.

Xandra hit it right on the head imo. It's less about the dog as a dog and more about the dog as an accessory. Either way giant or tiny it seems.

The girls seemed nice and genuinely interested until she found out they got up to 7-8 lbs. Then she wasn't and left. I guess if you wanted to put a dog in a purse for a long time it might make a difference. Then again I think no matter how big the dog is, it'd get tiresome.

Oh well, I guess it's best to weed out those kinds of people that way. Paps are really a bad choice for someone wanting an accessory instead of a dog.

[lisabobisa]

That's just hilarious. I couldn't imagine anyone saying a pap is a big dog!

I get really frustrated with the handbag dogs that come into work because they WILL NOT WALK. We had this tiny yorkie stay with us for awhile who we had so much trouble getting to eat and I'm sure a big part of that was because the dog refused to exercise at all. I tried putting her on lead and walking her around but she just planted herself. I seriously wondered if that dog walked anywhere on its own or if it was constantly carried from one place to another.

[misfitz]

That's pretty sad, and I agree Xandra got it exactly right. I had a similar experience at a shelter adoption event - I was handling a little Chi boy who couldn't have been more than 8 lbs. I mean, I have cats at home bigger than him. A lady and her elderly mother were looking at him, mom wanted a lapdog but said he was too big! It's very frustrating, especially since he was probably the smallest dog in the shelter.