Toy Dogs

Author: Denise Partlow

Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

Many of the breeds in this category were bred solely as companions. It was seen as a high status symbol if you had one of these dogs. However some of them did serve a specific purpose; for example the Maltese was used as a flea magnet to help improve the hygiene of humans. Other breeds like the Shih Tzu and the Lhasa Apso were used specifically to warm the laps of their owners.

Some of the breeds that fit into this category are:

Bichon Frise
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Chihuahua
Havanese
Lhasa Apso
Maltese
Papillon
Pekingese
Pomeranian
Pug
Shih Tzu
Tibetan Spaniel
Toy Poodle

Bred as a human companion makes these dogs comforting, loving, intuitive to humans’ emotions, playful, curious and easy to care for. It is also common for these dogs to be clingy with a high potential for separation anxiety.

Toy breeds were designed to be easy to care for therefore quite adaptable to many different lifestyles.

Unfortunately toy breeds are not always treated the same as other larger breeds. We don’t encourage them to be independent thinkers or try anything challenging, leaving us with a highly insecure dog. This can result in a dog that’s difficult to potty train, barks excessively, is easily stressed and wary of strangers.

They often end up developing aggression towards unfamiliar people and dogs as a result. However, all of these negative behaviors can be prevented if their needs are being met on a daily basis giving us a very loving, fun and playful companion.

This is not a full list of characteristics and may not apply to every dog. If you’re interested in diving a little bit deeper, I encourage you to read the book “Meet Your Dog” by Kim Brophey.