Hallo, ich bin Tierärztin und betreibe eine ganzheitlich arbeitende Hundeschule in Hannover. Ich arbeite gewaltfrei mit positiver Verstärkung.
19/01/2024
Wee man/little man syndrome, also referred to as small dog syndrome.
Firstly, it's not a syndrome, it's not a fault in the dog, the dog is responding to the environment they live in
1. Everything is bigger than them. Relative size is important. A westie is around half as small as a small labrador in weight. Westies are small but can be 4 times the size of the smallest yorkies or chihuahuas. That same labrador is 8 times bigger than the little dog. These little dogs may never, or rarely, interact with a dog smaller than them. Learning how to navigate the world where almost everything is bigger and stronger than you must be really difficult.
2. Because of their small size, they are easy to move around. Next time you are out at the park, watch people with small dogs on lead. Watch how some of them are yanked and pulled around. You don't need to be strong to push and pull around a small dog. They get picked up without asking, moved on etc and unless we actively and consciously think about what we are doing with them, this is their life. And it's b*llsh*t and unfair. Most people don't have the strength to do that as soon as the dog weighs more than 20 kilos (44lbs) or so.
3. They don't get listened to. As in point 2, we physically move them without consent, considerably more than big dogs. A Rottweiler doesn't want to move off the couch, good luck trying to physically move him, so we have to find other ways. A big dog growls, more people will listen. More dogs will listen to, because the threat and potential for damage is greater. If you've been around dogs a while, have you ever heard a small dog being laughed at for growling? Growling is communication, we need to listen regardless of the size. Biting causes less damage than in bigger dogs so its brushed off.
Let's show these dogs the same amount of respect as we show other dogs.
