Agility Dog Association of Australia Ltd

Little Champions ~ by Lyndal Nichols

Not so long ago, I thought that small dogs, toy dogs, lap dogs and the like were a waste of good dog food and were only useful to the elderly, those in confined conditions and the naive confirmation breeder.

I believed the Toy poodles, Italian Greyhounds, Yorkshire Terriers, Papillons and Chihuahuas, were at best a minor distraction to the self respecting dog trainer and at worst a yapping irritation.  More recently, I have changed my mind significantly. (Perhaps not about the Chihuahua ….)

I have changed my mind, due initially, to physical circumstances. I am the Mother to a family of 3 children, in all of whom I have encouraged dog-training interest, agility interest and ultimately dog ownership. Once each child reached the magic age of Ten Years, they were given a pup. Seeing as I already had two medium sized dogs, (kelpies) and a medium sized car, I could see the problem of Space For Travelling being created.

The answer seemed to be: small dogs for the children.

So we could stack them.

I had little experience in small breed dogs. And as already mentioned, a tendency towards disinterest in the small breed dog.

I did some research. I asked my fellow agility enthusiasts, “What is the best small dog to train?” There were many and various answers, often depending on what was lying (or leaping about) in the crate belonging to my fellow agility enthusiast.

"How about a beagle, they have a wonderful temperament”

“Don’t get a beagle, their nose is always on the ground”

“Terriers are hard to train, compared to a border collie…..why don’t you get your daughter a border collie?”  Hmmm, if I wanted another sheepdog, I would have bought her a Kelpie.....

“Poodles are lovely, get him a toy poodle”   But those ears and that coat?

I trawled the internet looking for a small, shorthaired, easy to train, pricked eared dog. A miniature kelpie or toy cattle dog would have suited, but they haven’t been invented yet.

There were often warnings attached to small, terrier type breed descriptions.

“Fox Terriers (or Skye Terriers or Tenterfield Terriers…) can be independent and stubborn and patience is needed to get the best from your dog”.

“the Boston Terrier (or Maltese or Miniature Pinscher) is determined and active and not ideal for all households.”

After much advice and a few years later, we now have two Tenterfield Terriers and a Miniature Pinscher living with us.

We still have a kelpie and cattle dog as well, and they all fit quite nicely into the dog crate on the back of the twin cab utility.

I now know much more about small breed dogs.

The most important thing is: they need to be recognized as individuals and trained as such…shucks, just like any other breed of dog.  And also, some of these small breed dogs can be as smart and as useful as, say, a cattle dog, a border collie or even a kelpie.  Ok, not as useful as a kelpie.

Some merits of a small, short coated dog:

• They fit well into small spaces.
• They can be easily carried over hot bitumen (Qld summer ) roads to the footpath on the other side.
• They eat less than their larger cousins.
• They cost less to worm and flea treat.
• They are easy to bath and dry quickly.
• Children can hold them on lead without ever the danger of being dragged off.
• They can’t bite high on a cow’s leg.
• Sheep aren’t very scared of them.
• Dog treats for training can be made into very, very small pieces and so a bag of Chicken Chunkers lasts for a long time. (Is this a good thing?)
• They are easy to restrain for examination for fleas, ticks and lumps and bumps.
• Portable dog crates are smaller, therefore cheaper.
• They can be taken to Footpath Dining areas and not even be noticed.

As well as the advantages described above, the small breed dogs I have become familiar with tend to be full of character, athletic and have an avid interest in the world. These are great attributes for an agility dog.  We will just have to wait and see how “Soot” the Min Pin copes with tipping the See - Saw.

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