Small dogs

Small dogs generally weigh less than 22 pounds when they are full grown adults. A puppy is not classified as a "small dog", as it may grow up to be a giant in size when it is an adult. For example, a mastiff puppy will be small like any puppy, but he will grow up into a giant. So when we talk about small dogs, we are talking about dogs which remain small for their whole lives.

The Advantage Of Small Dog Breeds

After years of breeding dogs with similar desirable characteristics, to other dogs with similar desirable characteristics, you get what is called a purebred dog.

Purebred dogs have predictable personalities and physical characteristics. For example, one small breed, the Maltese, sheds very little hair. If you suffer from allergies, you know that you can buy a Maltese puppy who, when fully grown, will not shed hair. In other words, there's no surprises. If you buy just any old puppy - a mix of this, a mix of that - you just don't know for sure if his coat will shed lightly, heavily, or not at all when he grows up. It's a risk.

What is a purebred dog exactly?

Glad you asked. A purebred dog is a dog that came from parents who were both of the same breed. That dog's parent's parents came from the same breed, too. And the parent's parent's parents came from the same breed, too. And so on, and so on. You get the point?

A purebred dog is a dog who has ancestors are all of the same breed.

There are many small dog breeds - purebreds - to choose from. Here's a full list of small dog breeds.

Purebreds are a man made. Years and years of breeding the same types of dogs, with the same characteristics, creates a purebred dog. If dogs are allowed to run around in the wild, and mate with whomever they chose, there would be no "purebred" dogs. A Pug could mate with a Yorkshire Terrier and create a half Yorkie, half Pug dog. Who may then, in turn, mate with another dog who was half Poodle, half Maltese, creating a dog who is 1/4 Poodle, 1/4 Pug, 1/4 Maltese, and 1/4 Yorkie. Eventually all dogs would be a mix of everything - you couldn't keep up with what they had in them - it would be a bit of everything - and they would just be called "dogs".

So it's important to understand that breeds are a man made creation, and without us humans selectively breeding them - Pugs, Yorkies, Maltese, Toy Poodles, and so on, would not exist.

The Benefits Of Purebreds

The benefit of buying a purebred small dog, is that you can predict his size, coat type, personality (to some degree - every dog has his own unique personality), looks, health, intelligence, and so on, before he grows up.

This means you can choose what you like in a dog - for example: a low shedder, high energy, alert, easy to train, etc, and then find a breed which suits your needs.

This way you are much more likely to end up with a dog who you will always love and be able to keep.

As opposed to buying a mixed puppy who grows up "ugly" (based on your definition of what's ugly, of course), or who sheds huge amounts of hair, or who grows up to large (i wanted a small dog!).

So when you buy a purebred, as opposed to a mixed breed, you know what to expect. That's the great advantage to purebred dogs.