As a dog lover, have you ever wondered why some people dislike small dogs? In this article, we’ll explore nine reasons for this personal preference and provide tips on how to help someone fall in love with small dogs.
Many people dislike small dogs because they are often yappy, lack physical capabilities, can be overly aggressive, are fragile and prone to injury, stubborn, less dependable, less sociable, difficult to house train, prone to psychological issues, have bad personalities, and are not seen as “macho” dogs. Additionally, some people may have had negative past experiences with small dogs.
While some of these reasons may seem reasonable, it’s important to approach the situation with an open mind and try to understand the root cause of someone’s dislike for small dogs. By doing so, you can take appropriate steps to help them develop a positive relationship with small dogs.
In this article, we’ll provide tips on how to make someone fall in love with small dogs by addressing their specific concerns and highlighting the many benefits of having a small dog as a companion.
Reasons why do some people hate small dogs?
Although Personal preferences can vary from person to person, but this much higher percentage of people hate these cute small loving pooches!
Even I found myself don’t prefer them because I never owned one. Actually, I have a Doberman, Rottweiler, and rescued stray dog.
But my girlfriend loves small dogs, and she was able to convince me to love them. So, here I’m gonna lay out the reasons why I didn’t love small dogs.
1. They are extremely yappy.
Many people hate small dogs because these canines are overly yuppy and a considerable amount of dog lovers find it difficult to tolerate these high-pitched, small, intense, yapping dogs.
Some tend to yap intensely all over the day and regularly, especially when the owners are away from home. I would say they do that probably for 8-10 hours while having little intermissions, which is pretty annoying, especially for neighbors.
2. Lack of physical capabilities.
Some small canines were initially bred for special activities; for instance, Rat Terriers were bred to kill rats in the places where big dogs cannot reach.
However, people would prefer to keep dogs not only as pets but for herding dogs, hunting partners, hiking companions, search and rescue dogs, sporting activities, working dogs, and the list goes on and on.
It seems like an enormous portion of the tiny dog group is unfit for real-purpose activities, of course, apart from being a house pet. Therefore, many people are inclined to find them pointless to take them just as pets.
Suggested reading: Can Yorkies run long distances?
3. Overly aggressiveness.
I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the angry Chihuahuas on social media.
In general, small dogs are overly aggressive than they are supposed to be which is pretty unfortunate. However, if we look into the story behind most of these small aggressive canines, the dog parents seem to have neglected their responsibilities of training their dogs.
So, that’s one of the main reasons why do most people hate small dogs.
4. Many people hate small dogs due to their fragileness.
In general, all most every small dog breed, including toy breeds, is more fragile as their bones are much smaller. A little bit fat small canine may find it a real challenge to get on and pumping off from the couches and beds due to the chance of getting injured.
In fact, they aren’t ideal for getting along with medium, large breeds because several minutes of rough play can cause significant damage to the small one.
5. Past experience and influences by social media.
Most canine videos that go viral on the internet contain small angry dogs, especially chihuahuas. Even though it seems hilarious to watch, It makes many people dislike small dogs.
Moreover, if a person thinking of getting a small canine and ever visits a home that has an angry, yappy, and untrained small dog, that person is more likely to forget about getting such a dog.
6. Relatively difficult to house train.
As a whole, most dog parents find it relatively difficult to house train a small dog. Again, one of the reasons could be lack of training. The dog owners should invest more time and money in training their dogs despite thinking of their cuteness.
Here are some of the causes why do most small dogs are harder to housebreak.
- Small canines have a relatively higher metabolism rate while having a small bladder, resulting in making them go out more often.
- Most small dogs live in apartments. So owners are indolent to go outside every time they need to go.
- Lack of house training.
- Since these dogs tend to produce morsels of urine, the owners are more forbearing of accidents.
7. Have so many psychological issues.
In general, small dogs are inclined to be prone to psychological issues compared to medium and large dog breeds.
The most prominent psychological issues are,
- Fear.
- Seperation anxiety.
- Depression.
- Anxiety.
- Stress.
- Obsessive compulsive disorder.
So, most people don’t like to own small dogs because of this reason.
8. Guys love macho dogs.
Frankly, It is a fact that guys are more attracted to big dogs while a significant portion of girls prefers to own small dogs.
I’ve heard someone said that a dog that fits into a small fish tank isn’t a dog. That is a rat!
Mostly, the family’s husband would think of getting a dog that can provide sufficient protection to the family while being a good pet and doing well with children, which small dogs cannot do.
9. Personal preferences.
Frankly, some people don’t hate small dogs. They just prefer to own big dogs. That’s a personal preference which we should agree and respect.

Other minor reasons why some people don’t love small dogs.
Apart from the above major reasons, specific minor reasons could influence a person to hate small dogs. Let’s see what they are.
1. Nervousness: Small dogs are more nervous than big dogs. Overall, big dogs are calm by nature.
2. Stubbornness: Small dog breeds have stubborn personalities compared to larger breeds, making them less popular among most dog lovers as they don’t prefer to learn new things and be trained.
3. They are less sociable canines: In general, the small dog breed group has a high tendency to get attached tightly to one person or only to the family, making them less sociable and less responsive to other people, dogs.
4. Dependable: Small dogs are highly dependable on their owners.
5. Less sporty: As I mentioned earlier, small dogs don’t have many physical capabilities, making you cannot have playtime on a nice evening. In fact, most small dogs find it difficult to involve in games like fetch, tug of war, agility training.
6. Less compatible with children: Most dog lovers hate owning a small dog because these dogs aren’t good enough for families with young children. Because these dogs are more likely to getting injured while playing even with preschoolers.
7. Difficult to confine in the yard: The smaller dogs around 7-10 pounds of weight can slip through cracks in a fence pretty much straightforwardly.
8. Personality: In general, small dogs are needy, bossy, spiteful, nervous, willful, making it challenging to tolerate them. But with regards to big dogs usually tend to have compatible personalities for most dog lovers. Have you ever heard that Miniature schnauzers are jealous of certain things?
9. Stiffness: Most small dogs, especially chihuahuas and dachshunds, are prone to stiffness pretty much quickly due to their wrong movements methods.
10. The eyes of small dogs: Some people don’t prefer to own small dogs simply because they don’t like the appearance of their eyes. Most of them have huge eyes with small skulls, which bugs most people.
11. Annoying tick-tick sound: Most dog lovers hate their small dogs due to their walking sounds. These tiny breeds tend to walk around the house all over the day while making tick-tick-tick-tick sounds (The sound when claws hit against the floor). Even we can hear the same sound from big dogs, and they don’t run or jog throughout the house as little dogs.
Here is How to make someone fall in love with small dogs?
We’ve discussed the possible reasons why do most people hate small dogs. But, there are specific instances where you have to convince someone to get a small dog as it really makes sense than just getting a medium or large dog.
The way to get your boyfriend, husband, girlfriend, wife, someone in the household to consider getting a small dog is by explaining the advantages of getting small dogs and the downsides of owning a large dog.
So, let’s figure out how you can convince someone to get a small dog.
Suggested Reading: Read this to understand if you should get a dog without telling your parents.
Discuss with him/her the pros of getting a small dog & the cons of getting a large dog.
Here are a handful of things that are worth discussing.
1. Less cost to feed: The bigger the dog is, the bigger the food bowl is! So, if you have a small dog, the cost of food will be dramatically less than owning a bigger dog.
2. Minimum mess: In general, small canines tend to shed less than larger dogs (amount-wise). Even poops are small!
3. Easier to cuddle: It’s pretty much straightforward to take them to your hands and cuddle, thanks to their small size. Having a cuddle time is not that hard! But, you cannot handle large dogs only with your hands.
4. Small space: They can quickly adapt to small spaces, especially if you are live in an apartment building. Moreover, they are easy to manage in even small spaces. But, bigger dogs require much larger space. For instance, a regular Doberman needs at least 4000 square feet of yard space.
5. Easier to groom: Thanks to their size, it’s much easier to groom small dogs compared to medium or larger dogs.
6. Easy to keep on a leash: You have to make a big fuss to take an untrained bigger dog on a leash. However, it’s a breeze to take a small dog on a leash.
7. Transporting: Due to their size, small dogs are much easier to transport from place to place. With regards to larger dogs, it requires loads of effort.
8. Time & effort saver: Getting a small dog can save you a lot of time and effort, especially because they don’t have substantial exercise requirements.
9. Insurance bill: In general, it’s a much cheaper insurance bill for small dogs. With regards to larger dogs, the insurance bill is relatively high.
10. Less harm for children: Usually, a high energetic larger dog tends to play rough with other dogs, people, and children. So, if you take a small dog, there is no potential harm to your children.
Things to be aware of.
Now you know pretty much all the possible reasons why some people hate small dogs and how to make your close ones fall in love with small dogs. However, there are certain things you need to consider when convincing someone.
We’ve discussed the main slogans of big dog lovers. If you can promise and take the initiative not to let them happen, getting someone to be with your decision is not that hard.
Here are certain things worth considering.
- Having a yappy dog is dog parent’s issue. So, don’t forget to train them not to bark and behave well just like people do to big dogs.
- Even though they don’t have much physical capabilities, there are certain games you can play with them that could possibly give much pleasure and joy to both parties. In fact, if a person would like to get a large dog by considering their long walking and hiking capabilities, there are certain options available for him with small dogs including,
- Dachshund.
- Jack Russell Terrier.
- Miniature pinscher.
- Chihuahuas.
- Jack Russell Terrier
- Miniature poodle.
- Miniature Schnauzers
- As I mentioned earlier, having a small aggressive dog is not the dog’s fault. The complete blame on the owners. So, don’t forget to housetrain correctly, providing sufficient caring and affection, basic obedience training, and eliminate pretty much every behavioral issue.
- Investing some money training the dog with a professional dog trainer is something you should definitely think of.
- It needs to promise your partner that there will be no problems and that you are in control of everything.
Conclusion.
Mast dog lovers are curious to know why do most people hate small dogs. Frankly, it can be due to 9 major reasons and 11 other minor reasons, which we’ve discussed through this article. Moreover, we’ve considered how to convince someone to fall in love with small dogs. Hope you found this helpful.
Cheers.
Lily, my beautiful bloodhound girl is MY LOVE. I am now taking care of my friend’s Pomeranian and am slowly going insane. So needy, he barks (forget getting a full night sleep) and is afraid of dogs we meet in walks (which I have to force him to take because he would rather stay in and pee all over the place). This article is well written and I appreciate the advice. However, after 24 hrs with this little idiot, I will not be seeking little dogs. This is also the last time the Pomeranian is staying here. Wow is he ever annoying. I appreciate Lily even more!