| Personality and charm are two of the traits that | | | | A long time ago, owning a small dog, like the Shih Tzu |
| most people associate with small dogs. With the help | | | | or the Pekingese, was something only for rich or |
| of selective breeding, many species were created, | | | | privileged people, as it was a purebred that was |
| with an emphasis placed on specific character traits. | | | | expensive to own. As middle class appeared in the |
| Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 | | | | last few centuries, the expensive small dogs became |
| st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ | | | | affordable for more people and since they were |
| table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table | | | | special when compared with mutts you saw on the |
| Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; | | | | street, they also became popular. |
| mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; | | | | |
| mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm | | | | The standards of breeding for each type of dog |
| 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; | | | | vary, depending on their character traits, appearance, |
| mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; | | | | height and weight. The standard of the breed tells |
| mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; | | | | you how a dog from that race should look like. Of |
| font-family:"Times New Roman"; | | | | course, this is more of a goal, since no two dogs are |
| mso-ansi-language:#0400; | | | | exactly the same. Nature decides each dog’s |
| mso-fareast-language:#0400; | | | | appearance in the end, so breeders can only do so |
| mso-bidi-language:#0400;} | | | | much about it. |
| The reasons why small dog breeds exist are varied. | | | | |
| In some cases, certain small dogs did specialized | | | | The only difference between large and small dogs is |
| tasks for hunter, and two of these species are the | | | | the size. Just because it is small, it doesn’t |
| Yorkshire terriers and the dachshunds. In other cases, | | | | mean that you should protect a dog too much. A |
| races like the Maltese, Shish Tzu or the Pekingese | | | | small size doesn’t mean that they are extra |
| were made to keep company to nobles and rich | | | | susceptible to illnesses when compared with a larger |
| people. Each area of the world has its own small dog | | | | race. Actually, a small dog usually has a longer life |
| breeds and they spread all over the world, becoming | | | | expectancy than a big dog. |
| popular wherever they were brought. | | | | |
| | | | | Many people seem to enjoy using clothes on small |
| The origin of the Chihuahua dog is Mexico, while the | | | | dogs, dressing them and adding accessories to make |
| Shih Tzu and the Pekingese were brought from China | | | | them look cute. You can do the same with a large |
| and Tibet. Many of the terrier breeds originate from | | | | dog, of course, but the effect just isn’t the |
| Scotland. The poodles and the petit chien lion are | | | | same as it can be with a small Yorkie or maybe with |
| thought to originate from the ancient Greece. | | | | a Chihuahua. |
| | | | | |