Small Dog Care

From the day you bring your dog home, you want a wonderful companion. Makes sense. That's why you got a dog.

But on top of the care we need to exercise for any dog, small dogs can have their own set of difficulties. Very small dogs can be fragile. Some are susceptible to bone breakage. Others can have health issues.

And many small dogs have a foolhardy sense of courage that regularly sets them in the way of danger. So there are definite things for an owner to know.

By purchasing a puppy it can be easy to think that a dog is a commodity, like a sofa or a TV set. Under law, a dog is definitely owned by his humans, but he is also not a sofa or a TV.

The breeder has definite responsibilities to sell you a healthy, well socialized dog -- see What Is a Responsible Breeder.



But once your dog is home with you the biggest factor in his health and happiness is YOU.

We tend to look at dogs and think of them as small humans. They most emphatically are not. The single biggest rule in caring well for a dog, whether he is 100 pounds or 2 pounds is:

Treat him like a dog.

But to do that, you have to learn what dogs need. And specifically, what small dogs need.

In Dog Obedience Basics you can learn the basics of training, and Training a Small Dog is chock full of the finer points of training and behavior modification.

In Caring for a Small Dog we'll answer questions like --

What do you do if your dog turns over the garbage and snacks on the chicken bones? Yes, of course you need to call your vet, but what can you do first that just might avoid major surgery?

Is there really something you can do about your dog eating poop?

What's hypoglycemia, how can it affect very small dogs, and what can you do about it?

What do you do if you think your dog has had a run in with a toad?

What's the deal with worms?

Your dog's health decisions need to be made in conjunction with your vet. I most certainly am not a vet; but just like good moms know how to bandage a scraped knee, good owners need to know the basics of health care for their dogs.

As an experienced dog owner I can certainly give you the canine version of the best band-aids to buy and how to kiss it and make it better!

Furthermore there's more general issues.

The full scoop on feeding your dog.

And an exact rundown of what to do if you lose your dog. Also, what's the deal with microchips? And GPS tags?

And a checklist for emergency evacuations.

And much more. Look above for the article links, and check back often because I will regularly add to the list.

Be sure to check with your vet if you have any questions about the general health issues brought up in this section. My advice is intended to enhance your small dog's quality of life, not diagnose him in any way.

And by the way, if you have specific questions about small dog care that you would like answered sooner rather than later, please contact me.