Toy Dog Breeds Advantages and Breeding

Toy dogs are great choices for people with allergies or limited space, as they are generally docile and have less fur to irritate sensitive people. They do have a small disadvantage in that they often bark more than larger dogs for attention, but due to the small size of their vocal chords, they do so with less volume! The best of these dogs, and there are many, are true companion animals. Their only task in life is to please people and keep them company.

Toy dogs are exceptional choices for the elderly as they love to be loved, are lightweight (weighing on average 5 pounds, bitches weighing even less) and are fiercely protective.

Toy dogs as the name suggests, are very small, and most of time not very good with small children. With the exception of the Pug, who has been characterized as one of the sturdiest and most stable of the toys.

Despite their small size toy dogs are probably the gutsiest pups in the canine family with their big yet little voices barking at the mere site of other dogs and passers-by. Sometimes this can be a problem for them however, when they don’t back down against a larger animal they are sure to come-off worst in the battle.

Toy dogs are not only meant to entertain your pets. Toy dogs provide you with a reason to move more, which we all need to do to avoid overweight problems. Keep fit by exercising your toy dog. Toy dogs are generally an easy-care pet.

Toy dogs are not limited in their gene pool by their small size, and are descendants of a wide variety of dog breeds. Their predominant characteristic is that most were initially bred and developed their characteristic natures when kept as a loyal companion, and are often referred to as lap dogs. No points awarded to you for guessing why that is!

One thing though which they do suffer from. Toy dogs are notorious for having bad teeth and the small mouths and small jaws make it almost impossible to clean them adequately at home. So, many have a need for regular visits to a vet to keep their teeth and gums healthy.

Toy dog breeders are no different from any others and we find their trait of talking about their disappointing pups as "only pet quality" unhelpful. In other words breeders who see pets as a by-product of the breeder’s search for the perfect dog, are not primarily looking after you the pet owners interest. We say beware of buying from such a breeder. Breeders like this do not give the health of their puppies the highest priority, instead their motivation is to show the best looking dog that they can breed.

Breeding for appearance was only introduced in the 19th Century, and is in danger of degrading the stock of healthy genes in our dog population. Before this time dogs and puppies were bred to increase useful abilities and traits helpful for the duties they were intended for. Breeds in the some breed groups nowadays suffer from far more genetic problems than they have in the past. Some breeds that have become more and more popular as time goes on have suffered for being bred for quantity to fed the market, again to the detriment of the health of the pups available for sale. Just be aware of this when you choose a breeder.