Your First Toy Dog Breed: Caring For The Tiny Canine In Your Life
Whether you have been around dogs your entire life or you just looked into those tiny little eyes and just knew you had to take that tiny pup home, getting a toy dog breed is no easy feat. You will quickly learn that smaller dogs have a lot of needs that are different from their larger counterparts. Here are things you need to consider when it comes to the care of your toy breed, whether you have a maltese, poodle, or mixed breed smaller dog.
Watch where they go
Smaller dogs have very small, fragile bones, and can easily fracture a leg simply jumping off of furniture. This means you need to watch your new little dog to see just where they go. Young children should be watched as well since they can be too rough on smaller breeds, even if they have been around dogs before. If you have larger dogs, it's best to introduce them to your new smaller addition while you are present in case they try to play with or harm the tiny creature, which can be devastating. Also, it's a good idea to already have in mind what sort of veterinary hospital, such as Murrells Inlet Veterinary Hospital, you want to take your dog to.
Keep them warm
Smaller dogs have tiny bodies to heat up, and not a lot of meat to keep themselves warm. This means you can't just send them outside to go potty in the middle of winter or late at night when it is cold and leave them out there for hours without shelter (which should be provided for any dog of any breed or size). You can tell if a smaller breed dog is cold by the way they shiver throughout their body, whine when standing or sitting, or if they hold one paw up in the air as if they are uncomfortable putting it down.
On the same note as keeping them warm, you need to make sure they don't get too hot as well in the summer. Smaller dogs have less ventilation than their larger cousins, and can easily suffer fatally from heat stroke if left outside in direct sunlight.
Be consistent in potty training
Due to genetic breeding to make them tiny in size, smaller dog breeds tend to be very outgoing and fun to play with, but aren't so great at potty training. This means you have to take them outside a lot to get them accustomed to not using your home as a private area. Until your dog is potty trained, it's a good idea to place them in a kennel when they are not being watched or played with to avoid accidents.
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