Why Are Small Dogs So Anxious All the Time

[Michie]

I have small dogs and have had large ones as well. Socialization is definitely key. No punishment as well.


Happy little dogs are popular punchlines in Hollywood. In There's Something About Mary, an annoying Border Terrier is repeatedly injured as the characters engage in slapstick antics, until the dog requires a full body cast. In the live-action Scooby-Doomovie, the diminutive Scrappy-Doo was so obnoxious that the rest of the group ultimately casts him out. Beyond the world of cinema, comic sketches mocking celebrities who carry Chihuahuas in their purses more often than not comment on the dogs' vocal behavior.

But are little dogs actually ankle-biting annoyances, or do they get a bad rap? And regardless of which answer is true, does the explanation for their stereotyped anxious behavior rest in nature or nurture?

Continued below.
Why are small dogs so anxious all the time?

 

[LeGato]

Defects from over-breeding and genetic manipulation?

 

[Lost4words]

Only anxiety i get is when i pass the Rottweiler next door!

 

[Lovesonsofthundet]

We used to have a Maltese and she had such bad panic attacks that my mom and the housemate we used to have decided we had to give her up because she couldn't even be put in her crate.