If I never hear the phrase "big dog in a small body" again it will still be too soon.

[sugar_for_sugar]

There are few things in dogdom I hate quite the way I hate the assumption of inherent inferiority of small dogs. Not only does it sell small dogs short (pun intended), it sells ALL dogs short. Dogs are dogs, and they're awesome, and one of the awesome things about them is that we've bred them in different sizes and styles to suit our myriad needs

Comments

[sugar_for_sugar]

Yep yep! Dogs are all dogs, there are certain genetic tendencies among breeds but regardless of size or even breed, they're all still dogs

[pandaseal]

This post? Awesome.

I own a Standard Poodle, which obviously is a large dog breed. However, because poodles are considered "girly", I'm constantly hearing messed up gender essentialist things about poodles.

Do you mind if I share this with a link back to you? I belong to a feminist group on a knitting website and I think some posters there might enjoy this.

[sugar_for_sugar]

I don't mind at all! It's a subject that I don't think gets enough airtime, frankly-- sadly, my dog circles and my feminist circles seem to be distinctly separate worlds. *sigh*

The Standard Poodle seems to be a very special case. I can't think of any other large breed that gets dragged into the small dogs=wimminz shenanigans, though there are other large dogs with plush coats. I think they get in because of their history. They began as gundogs of course, but became popular in the States because of the fashion scene in France. And we all know that anything fashionable (especially in FRANCE) has just GOT to be oozing estrogen AMIRITE?! *eyeroll that sprains eyes* Ow.

[pandaseal]

And as we all know, estrogen is the worst thing ever.

Figaro, my dog, is a service dog and I have literally had random strangers argue with me about his ability to work. Poodles only exist to be pretty, therefore are scatter brained and stupid. It's unpossible I know my own dog or actually did research before choosing a breed.

You're right, I am seeing all kinds of parallels with sexism. You have the smarts.

Thank you for giving me permission to repost, I appreciate it.

[belladonna]

Huh! I never thought of it that way before!

What really drives me nuts is when it comes up in discussions about BSL or "banned dogs." It generally starts with someone saying "Ugh, can you believe my city/landlord/homeowners insurance bans [insert breed here]!?" and then I and everyone chime in about how unfair it is to discriminate against dogs based on breed. And then, inevitably, someone will say "And you know, really, it's SMALL dogs that are the worst/most vicious/most annoying/most destructive!" And everyone else nods in agreement and pats themselves on the back for being so progressive and sticking up for the (pardon the pun) underdog.

And then I struggle to resist the urge to poke their eyes out while I fume silently.

[sugar_for_sugar]

UGH I KNOW RIGHT?! I hate that too. People say that to my face and expect me to nod agreement when they know I have a Papillon... it boggles the mind!