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Small dog breeds
All you need to know about little dogs
Interested in buying small dog breeds? Here are
descriptions and facts about many different little dogs that
will make the task of choosing a dog breed easier.
Small breeds are among the most popular dogs in the world
and there's plenty of good reasons for that! Less food,
easier to carry, not as much room required ... there are
plenty of benefits to owning a small dog.
On this page:
Definition of a small dog
Advantages of owning a small dog
List of small dog breeds
Why are small dogs small?
Definition of a small dog
Small dog breeds are generally held to be no more than 40
cm (16 inches) at the shoulder.
There's no hard and fast rule, though, as there is no
official kennel council or club group for these breeds. Generally, people think of small dogs as ones you can
either pick up easily or get in and out of the car easily,
so there's a wide variety of breeds that might be considered
a bit smaller than medium.
If you're choosing a breed for you and your family, look
at the size description and the photos provided to make sure
you're getting what you want in a new puppy.
If you're going for mixed breed
dogs or crossbreeds, make
sure you know what different breeds have gone into your
puppy because crossing some small dogs with a larger breed
could result in quite a sizeable pooch!
Many of the dogs listed here would also qualify as
toy
dog breeds so don't forget to check out that page of this
site if you know you are after a tiny dog. Or, if you decide
you want something larger, check out
Medium Sized Dogs or
Large Dog Breeds.
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Advantages of owning a small dog
The obvious advantages of owning a small dog are that you
can pick them up and they eat less food.
Buying a puppy? Other
useful pages
If they have long hair, they will also be easier to groom
than a large long-haired dog.
Small dogs are usually happy to live in smaller areas
such as apartments and don't need as much as exercise as
larger, more energetic breeds.
Please note: This does not mean you don't need to
exercise your small dog! Small dogs need their daily walks
and games too but you usually won't have to go as far or as
fast with a little one.
Small dog breeds often live longer than larger breeds.
You'll see from the descriptions of many of the dogs below
that most will live to around 15 years of age, whereas
larger breeds often don't live longer than 12 years.
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List of small dog breeds
A
B C D E
F G H
I J K
L
M N O P
Q R
S T U V
W X Y Z
A
| Affenpinscher |
|
| American Cocker Spaniel - see
Cocker Spaniel |
|
| Australian Silky Terrier |
|
| Australian Terrier |
|
B
| Basset Hound |
|
| Basset Fauve De Bretagne |
|
| Beagle |
|
| Bedlington Terrier |
|
| Bichon Frise |
|
| Bolognese |
|
| Border Terrier |
|
| Boston Terrier |
|
| British Bulldog |
|
| Bull Terrier (Miniature) |
|
| Brussels Griffon (Griffon Bruxellois) |
|
C
| Cairn Terrier |
|
| Cardigan Welsh Corgi |
|
| Cocker Spaniel |
|
| Cocker Spaniel - American (see
Cocker Spaniel) |
|
| Chihuahua |
|
| Chinese Crested Dog |
|
| Coton De Tulear |
|
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D
E
F
| Fox Terrier |
|
| French Bulldog |
|
G
| German Hunting Terrier |
|
| German Spitz (Mittel and Klein) |
|
| Glen of Inmaal Terrier |
|
| Griffon Bruxellois (Brussels Griffon) |
|
H
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I
J
| Jack Russell Terrier |
|
| Japanese Chin |
|
| Japanese Spitz |
|
K
L
M
Top
N
| Norfolk Terrier |
|
| Norwich Terrier |
|
P
S
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T
| Tenterfield Terrier |
|
| Tibetan Spaniel |
|
| Tibetan Terrier |
|
| Toy Fox Terrier |
|
| Toy Poodle |
|
W
X
| Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican Hairless) |
Y
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Why are small dogs small?
You might think that small dog breeds have evolved fairly
recently - after all, wolves are generally medium or large
animals. But it turns out that little dogs have been around
for at least 12,000 to 15,000 years!
According to
a study by the University of Utah, there is a part of
dog DNA that reduces the activity of a growth gene, ensuring
that small breeds stay small. All small dogs have this
genetic material.
Dogs evolved from wolves around 12,000 to 15,000 years
ago. And since the material is found in small dogs that are
distantly related and found in distant regions, the genetic
material must be at least 12,000 years old.
It's not yet known whether the genetic material somehow
got into dogs when they were first domesticated or whether
there was some breed of small wolf, now extinct, from which
all small dog breeds are descended.
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Go back to Puppy Breeds
