Lessons in Puppy Sitting Im a Fan of Portability

This has been happening a lot this past week.

Ive always had big dogs. Harper, my first pup, was a 90 lb golden retriever. Nailah is 45 lbs so shes nowhere near petite either. Small dogs, especially lap dogs, have never really interested me.

Back when I was a kid Id constantly beg my dad to let me have a dog. His argument against it was that our house (past not present) was too small to have a canine residing inside of it. After much pestering he finally agreed to let me get a dog, so long as it was a toy breed. I played around with the idea for a while but finally told him Id wait for us to move to larger place so I could get the type of dog Id always wanted. A big gallant protector, I was thinking either Rin Tin Tin or Lassie. Fast forward to my college days and even my roommates were large breed dog lovers! 

So now that Ive been pet sitting Zoey for almost a week its interesting to see what its like interacting with a small breed dog. Ive had a lot of scares where Ive nearly stepped on her and whenever she throws herself off the couch I have a mini heart attack. Im constantly 

concerned that the cats will do some damage to her if she antagonizes them enough (shes stubborn) and am always keeping an eye out to make sure she doesnt get in trouble. This is pretty much the opposite of how I treat Nailah. 

Maybe its because Niles is my dog? So I know her behavior better and am more aware of what to watch out for? Its possible, but I think it has more to do with Zoeys size. 

Despite all of the stress caring for a tiny pup can bring it also has its advantages. Shes super portable! I love the fact that I can just scoop her up whenever shes about to get into mischief or needs to go into her crate. I also find myself carrying her around the house just because I can.

So portable!

A couple of years ago I couldnt fathom why people wanted to bring their dogs into stores. I always got annoyed when I saw someone with a "purse dog" browsing the clearance rack. Now Im just annoyed that I cant bring Nailah with me. Itd be pretty much impossible to stuff my big butt Aussie into a Prada bag and check out the produce section. 

Ill admit Ive been tempted to take Zoey into my local stores in my bag, but have always reigned myself in. Even though I love the fact that I could parade her around the mall I just cant bring myself to do it. Id feel too guilty knowing that there are large breed dog owners thatd be miffed they couldnt bring their pet in too.

But now I can say I get the appeal and well, who knows? Maybe theres a small dog in my future! 

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