Big Dog or Small Dog?

[EWO]

It does seem that the little dogs put on a more exciting show. They seem to be quicker and move at a faster pace. I have always disagreed with the approach the little dogs are easier to handle. I have found that quite the opposite is true. A 30lb well conditioned dog is as hard to handle as anything out there. They can damn near fold themselves in half and go the other way to get where they want to go. For me, the bigger the dog the easier the handle. Granted it is easier to pick up a 30lb'er compared to a 50lb'er but factor in the wiggling and twisting and the big dog is much easier for me.

Agree with Frosty on the feed. I have a little male outside that eats way more than the dog next to him that outweighs him by 15lbs. I don't think size factors in as an absolute when feeding.

At the end of the day I will take a good one. EWO

[Eliman]

It does seem that the little dogs put on a more exciting show. They seem to be quicker and move at a faster pace. I have always disagreed with the approach the little dogs are easier to handle. I have found that quite the opposite is true. A 30lb well conditioned dog is as hard to handle as anything out there. They can damn near fold themselves in half and go the other way to get where they want to go. For me, the bigger the dog the easier the handle. Granted it is easier to pick up a 30lb'er compared to a 50lb'er but factor in the wiggling and twisting and the big dog is much easier for me.

Agree with Frosty on the feed. I have a little male outside that eats way more than the dog next to him that outweighs him by 15lbs. I don't think size factors in as an absolute when feeding.

At the end of the day I will take a good one. EWO

Agree with the small 30lbers being harder to hold onto.

[EWO]

I had a 31lb. Bolio/Eli male that was an absolute nightmare to hold onto when he got geeked up. He had contorting skills, matrix type movements and had the most powerful wiggle on the planet. If he was not geeked or anticipating he was difficult to get off the chain but not impossible. If he got geeked up I had to put a collar and lead on him and then take the collar and chain off. I could not use the same collar in the exchange.

I think some of the perception is that it easier to scoop up a small dog than a big dog because one weighs less. Like lots of times, things are not always as they appear. EWO

[Eliman]

Funny how you describe it i couldn't have worded it better i feed small 30lbs up to mid 50lbs i have a much easier time with the larger ones.

[CYJ]

Ditto Eliman, those bigger dogs had more to grab onto. Those little suckers could squirm like a rabbit and faster than one. LOL
My little Young's Black Betty bitch had a perfect build and only weighed around 25 pounds on the chain.

I farmed out Young's Winchester and Young's Betty to a young Texas dog man named Spivey. That was helping V. Jackson to get set back up in Texas. Spivey was a likeable up coming young dog man. Before he could move the dogs back over on his property. What they call in Texas a flash flood, over ran V.J.'s back property were there were deep Canals and a big pond. Over flowed and drowned these two dogs and many others that were temporarily chained close to the pond.

That was a real bummer for me. Sometimes even when we try to help others in the game. Murphy's law can intervene and screw the best intentions up. I really liked the smaller dogs. Cheers

[Pit Bull Committed]

I've handle a little 33 lbs gyp that was a screamer and I agree with you guys...she wasn't easy to handle at all. I've not handle a big dog yet...just assuming if I were to handle a 50 lbs + dog that is as crazy as that little gyp was...I don't think I can keep it together But after hearing everyone's experiences of the big dog seems like they are much easier to handle.

[Eliman]

Like the two gentlemen said those small ones can bend and squirm with little to hold onto i throw the small ones on my hip and hold them like a bag of kibble i seam to have more control of them that way.

[Officially Retired]

Small dogs are better athletes ... small dogs require less food ... and small dogs are better in just about every way IMO.

It's like boxing; check out the punches-per-round statistics of smaller fighters (middleweight on down) and the heavier weights are a joke by comparison.

Also, consider overall athleticism: how many 220lb human gymnasts do you see? Not many.
Yeah, the big guys are stronger, yeah they can be athletic too and play football, etc., but NO WAY are they as athletic as a gymnast or circus acrobat

Well, it's the same with big dogs vs. little dogs ...

Yeah, big dogs are stronger overall (not pound-for-pound), and yeah some of the bigger dogs are athletic too "for their weight" ... BUT!

There is no way in hell that they can pull off some of the fast, slick athletic moves of the smaller dogs ... OR fight at the same pace ... it's just not going to happen.

For the same reason it doesn't happen in human fighters.

There is a certain "body-to-world" reality that, if you get passed a certain size, you just can't do "certain things" anymore.

And no 220 lb man is going to be a gymnast ... and no 55 lb dog is going to have the moves of a 36lber either.

That's just the facts of life ...

Jack

[CLIMATE]

Agree with the small 30lbers being harder to hold onto.

A larger person handling a small dog is harder than a small person handling a small dog.

Small range is still preference all night.

[Officially Retired]

The feeding thing can be misleading. I feed all my dogs raw, and some of my bigger dogs get less than the smaller ones simply due to their metabolism. So, because a dog is bigger doesn't necessarily mean it will have to eat more.

True. I had a 31 lb bitch named Squirrel who ran the chain all day / all night and had to feed her more than a 55 lb dog. She was just a calorie-burning machine who ultimately had to be fed twice daily to keep weight on.

Some big dogs, by contrast, may sit around all day and have slow metabolisms and require very little feed.

Ultimately, a person has to have the sense to USE THEIR EYES and determine how much food each unique dog on his yard needs as an individual. Feed charts are just "general guidelines." A person may have to add more, or cut back, based on what his eyes tell him.