Giving a Mini a chance

I’ve never really been a fan of mini anythings. I like big things, you know, quantity over quality. I don’t like mini-burgers, Mini-Coopers or mini-TVs. Minnie Mouse even bugged be when I was a kid. Before recently, I especially didn’t like mini-dogs, or as I call them, ‘punts.’ No, not runts, punts — as in they’re small enough to punt. And NO — for you animal rights people out there — I would never actually punt a dog. I respect and appreciate all dogs, even the stupid ones, even pit bulls to a certain extent — don’t like ‘em, but I can appreciate why dog lovers do. My stance on mini-dogs has changed the last few weeks as I’ve gotten to know the newest addition to our family, our Miniature Schnauzer, Schatzi. It’s a cute, little black thing currently about the size of a piece of pizza, and it’s not going to get much bigger than a football from what I’ve been told. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in personality, a trait I’m sure that is the reason behind why there are so many mini-dog lovers around the country. Portable pooches, according to professional dog trainer Matt Margolis, have slowly become more popular since the mid-1990s. For many people, it’s just easier to own a tiny terrier than a massive mastiff. I’m looking forward to training my new mini, because I know these little tykes can potentially be mean little suckers, and she needs to be trained, as any dog does. After all, they’re still dogs, and it’s widely known that small dogs, especially ones that become territorial, can bite big. With any luck, the very fact that we have two full-size golden retrievers will help with the territorial thing. After being up-close with our two goldens, I’m hoping our mini realizes we’re all sharing space, and it wouldn’t be prudent of her to start claiming any kind of territory, at least not outside. I’m hoping every time she starts to think about being a pest in such a way that she’ll remember there are two big, brown monsters lurking outside, just a few feet away in the garage waiting to teach her a lesson. One of my goldens was a three-time mother and can get pretty territorial when she wants to. The old girl probably wouldn’t hurt a flea, but if the situation presents itself, she can get mean — at least mean enough to remind the other dogs that her teeth still work and she has her own space. I’ll give this particular golden a certain amount of space, especially knowing that as a former mother of pups it’s natural she would be a bit territorial. And I’ll give our new mini her space, too. She just doesn’t need as much of it.