Who's A Big Dog?

When reading the title, be sure to move your head back and forth and use baby talk, because that is they way I said it when I asked the big dog in the story below this same question. Laugh and deny all you want, but we have all spoken baby talk to a dog before. It helps them understand right? :)

Over the holidays, I was visiting my Aunt and Uncle and played with their beautiful, exuberant, Great Pyrenees/Bernese Mountain Dog mix named Bailey (yes, we are a two Bailey family). When a dog of his size and energy is in the room with you, he is pretty much the center of attention and conversation. At one point I referred to him and his breeds as “large breed”. My uncle, the large dog lover, sort of chuckled and pointed out that while most people refer to this 107 pound beast as “large”, he does not think of him that way. He reserves “large” for the nearly 200 pound St. Bernard’s he used to own.

This reminds me of a time when I had a good laugh. A long time Papillion owner walked into the dog training club one day with a Rat Terrier at the end of her leash. She introduced me to her new breed and explained she had wanted a bigger dog. I suppose relative to a Papillion, Rat Terriers are indeed “bigger”.

So how do we define small breed? What makes one a large breed or a giant breed? Or should we refer to them as small dogs, medium dogs, etc… There does not seem to be any qualified definitions for these classifications that we use and hear every day. Some definitions seem to be based more on weight, while others look at overall physical size. The AKC probably does not have defining these classifications high on their priority list of things to do, so be careful when you use or see these generic descriptions of dog sizes. Try to have/get examples or comparisons. The receiver of the information may have a very different perception than intended.

If you would like to see Big Bailey, as I call him, he is in the pictures section of Paw Pages, which can be linked to from www.dogism.com. My Bailey is the main face you see in the picture associated with this blog. Luey is peering from behind.