As I mentioned last month, my family is caring for my sisterยs family dog, a young long-haired Chihuahua, Mocha, for the summer. Better known as ยMokieย around here, the winsome six-pounder has fit into our household quite nicely. With tons of exercise, lots of toys and chewies, and consistent training, heยs gone from being needy and yappy ย a caricature of a bratty little dog ย to being genuinely fun to be around. Heยs stopped barking when heยs alone in the backyard, he now comes when called ( a huge improvement), and heยs even learned to sit when he wants something.
My sister called a few weeks ago to ask how her dog was doing, and passed along a warning from her husband, a veterinarian. She said, ยBill told me to tell you to watch out for BDLD.ย Huh? ยThatยs what they write in the charts at the clinic ย ยBig Dog/Little Dog syndromeย ย when they see little dogs that have gotten torn up by big dogs,ย she explained.
Although I am new to the world of little dogs, I could see how such a thing could happen. Lots of little dogs seem to have chips on their shoulders, and approach bigger dogs with an ill-advised macho demeanor. Maybe itยs bravado ย to let the other dogs know at the outset that they arenยt pushovers. Or maybe itยs defensiveness ย a fear-based attempt to get in the first punch in case of trouble. But Mokieยs approach to other dogs is good; from puppyhood, he was well socialized with dogs of all sizes. It never occurred to me that a BDLD incident might happen without any sort of provocation from the little dog.
So I was surprised when Mokie got jumped by a bigger dog when we took him on a family backpacking trip recently. We saw other people hiking with their dogs, and most passed by without incident. But one dog, who looked like a Boxer-cross, took one look at the little dog and instantly lunged for him. I think if he had managed to pin Mokie in that first pounce, he would have grabbed and shaken him; he looked just like he was about to dispatch a rabbit. Maybe he thought Mokie was a rabbit.
Fortunately, Mokie squirmed free and dashed to me for protection, and I snatched him off the ground (not easy to do with a backpack on!) as the other dog trotted up and even jumped up on me, still intent on grabbing the little dog.
From then on, my husband (leading on the trail) would call back, ยDog!ย whenever he saw one approaching, and I would call Mokie to me so I could pick him up and carry him past the other dog. Several people commented, ยAw, poor little dog; you have to carry him?ย And Iยd explain, ยItยs just a safety precaution; some dogs think heยs food.ย
Iยm sure they thought, ยLittle dog owners ย what overprotective nuts!ย
-Nancy Kerns
