My New Friend "Corn Nugget"

This is my new friend Corn Nugget:

She is a very cute 9 week old mini pin. I call her "Corn Nugget" because she does not have a name yet. She has the funniest bark, but I am not so sure about playing with her though because she is so small. She tries to chase me and I just run away because I do not want to step on her. She reminds me of myself when I was little, especially her persistent whine.

We are both very good at begging for food although I don't think she realizes that she is so small I could probably eat her:

But I wouldn't do that, even if she can be an annoying pup at times. For my size I am actually quite good with little dogs. I don't mind making friends with a puppy or two. However, big dogs like myself must be careful around small dogs because we can hurt them.

Dog trainer Sherry Woodard of http://www.bestfriends.org/ says this about animal safety: "You may not see your friendly 50-pound dog as large or dangerous, but a mid-size dog with an easygoing temperament can cause injury to a tiny toy dog even when trying to play. Some dogs have a strong chase drive (which is normal behavior) that instinctively causes them to want to chase and catch moving objects. Even if they’re not bent on killing, they can hurt or even kill much smaller dogs if they catch them. Other dogs have a strong prey drive that motivates them to shake, kill and eat small animals. On the other end of the size spectrum, some toy dogs try to play with much larger animals, or they may be aggressive toward them. We find it amusing when a small dog stands up ferociously to a big dog, but it’s actually an inappropriate greeting that could endanger the small dog. Little dogs often lack proper social skills with other animals and people because of our human tendency to act as their protectors. Our instinct is to protect small dogs, so we hold them in our arms above the other dogs, and pick them up all the time, so they never learn proper greetings."

So remember, big or small there is a safe way to play and greet other dogs. Our Humans need to understand what triggers us. I get along with small dogs as I have a calm temperament with them, but some bigger dogs may not. Be safe and have fun everyone.