I was asked today why we didn’t get a “real dog”, like a German Shepherd or a Lab.

Frankly, I was slightly insulted.

I know that some people think that any dog smaller than a GSD isn’t a “real” dog. And I sort of pity those people, because I firmly believe that every dog has its own fantastic characteristics. I have nothing against larger dogs – my parents had a German Shepherd for many years. My brother has a German Wirehaired Pointer. My grandparents had a Husky. But? I am allergic to all these dogs. I am not allergic to Sprocket and Doozer. That was one of our reasons for getting these guys. Another reason is that we don’t have room for a big dog to run around. Our yard is big enough, but it’s no field – and I firmly believe that large dogs should have plenty of room to run. It wouldn’t be fair to have a big dog cooped up in our small house or yard all day. Yeah, when they’re old enough, these guys will be going for walks (at the moment they’re kind of confused by their leashes), but a one hour walk will be more than enough exercise for them. Most large dogs need to RUN for an hour a day. Sorry, not gonna happen in this house, and there’s not really an open, safe area near here where we could take one.

Additionally, having been around my share of dogs in my lifetime, I have to say that the one I enjoyed the most was my small, intelligent, personality-filled terrier/poodle mix, who lived for 17 years and didn’t succumb to any health problems until the week before she had to be put down.

My parents’ GSD had to be put to sleep at the age of 8 because of Degenerative Myelopathy. My grandparents’ Husky made it to 9 years, and then just dropped dead one day. My brother’s dog is 10 right now, and is barely able to walk some days. That’s a risk that you take with larger dogs – statistically, they die sooner. Not all the time, but on average. And honestly, I couldn’t take that. I am already facing the fact that we will probably never have children of our own. To go through the heartbreak of losing someone I love after only 9 or 10 years isn’t something I want to face. Yes, I realize smaller dogs can have health problems, too – but, statistically, it’s less likely. And yes, I realize that losing them will be that much harder to face after 14 or 15 years, but at least it’s further away.

All my rambling aside… I love these guys. And they’re plenty “real” enough to me. They’re full of personality and intelligence, and they are very cuddly (Well, Doozer more so than Sprocket. Sprocket wants adventure. Doozer wants to snuggle. To me we have the best of both worlds).