Anybody else find that they love the convenience and joy of a tiny dog like chis? I am in love with being able to pick Venus up with one hand, give her a bath in the sink, and her portability. Her grooming needs are very low, and she doesn't really shed much at all.

I used to love big dogs and disliked the idea of having a dog smaller than 35 pounds. I didn't dislike small dogs themselves, but I never wanted one of my own. I still love big dogs, but ever since my daughter insisted on getting Venus I have been spoiled with having a tiny dog. I doubt I'll ever get a dog larger than 10 or maybe 15 lbs again. Even 15 lbs seems huge to me now that we have 4 lb Venus and soon we'll also have a 6 lb chi.

We had a husky and a chow/lab mix. The husky was my husband's, and the chow/lab was mine. We already had them when we were just dating. They were very amazing dogs, but I wouldn't have gotten any large hairy dogs if I knew how soon we would have had kids, and if I knew how difficult it would be to have kids and large hairy dogs.

We kept our dogs until they had to be put to sleep for one reason or another (13 and 17 years). It was a struggle to travel, to keep things clean, and to keep our dogs groomed so they looked and smelled nice all the time. When I was single and had only my Chow/Lab I could devote so much time to grooming her so she always smelled fruity and looked great.

Our large dogs were not portable at all, and we would be limited when we wanted to go on vacations. Even a day trip or overnight trip to Disneyland was harder because we had to line up a kennel or a sitter instead. We took a longer vacation a couple of times, and it cost us many hundreds of dollars in boarding fees. Now I can't wait to just take our tiny dogs with us on trips as long as there is a pet friendly hotel.

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I love the fact that I can fit both of mine (still puppies) under one arm so I still have a hand free to open doors and carry their stuff

Yes, I love that too. My daughter carries Venus around in one arm and she does everything with her other arm. I carry Venus like a baby, and it's so easy. I'll have to wait and see if our new dog will like being carried around too. He won't be home for nearly another week.

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I love the fact that Jaxx is so small. I too have always had large dogs until Jaxx. I have had several back surgeries so a large dog was out of the question. Jaxx gives so much love and I love that I never know what he is going to do next.
Grooming is a definate plus for small dogs. I don't even want to think about the money I spent for grooming my golden retriever ever two weeks for ten plus years just so he would smell nice, but he was worth all the money and more. It is nice to be able to bath Jaxx myself and he loves baths so it is fun as welll.

I tell my husband that our dogs are like a big BOGO sale I feed them the same food I buy A LOT for Dylan so its like Penny eats for free. I do love that when its time to trim nails its not a full contact wrestling match that ends up with me laying on top of her like it is with Dylan.

Someone asked me if I was paying a lot more for dog food now that we had 2, and I realized, no, I don't really notice a lot. I pointed out that my 2 dogs combined still weigh less than half of just one of their dogs.

Also I love that both crates still fit in the back of a Hyundai accent with room for a person next to them. And we all fit on the couch together without a problem.

Before I got our first dog I was one of those people who would never want a dog smaller than a spaniel, but now I am sold.

Good. I'm not the only one who thinks that the tiny dogs are awesome. I love their tiny little bodies, and how easy they are to care for. It didn't take long to get used to a 4 lb dog after having 45-80 lb dogs for most of my life. As a very little girl I had a mini dachshund, but even she was probably a little over 10 lbs.

Most dogs are cute, cuddly, and playful, but only the tiny dogs like chi's are also a lot easier to feed, groom, and to take on trips. I'm very much spoiled now that I've had tiny dogs. I wish I thought about having tiny dogs when I was young and single. I used to haul my 45 lb dog with me all over the place, and it wasn't easy and it became practically impossible once I had my kids. There just wasn't any room for my kids' things, my things, and for the dogs.

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I've never been a big dog person. I grew up with a boxer. My brother has a boxer now and she's soooo big. I love her (like I do all dogs) and don't mind keeping her at all when my bro has to go out of town. But I do not want to own a big dog. Hercules (at 21 lbs) is really too big for my tastes.
I love small dogs with short hair. Easy to care for. Low maintenance. That's the way I like it.

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Gunner - 9 month old Blue Chi
Hercules - 3 yr old Boston Terrier