#mittelspitz

I will always keep promoting other small breeds of dog, for those who want small companion dogs.

It’s great that enthusiasts are trying to breed healthier and more soundly built French bulldogs and Pugs, and those who truly love breeds like that the most will always exist, but I can’t understand why breeds like the Frenchie exploded in popularity in the late 2000s, and it never really ended.

People say they love them because they’re “funny”, but you can have just as much fun (or more) with a breed that is more healthy and sound, and actually built like a dog, and not like a cartoon.

Sadly, most companion dogs are either flat-faced, have ridiculous coats that are impractical both for the dog and average pet owner, or both. But there are some breeds in the <12 kg range that are neither, and this is just a small selection. (Then there are the really tiny dogs, not included here.)

Here is the Schipperke, Lancashire heeler, Basenji, Shiba, Japanese spitz (very similar to the American Eskimo Dog in North America), Papillon, Portuguese Podengo, Miniature Pinscher, Mittel/Kleinspitz, and Norwegian lundehund.

All fun, small/ish companion dogs that are full of life and character, and without the physical restrictions of Frenchies and Pugs.

The very last one is soundly built but not very healthy due to old genetic bottlenecks that led to a genetic intestinal disease, but I am including them anyway and it is being worked on by the Norwegian kennel club (including outcrossing to similar breeds).