He doesn't mean it. Really?

Several years ago I was walking a St. Bernard along Prince Street when a small Dachshund came flying out of nowhere. No leash, no human. This kamikaze dog went right for the St.B's face, snarling and barking. Now the St.B was a nice dog with people, but unpredictable with other dogs, especially yappy ones. I did a quick dance step to push the St.B out of the line of fire and block the trajectory of the weiner dog, who continued to snarl and bark. A woman appeared, and assured me that the dog "didn't mean anything," and scooped up the irate little sausage. I asked her if it would be OK if I let the St. Bernard do the same thing to her dog. She scurried off.

People dismiss behavior from small dogs that would have a large dog sent to the animal shelter faster than you can say "bad dog". And the excuses are endless.

"He doesn't mean it," is my personal favorite, followed by, "Big dogs make him nervous." Imagine the uproar if an 85 pound Labrador started barking and spraying spit while lunging at a Maltese. Saying, "Small dogs make him nervous," would sound exactly like the lame ass excuse it actually is. I really don't care if the dog is 5 pounds, 15 pounds or 150 pounds, the standards of behavior should be exactly the same - it's a dog. Treat it like one.

True, the Maltese can't jerk you off your feet if it lunges at something. Which brings me to the other idiotic-small-dog-owner thing: picking the dog up when it misbehaves. This wrong on so many levels, it's scary.

First off, if you have a small breed dog, it will always be a small breed dog. The sooner it gets used to that idea, the better. As a puppy, it should be introduced to large (friendly) dogs as much as possible. If you, as the owner, freak out and snatch them to your breast at the first glimpse of another dog, pretty soon your little bundle of fluff is going to think that other dogs are an occaison for fear and not fun. Growling and barking will follow.

Now that you're clutching Fluffball and glaring at the big scary dog, I bet you're petting them, too. All the while crooning something like, "It's all right, Fluffball, don't be scared, that's a nice doggy, " in a high-pitched voice. You may think you're being reassuring and kind. What you are actually doing is telling Fluffball that yes, the big dog is scary, and being afraid is exactly the right thing to do.

Chances are also pretty good that Fluffball never gets any discipline ("but he's so small!"), and believes that he is the king of all he surveys - including you. If you are afraid of the big dog, Fluffball needs to protect the pack and drive this monster away. Cue barking and growling. Now before you start saying, "Aww, he's trying to protect me, how cute," think about this: Would you think that it would be OK for a midget to hit you with a bat if they felt threatened by you in any way? I don't think so.

As to whether or not Fluffball "means it," of course he does. Dogs are capable of deception while playing - feinting right and running left - but not emotional deception. A dog will not "pretend" to be happy to see you. If Fluffball is growling, snarling and snapping at the other dog he means exactly what he's saying: Back off or this will get ugly. If the other dog is your average Fido, they'll keep going and ignore the theatrics, which just reinforces the notion in Fluffball's head that he has driven them off.

However. Fluffball's luck may run out. One day, he might pull this stunt with the wrong dog and end up seriously hurt or dead. I'm not saying that would be right, but there are lots of badly behaved dogs out there of all sizes, and a tiny Maltese or Yorkie can be mauled just as easily by a Jack Russell or Cocker Spaniel as a German Shepherd or Golden Retriever.

Nothing makes me happier than when my pack cruises past some spitting, snarling bundle of rage without so much as a sideways glance. Good dogs!