Advantages and Disadvantages of Owning a Lap Dog

A lap dog is a small breed of dog that can fit comfortably in your lap. Some of the most popular lap dog breeds include the Chihuahua, the Yorkshire Terrier, the Maltese, the Miniature Poodle, the West Highland Terrier among others. If you're looking for a new dog, a small lap dog can be an excellent choice for a variety of reasons, although they do have their disadvantages over a larger dog. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of owning a lap dog:

Advantages of owning a lap dog:

They can go more places.

A small lap dog can be easily taken on a trip and are more likely to be allowed in hotels than are larger dogs. Lap dogs are sometimes even allowed in stores that don't characteristically allow dogs as long as they're quite and well behaved. Many people purchase special carriers for their lap dogs and carry them almost everywhere. Think of Paris Hilton and Tinkerbell.

They tend to form a very strong bond with you.

In general, lap dogs spend more time with their owners than larger dogs since they can so easily carried around with you. As a result, a lap dog will almost certainly form a very strong bond with you.

They may be less expensive to take care of.

A small lap dog requires smaller quantities of food due to its small size. In addition, if you have to take your lap dog to a kennel or to be groomed, you'll generally be charged less than you would for a larger dog.

They are less intimidating to children.

If you have young children, a lap dog can be an excellent choice. Smaller dogs tend to be less intimidating to children, although it's important that you teach your children to handle your dog humanely. Two lap dog breeds that are particularly fond of children are the Bichon Frise and the Pug.

You can make them fashion icons.

More clothing and dog accessories are made for small dogs than for larger breeds. A lap dog also seems more amenable to wearing clothing and jewelry than a larger dog. (Can you imaging a German Shepherd wearing jewelry?) You can dress up you lap dog for special occasions and show him off.

They don't require much formal exercise.