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Small Dog breeds

Small Dog breeds “Chiwawa”

Good things come in small packages. Indeed, that proverb holds true when it comes to dog breeds. Small dogs commonly referred to generally as chiwawas by a majority of Kenyans, are adorable, cuddly, compact, transportable pets with delightful faces and personality. They are popular with apartment dwellers, city residents and people who don’t have much living space. Some of the advantages of having small dogs as pets are that they eat less, shed less fur, produce less waste, some of them have a longer life span and are easier to control. So, lets look at some of these.

1) Japanese Spitz: The Japanese Spitz is a small breed of dog known for being courageous, affectionate, intelligent, playful, loyal and social. It will need to exercise regularly to stay healthy. Taking regular trips to the park is a good idea. Moreover, it is great with kids and will play with them.

This purebred has a great watchdog ability. It will bark and warn its owners at a slight sighting of an intruder.

Expect this dog to shed pretty regularly. Thus, keep your vacuum cleaner ready. Also, brushing will make the coat cleaner and softer.

The male breed of Japanese Spitz is generally about 14-15 inches long and can weigh up to 19 pounds. While the female breed is relatively smaller, being 12-14 inches long and weighs about 16-17 pounds.

The life expectancy of this dog is variable. While the minimum life expectancy is about 10 years, some of them even enjoy 16 years of life.


2) Chihuahua or Chiwawa: The Chihuahua is the smallest breed of dog known for being courageous, alert, protective and lively. Chihuahuas come in various colors, like black, white and black with tan.

There is no need for frequent grooming of this purebred, thus there's no need for great effort regarding maintenance. One thing which should be kept in mind is that chihuahuas or chiwawas are not very good with kids. 

Training this dog can be quite difficult and demanding. One needs to have great patience and perseverence while training it, thus making it ill-suited for first-time dog owners.

The chihuahuas are great watchdogs as well and are very alert.

Chihuahuas are the smallest breed of dogs. Both the male breed and female breed are generally only 6-9 inch long and weighs only about 4-6 pounds.

They also enjoy quite a long lifetime. They can live up to 18 years.


3) Shih Tzu: Compact and extrovert, the Shih Tzu is famous for its long and furry double coat. Known as the Chinese Lion Dog, this breed is very popular among dog lovers due to its friendly temperament. Featuring a long tail, this dog is very sturdy with large black eyes and boosts confidence to stand up against its competitor.

The Shih Tzu is known to be very affectionate, loyal, and extrovert and has good watchdog skills.

Maintaining the dog requires quite a lot of effort as regular grooming is a must to keep the dog's long coat in good shape. Moreover, training the dog is quite taxing and requires patience in the dog owner.

Both the male and female breed of this dog are usually 8 to 11 inches long and weighs up to 16 pounds.

On an average, a Shih Tzu lives for about 13 years, but some of them can even live up to 19-20 years.

4) Terrier: A dog of many breeds, the terriers are small, wiry, fearless and active dogs. These pint-sized dynamos can dig up underground burrows and dens while barking frivolously forcing the inhabitants out of their shelter where their hunters awaited.

They are sometimes referred to as the rascals amon dog breeds as they rarely care about other dos and frequently engage in street brawls.

Terrier breeds vary in size, ranging from just 2 to over 70 pounds. They are usually categorized by function or size into working terriers (like the Jack Russell Terrier, the Patterdale Terrier, Rat terrier, Cairn Terrier and Scottish terrier), toy terriers (like the English Toy Terrier and Yorkshire Terrier) and bulldog terrier (like the Bull terrier and Pitt Bull terrier).


Terrier are very useful for vermin control and being brave and confident, make them great watchdogs. They get bored quite easily and like to stay in some kind of activity all day long.

Despite of their small size, terriers don't require a lot of exercise and do not demand too much from the owner for maintenance The life expectancy of terriers vary greatly, but on an average, they live about 13-16 years.


5) Pomeranian: The Pomeranian, also known as the Pom Pom is a toy breed, appearing in orange, black and tan colors. Friendly, energetic and playful, Pomeranians are loyal and protective companions and love sticking around with their owners.

The Pomeranians are an intelligent breed and respond well to training. Their charisma and loving nature towards their owners make them well-suited for human companionship. Thus, they are one of the most popular breeds of dogs around the world.

These dogs are also very friendly and playful with kids and are generally shy towards strangers.

The sizes of this breed of dogs ranges from 8 to 11 inches and weighs about 3 to 7 pounds.

A favorite among dog lovers, the short-backed Pomeranian, on an average lives about 13 years. But some of them even live up to 16 years.