What steps can you take to protect your small dog around other dogs?
my frenchie is actually not what most people would consider a "small" dog. he's very big for the breed, and right now he's a healthy weight at 35lbs. so i'm not too concerned about his safety around bigger dogs.
my pomeranian is quite friendly but very submissive -- she's the dog that flips over the second she sees another dog. generally i try to keep her away from rowdy big dogs (e.g. we don't go into the "big dog" section of the dog park), because she can get pretty freaked out by a pack of large dogs running a her (understandably). for one-on-one interactions she's mostly fine, though i do talk to the other dog's owner and gauge the other dog's behavior. like i said, she's super submissive so usually one-on-one interactions are not an issue.
How can you prevent your small dog from turning into a stereotypical badly-behaved "ankle biter"?
i think the biggest issue with poms is barking and excess energy. we worked on the barking by distracting her with treats; she's very smart and eager to please so this was actually pretty easy to train her out of. as for the energy...we go on long walks, frequently 2 - 3 miles on weekdays, and 6 - 8 miles on the weekends. i kind of wonder if small dogs that seem super wound up are just suffering from lack of adequate exercise. a lot of people seem to think that just because a dog is small it doesn't need to go on walks, or they carry the dog everywhere. why would i carry my pom everywhere when she could be working off her energy by walking next to me??
What is your favourite and least favourite thing about owning a small dog?
favorite thing: they're cheaper and more portable. i grew up with big dogs, and it's just...so much easier to take care of small dogs. they eat less, they poop less, they can't get their mouths around furniture, it costs less to board them, they fit easily in your car, etc, etc.
least favorite thing: it's really f-ing hard to train them because EVERYONE ELSE ENCOURAGES BAD BEHAVIOR. i know that the common trope is that owners allow small dogs to get away with things they wouldn't let big dogs get away with, because it's "cute" or whatever. well, it's not just the owners. when i was working on training my dogs not to jump up on every single moving thing they saw, every single person we encountered would bend down and encourage that shit.