Small Dog Breeds for People who Lead Active Lives

If you are looking for a small breed of dog to share your home with and you lead a very active life, there are many gorgeous dogs out there to choose from which can make finding the right one a bit of a challenge. More often than not, when people think of small dogs, they picture images of lapdogs that like nothing better than being pampered by their owners. However, there are many small breeds that are quite the opposite and like nothing better than chasing around energetically and getting up to all sorts of things!

It goes without saying that small terrier breeds are incredibly active by nature and would not be very happy if they spent too much time indoors twiddling their paws. However, there are other small breeds that like to be out and about leading active lives and once they get home are more than happy to sit quietly on the sofa with you watching a bit of television.

Small High Energy Breeds

Small breeds that are definitely not couch potatoes much preferring to be doing something and to be mentally stimulated include terriers of which there are quite a few. Most of these little dogs were bred to hunt prey which was often bigger than them which is proof of their tenacity and courage. They include the following breeds:

• Parsons terrier
• Cairn terrier
• Fox terriers

However, there are other high energy breeds that don't fall into the terrier group which includes:

• The Basenji
• Petit Basset Griffon

Moderately High Energy Breeds that Make Great Companions

If you lead a moderately active life and would like a canine companion to suit your lifestyle, again there are many smaller breeds to choose from. Many of these were bred to be more companion dogs although they definitely could not be classed as lapdogs. With this said, the breeds below still need to be given lots of mental stimulation and kept busy to be truly happy in a home environment:

• Bichon Frise
• Miniature Dachshund
• Miniature Pinscher
• Miniature Poodle
• Scottish terrier
• Silky terrier

If you think a better choice would be a dog that boasts slightly less energy but still needs to be kept moderately busy to be happy, there are several breeds to choose from and this includes a few terriers as well as some other charming and active dogs some of which are listed below:

• Boston terrier
• Dandie Dinmont
• Norwich terrier
• Chinese Crested
• Miniature Bull terrier
• Norfolk terrier

Sharing your home with a small and active canine companion will keep you pretty busy although you won't need to take them out for very long daily walks. With this said, you have to be prepared to play lots of interactive games with them and to take them out for a minimum of 30 minutes twice a day. If you are into jogging or speed walking, these little canine characters will have no trouble keeping pace with you and the best part is they will love every minute of it. The bonus being that you will both get tremendously fit in the process.

Lots of Doggy Sporting Activities

Just because you own a smaller breed of active dog it doesn't mean you can't take part in all sorts of fun doggy sporting activities. In fact, lots of little dogs excel at activities like flyball, agility and other fast, fun canine games and they love taking part in competitions too. A few teams have one smaller dog on them because they are invaluable when it comes to showing a turn of speed when it's needed which often wins them the competition.

Conclusion

Just because you decide to share your home with smaller breed dog it doesn't mean you will be living with a couch potato or a lapdog. Many of the smaller breeds boast high energy levels and this means they are a brilliant choice for people and families who lead active lives they would like to share with a small canine companion. With this said, it's a good idea to visit several breeders and to watch puppies play with their litter mates because like this you get to see which of them is the more active and the pups that like to be “boss” even at A tender young ages shows just what they might become later on when they are fully grown adults.