we took the subway to the vet last night, and then the subway and bus to my bf's after the vet.

neb did great - a little freaked out by subway cars pulling into stations, but he discovered a new love for escalators (fun!!) and other than being confused b/c not everyone wanted to pet him on the subway, he did well. he rode on my lap/i held him on the way down, and stood on the ground on the way over to my bf's.

i ended up carrying him b/c of crowding (rush hour, just a safety thing for him) for more than i intended.

which is silly, but it brought up for me - i pick him up out of convenience possibly more than i should.

is this bad to do? this may be a crazy question - but am i teaching him not to relate to the world from his midget size? is this a bad thing from a socialization perspective? will i teach him to be a 'small' dog, instead of learning to relate to the world the way my larger dogs do?

otherwise, all went well. he got a lot of attention, especially at the vets, interacted well with other dogs in the waiting room (he wasn't allowed to go over to a spaniel which kept growling, though he stood and wagged his tail at it, completely not bothered by the spaniel's behaviour at all). the vet was running behind, so we did a 10 minute tugging session. i'm actually pretty pleased at his willingness to tug in all sorts of different situations. at FR last monday, he was getting a bit distracted, but we had a couple of tugging sessions - but one of the other people there commented one of their mals wouldn't tug at the field until it was 8 months old.

also, my vet was totally fine about not vaccinating! i explained my concerns, and she didn't have any issues, though did double check about parvo.

she did refuse to believe that he's 4.5 months old, but since i saw him at around 3 weeks, i'm pretty sure that accurate - it might be off by a week, but....also b/c he hasn't started teething yet. she thinks he'll be 15kg (30+lbs) but i don't see it, mind you, she also thought he was closer to 3 months old, which is definitely not the case.

and in other updates, teagan is doing well, both in terms of her obed. and general behaviour and with respect to other dogs. she had a bit of a reaction another GSD wednesday night, but that was my fault, i took her out of being perfectly behaved sitting to go past a GSD that was pulling/straining/not totally under control, and she did react, though she minded me, it just wasn't as pretty looking

If you pick up a tiny dog for his safety and your convenience, and you don't carry him on demand (or all the time, when it's not necessary), it seems fine to me.

JMO. I have one who is pretty small and I will swing him up when I have to.

 Quote: Jennifer Mullen

... also, my vet was totally fine about not vaccinating! i explained my concerns, and she didn't have any issues, though did double check about parvo.

Are you adding her to Cindy's list with a note that it's her vaccination stance that is the reason? I would. Maybe ask Cindy?

It's not a great habit to get into doing all the time. I think your gut is telling you that already.

BUT, if you end up doing it once or twice, every so often, it's not the end of the world. As long as his time walking on a lead, outweighs the times you carry him, I don't think you're doing any harm.

connie, do you mean this list: http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/112211/page/1/fpart/5 ?

i was really pleased - i explained that i had concerns about vaccinosis and neb reacting to vaccination, and she accepted that without argument. i did say he got his DHPP at 6 weeks while still with the rescue (they called me immediately afterwards and told me i needed to come get him ASAP, even though i'd arranged to pick him up at 8 weeks....that still bugs me!), and she said 'you know that doesn't mean he's covered now' but that was it, other than cautioning me about the dangers of parvo and that stuff sticks around longer w/the wet weather we're having. but she seemed happy that i'm careful about taking him where other dogs congregate, in terms of mitigating that risk - yes, he goes on walks, but i don't take him to the dog park, his biggest exposure to strange dogs is at FR.

they're also relatively raw-friendly, or, i should say, not negative about it. any concerns that have been raised have always been contextual and not unreasonable, i don't think.

i think i'm mostly worrying i'm getting into the habit of carrying him. and especially b/c what i'm doing with him - he's already not exactly at the top of the heap in terms of genetics and size, so i'm trying to balance it.

just wasn't sure if carrying a dog sort of is like using a crutch. i especially noticed he was more comfortable being carried on and off subway trains than he was walking off them, and for obvious reasons, but it got me thinking.

For what it's worth I carry my Sheltie around sometimes too, and he is turning out to be a great little fellow.

He -never- begs to get picked up (I wouldn't tolerate it if he did) but it does make life easier having a little dog who is used to being handled in such a fashion. Like you said, sometimes there are extenuating circumstances -- high traffic, etc. -- that require a smaller dog be scooped up, or risk being stepped on.

I do NOT let my dog meet new people/things while being held. I want him to be able to investigate things on his own terms. There really is no escape route for a dog if he decides he doesn't like the person up in his face.

This post just reminded me of a couple who adopted a female GSD puppy from the local shelter, while I was working at the vet. I guess when they got her, she refused to walk on the leash, and she was really small and underweight, so the husband always carried her in for her puppy shots. He felt sorry for her because she was a pitiful-looking little thing when they got her, and well, she "was scared" to walk on the leash. By the time she was several months old, they came back in for something, and guess what? That dog was over 40 lbs, and that doofus was still carrying her cradled in his arms like a baby. I kid you not! I just wanted to slap the guy. I was never sure, but I got the sense that his wife was embarrassed to be seen with him. So since you're carrying around a little one when necessary only, I don't think that's a problem.

Cradling a 45 lb. GSD like an infant b/c she won't walk on a leash - that's a problem!

There are many times I pick up my small dogs. The most common reasons is moving through large/thick crowds where they could be stepped on accidently, around strange small children who have a nasty habit I've noticed of picking up and hugging my dogs, or around larger dogs where I don't know if they're small dog aggressive or not. Keeping the dog safe is a primary role of the handler and small dogs have the added bonus feature of often portable in one arm.

As others have mentioned so long as it's not a demand for anxiety I see no issue with it. If you think of the world from the small dog's eyes, living in a world of giants it seems to me picking up the dog as needed is a great assist to obedience.