Smallest Dog Breeds:

Dogs have been bred selectively for thousands of years.



In a lot of cases, breeders prefer inbreeding, a style of breeding where the dogs are bred from the same ancestral lines. However, breeding dogs of one breed with another, in an attempt to get a whole new breed, is also common.These processes of breeding continue till today and have resulted in the production of a wide variety of breeds and hybrids. In fact, due to these practices of breeding, dogs have become the only animal in the world to have such a wide variety of variation in its appearance within a same species.



If you look at dogs, there are several small dog breeds like the Chihuahua, as well as large dog breeds like the Great Dane.

The term ‘breed’ itself has a very wide scope of interpretation. Breeds are further categorized according to their function or size.



There are working dogs, herding dogs, guard dogs, show dogs, companion dogs, and hunting dogs. At the same time, there are also small dogs and large dogs. To be qualified into a small dog breed, the dog should weigh less than at least 22lbs and should be smaller than 16 inches. There are dog breeds that are much smaller and lighter too, like the smallest dog breed - Chihuahua. Weighing about 3-6 lbs and standing only 6 to 9 inches tall, the Chihuahua is certainly the smallest dog breed in the world. This little dog breed is cherished among dog enthusiasts and many Chihuahuas find their place in dog shows every year.

Another tiny dog breed is the Yorkshire terrier that also stands only about 9 inches tall and weighs no more than 6 lbs. There are some breeds that are a little taller and heavier, but as long as they do not exceed the 22 lb limit on weight and the 16 inches limit on height, they are considered to be small dogs, lap dogs, or toy dogs.

If you are planning to by a small dog, you have to first decide how small you want your dog to be, since even in the category of small dogs, there are many different sizes that you can choose from. If you want a really small dog, you can buy a dog like the Papillon, Affenpinscher, Toy Fox Terrier, Bichon Frise, Chinese Crested, Pomeranian, Toy Poodle, Japanese Chin, Chihuahua, or the Yorkshire Terrier. However, if you want a slightly larger small dog, you can get yourself the Staffordshire bull terrier. Either way, these dogs are very small and easy to pick up and take around with you.