What's the calmest small dog?

Get one that fits YOUR lifestyle.:0)

Try the breed selector quiz and see what breed(s) show up that are right for you.

http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselec...

What you really are looking for is a personality type first and then you taking responsibility for socializing and training. Breeds are not cookie cutter. The traits for them are "tendencies" only. For example not every Border collie can herd and I've met many calm sweet Chihuahua's.

Look at families with children. One child is athletic, another is a bookworm, another is outgoing, another is shy. The same differences happen in litters. There are the more reactive aggressive personality, the shy one, and the more balanced. The balanced personality is the one you want. Then you socialize and train the dog so it is comfortable in our world. Do not raise it modeling violence if you want a sweet temperament. This gets you the calm, loving, loyal, quiet lovable dog you desire.

Do some more reading and research and get training with a teaching versus a punishment attitude.

Chihuahuas... hyper and aggressive? ROFL

I suppose it's possible some are.

All I've ever had were couch potatoes, happiest if in my lap. If my boy, Joey, got anymore laidback, he'd be dead.

As for aggressive... that's a matter of finding a good breeder who breeds for temperment, not just looks.

I currently have 2. Joey and Cindy.

Joey is 5, loves to cuddle, and is pretty quick to warm up to new people. He doesn't yap, he does alert me to someone being at the door, but a simple "thank you" silences him. He plays nicely with cats, gets along with other dogs pretty good, though he won't take any crap off 'em. I'm rather proud of him.

Cindy is 1. She loves to cuddle and roughhouse, which is funny because she weighs less than 4 lbs. Roughhousing her consists of her laying on her back in my lap while trying to catch my fingers or chew on her paws while I scratch her belly. She's pretty independent. She will warm up to new dogs, takes a little bit, and then she's ready to play. She's not taking any crap either though. As for new people, she's great with people she knows, new people, if they give her a chance, she'll be polite to them too, if they don't, she'll run off if she can, or pinch them if she has no other option. She also loves to go.

The most important thing with chihuahuas is to realize their temperment is hereditary, what you see in the parents, is pretty much what you'll probably get in the pup. But hyper? I've never seen a single chihuahua that was hyper.

I personally hate chihuahuas so I'm a bit biased, but everyone of them (and their mixes) that I have met has been very high strung, though I would necessarily call them hyper.

Personalities vary for each individual dog though, so there could be a calm chihuaha somewhere. Try petfinder.com.

If you don't want that breed (and I can't blame you) you might try Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They are very cute and pretty small, though not as tiny as chihuahuas, and they aren't hyper at all. (At least not the ones I know.)

Chihuahuas are very nervous, and yap at everything. It's part of the breed. Some are aggressive.

A calm, small dogs are the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Maltese, Shih Tzu, Coton de Tulear, Bolognese, Havanese, and Bichon Frise. All of these are from my personal experience, but any dog you see might be calmer/more hyper than normal. Every dog is an individual!

Good luck! :]

Bulldogs are the calmest dogs I know!! I know one chihuahua who is calm. Basenji's are pretty calm too. What about a French bulldog, all the dark brindles I know are calm but the pieds tend to be a little more high strung. ( I am a Bulldogs owner, breeder, and lover!!!)

Try this little survey from the Animal Planet website. It will help suggest breeds based on your desired characteristics.

http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselec...

This really helps as a starting point for your research.

Good luck!

There are no such thing has a calm dog. But you can allows train any dog to be calm. You have to train your dog to be the way you want them to be. Having a dog is just like have a kid you have to raised them.

Get a toy Poodle! They are loving and compassionate lap dogs and are NOT aggressive at all.

Chihuahua are hyper but once fixed and trained they can be great little dogs.