# Those tiny "purse" dogs. Can they be taught truly useful tasks or skills? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 29, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038 "2008-12-29T04:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/21 "2008-12-29T14:58:59Z")
> [@TwistofFate](#): > > You can’t take 'em bowling. Oh, yeah! Bowling pins! But, you hafta freeze them first. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/22 "2008-12-29T15:08:44Z")
> [@Trocisp](#): > > The **vast** majority of house pets are completely useless. With the exception of a very small minority of hunting dogs, they’re all useless in practice, regardless of size. Depends on what you consider useless. Mine are great for my mental health. And they clean up spills on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/23 "2008-12-29T15:12:26Z")
There’s a big difference between most good solid terriers and one of those stupid toy dogs. I have a Westie who will kill the crap out of any rodent that holds still long enough (his predecessor was the best mouser of any species I have ever met) but that’s a sixteen pound dog, not a five pounder. They’re bred to have strong, thick tails so you can grab 'em by the tail and pull them out of whatever burrow they’ve dug into. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/24 "2008-12-29T15:22:36Z")
Slight hijack: I have been following the Vachss dog program, where they train therapy dogs for sexually abused children, for years. I just noticed all their dogs are large breeds. The original Vachss dog was Sheba, a German/wolf mix who was a retired seeing eye dog. I guess it’s because the dogs are more comforting to the children, being big enough to hurt anyone who tries to hurt them, and also because the dogs have to be able to hold their own against these children, some who are rightfully very, very angry. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/25 "2008-12-29T16:15:28Z")
> [@Trocisp](#): > > Someone once told me that this isn’t something that can be trained, either a dog can or cannot do it. > > I wonder how they find out… :dubious: I don’t know, but my parents’ dog (a poodle) has awakened my dad several times when he was having a low blood sugar episode during the night. No training involved. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/26 "2008-12-29T16:36:12Z")
Although my Miniature Pinscher probably borders on being a bit too big to be considered a purse dog, she’s the best solution I’ve found for catching stray crickets that escape my reptile’s cage. Any insect, really. And she’s also better than any Roomba when it comes to cleaning up any food spills on the floor. If those are useful skills then I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/27 "2008-12-30T00:11:02Z")
> [@Trocisp](#): > > The **vast** majority of house pets are completely useless. With the exception of a very small minority of hunting dogs, they’re all useless in practice, regardless of size. Can you cite this fact? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/28 "2008-12-30T11:43:08Z")
**tomndebb** ’s post reminded me of [this little guy](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmrocher2001/2307841168/) employed by the Tokyo fire and rescue services. Mostly his role is PR, but he’s also trained to look for people trapped under rubble (such as after an earthquake), which makes his small size a big advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/29 "2008-12-30T11:45:19Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:14, topic:479038”] 3 pound maltese? What was wrong with it, or was it just a puppy? [/QUOTE] There were two of them, and they both came from the same breeder. I guess the breeder just had some small dogs that she bred from. The male was monorchid, but my parents weren’t planning on breeding any dogs anyway, so all dogs got desexed. The third dog they had came from the same breeder, but he weighed about 9 pounds, when he should have weighed somewhere between 7 and 8. All three dogs, incidentally, were excellent at cleaning up food spills, as previously noted. They were excellent watchdogs, though they never met a human who wasn’t a friend. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/30 "2008-12-30T12:33:16Z")
Most small dogs can be trained in the same way larger dogs can. Papillons are actually one of the easiest breeds to train, and I know if at least one that is a licensed service dog-I remember seeing video of her helping to pull laundry out of the dryer and into a clothes basket. ANY size dog can be trained as a hearing-ear dog, and the small ones may even be better at it. Not a SMALL dog, but to show how breeds can be trained to do non-typical things, a friend of mine had a Doberman that he trained as a hunting retriever- he shot the birds, the Dobe brought them back. I once had a teeny-tiny, undersized Papillon (didn’t INTEND to get such a small one, she just forgot to grow! :-P) who topped out at a little over 4 lbs. I had let the pack out in the back yard, and when I went to call them in, everyone came except Gidget. I called and called, and finally, here she came, as fast as her little legs would carry her… with SOMETHING in her mouth, dragging along the ground. It was a live mourning dove. She delivered it to me in the best Labrador style, sitting straight in front of me, looking up proudly. I have absolutely no idea how she caught it, since the bird was nearly as big as she was. And the Pap I have now has actually learned to mimic my Setters when they point… I have seen her pointing birds in the back yard. So I have no doubt they could conceivably be taught these skills if someone wanted to put the time into it. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038/31 "2008-12-30T19:22:49Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Slight hijack: I have been following the Vachss dog program, where they train therapy dogs for sexually abused children, for years. I just noticed all their dogs are large breeds. The original Vachss dog was Sheba, a German/wolf mix who was a retired seeing eye dog. > > I guess it’s because the dogs are more comforting to the children, being big enough to hurt anyone who tries to hurt them, and also because the dogs have to be able to hold their own against these children, some who are rightfully very, very angry. One of our dogs is a trained therapy dog (now retired). She’s a Shepard/Rott mix. One of her tasks was around children who would often lay or lean on her. A 60 pound child wouldn’t squish her. She’s also rugged so if a flailing arm swung around and clocked her upside the head it wouldn’t phase her (and also wouldn’t send her flying across the room). Part of her training was for people with poor motor skills. We called this “sloppy petting” training. For months I would awkwardly pet her about the face and head - gently slapping her, sticking a finger in her mouth, pulling her ears, etc. Now, in her retirement, she is the most tolerant dog I have ever seen. I bet if you poked out her eye she would just sit there. I don’t think a shaking little yippy dog would have done her job well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-tiny-purse-dogs-can-they-be-taught-truly-useful-tasks-or-skills/479038.md?page=1)