@fieldbeasts - Tumblr Blog

alright here’s a reintroduction - I’ve been hanging out around dogblr spaces for a while and thought it was time to make a dedicated sideblog. you may have seen me posting from my main @rapierdagger before

this is rana, my beloved dog - he’s a 5 year old UK showline rough collie. he’s a rescue (although not one with a particularly sad backstory), rehomed to us 22/06/2025. he’s had a fair amount of health problems and settling in blues but is a very sweet boy. we’re working on his physical recovery, rebuilding his confidence, and skills to navigate city life.

this is Jasper, my childhood dog who’s still living with my parents. he’s 14 years old (!) as of jan 2026 and a cockapoo. I still see him often so he may end up making guest appearances on this blog; he’s doing well and loving life despite being deaf, mostly blind and pretty doddery. I’m constantly badgering my parents to take better care of him in his old age and trying to persuade them to get a standard poodle for their next dog.

#rana #jasper #dogblr

fieldbeasts

I'm not an anti small dogs person by any means or a person who thinks all small dogs are vicious and badly trained, but I do genuinely think that there's a bit of gap in the dog breed market (as it were) for a small breed that has the temperament of a labrador or golden retriever... people always say cavalier king charles spaniels but they have SO many health problems (even compared to golden retrievers) that I just don't think we can recommend them in their current form, and also, almost all of the ones I've met irl are neurotic and I've met a lot. I blame the fact they're probably in severe pain from their skulls being too small for their brains. people also say companion breeds and I'm a fan of companion breeds for sure, but they're very prone to separation anxiety, often to various health issues, and also I fear often quite dim - they're just not what someone is generally looking for if they say "labrador personality but smaller body". mini poodles are a good choice, but prone separation anxiety again and definitely more prone to reactivity than standard poodles, labs etc (saying that, a mini poodle is absolutely my pic for a small breed when I'm older and less physically able to handle a big dog). cocker spaniels sort of, but again can be a bit snippy and I've met a lot with behaviour issues, also they're kind of medium sized. papillions seem good but I only know one and they still seem a little less stable and happy go lucky than ideal. all of these breeds are great in their own way but none really has that steadiness of temperament that people prize in labs, goldens, etc.

fieldbeasts

you could say that we shouldn’t be using labs and goldens as a one size fits all metric to judge other breeds’ temperaments by, and while that’s not entirely wrong I do think there’s a reason why people love that temperament. like in dog centred spaces a lot of us actively prefer dogs that are more “spicy” or “difficult” or better suited to certain sports or activities, but the average person who doesn’t know that much about dogs basically wants a labrador usually. it’s a cliche but I do think it’s honestly true. and most people who get a dog outside of the classic easy breeds are not getting the breed best suited to their needs realistically, and they either cope, get lucky with their individual unicorn dog, or regret it to a degree.

also even saying lab/golden shouldn’t be our comparison point, idk, if your goal is just “chill dog with no significant behavioural issues” I do think you have on average better options in large breeds. as someone who puts a good temperament as my number one priority, there’s a reason almost all the breeds I’m considering are medium to large.

anyway I don’t go around actively propagandising for big dogs because I think there are a lot of good reasons why people prefer small dogs. I would too, on purely logistics grounds, if not for the aforementioned thing where I just don’t see many with the temperament I want. but I think this is more a cry for people to start breeding in this direction. (and yes that includes purpose bred mixes, and yes it can include doodles, and this is a large part of why I don’t hate doodles conceptually- because a mini goldendoodle is meeting a real need for a small hypoallergenic dog with a golden retriever personality). when I do give advice on dog breeds I usually try to match people’s existing size preference and steer them to what logically fits their needs and lifestyle - living in a big city, that usually means explaining that no, daschunds and various terriers are not a “small chilled dog that doesn’t bark or need much exercise”, perhaps they should consider a companion breed instead or if they’re willing to do more exercise and training, a mini poodle.

#realistically I am always propagandising for mini poodles haha #I love those guys #anyway all of this is bitterly ironic given that my current dog is medium large and despite my best efforts has all the issues #health and behaviour. oh well. I did everything right on paper but bad luck happens

I'm not an anti small dogs person by any means or a person who thinks all small dogs are vicious and badly trained, but I do genuinely think that there's a bit of gap in the dog breed market (as it were) for a small breed that has the temperament of a labrador or golden retriever... people always say cavalier king charles spaniels but they have SO many health problems (even compared to golden retrievers) that I just don't think we can recommend them in their current form, and also, almost all of the ones I've met irl are neurotic and I've met a lot. I blame the fact they're probably in severe pain from their skulls being too small for their brains. people also say companion breeds and I'm a fan of companion breeds for sure, but they're very prone to separation anxiety, often to various health issues, and also I fear often quite dim - they're just not what someone is generally looking for if they say "labrador personality but smaller body". mini poodles are a good choice, but prone separation anxiety again and definitely more prone to reactivity than standard poodles, labs etc (saying that, a mini poodle is absolutely my pic for a small breed when I'm older and less physically able to handle a big dog). cocker spaniels sort of, but again can be a bit snippy and I've met a lot with behaviour issues, also they're kind of medium sized. papillions seem good but I only know one and they still seem a little less stable and happy go lucky than ideal. all of these breeds are great in their own way but none really has that steadiness of temperament that people prize in labs, goldens, etc.

#anyway if you're wondering my pick of small dog breeds it's mini poodle as mentioned #then probably cocker spaniel or papillion. then havanese then maybe sheltie #I like a smart and biddable and fairly friendly and reasonably healthy breed. shelties I feel are the odd one out here #but my brain sees mini collie and shuts down. also I have met so many lovely ones even if they are often nervy

pocketdogs

thirty minute difference 🌅

abirddogmoment

Soggy doggy

fjordfolk

no revving mopeds here pls

#this makes me want a sheltie of my own… just a little guy

got hit by an overwhelming wave of sadness about Rana again today. at this point I kind of hope we can just do the surgery because expensive or not, at least it’s a solution. I’m really exhausted by this pattern of constantly being on guard, watching and worrying about his pain being worse and his behaviour getting worse again, adjusting his meds again. and through it all he truly is the sweetest dog in many ways, I’m just not set up to handle a reactive dog at this stage in my life… but he’s not a reactive dog when he’s not hurting. and I couldn’t live with myself if I abandoned him just because it was hard. but it is hard and I wish it wasn’t.

#he’s a good boy and he doesn’t deserve this and he doesn’t want to be difficult #and if I think about that too much I’ll cry too. like that’s just not his real personality