I live with one big dog and four small - one of which is very small (under 4lbs). Pretty much everything is the same as the care of the big one except for the following.
They are more breakable. Use caution when mixing with large dogs not only for the prey drive reasons but because a larger dog doesn't have to hurt them to terrorize the ever living crap out of them. A terrorized small dog tends to make a noise which eggs on something terrible out of other dogs. Keep in mind toy breeds are not working breeds - they tend to be softer and they tend to have long memories.
They are prey to other animals. Coyotes - raccoons - larger dogs - owls - eagles - etc - you really can't just leave them out unattended.
They will live longer than a bigger dog. This is a good thing and something to consider. The oldest papillon I know of lived to 29.5 years old in pretty decent health considering. 15 years of this would have been as an ancient dog with all the normal ancient dog issues.
Training is pretty much the same except the rewards need to be smaller. Think small like split a pencil eraser into 4ths or smaller. Also you can man handle a small dog without intending to do so so think in terms of scale. You are after all a giant to them.
They are very cute. They attract people even when you don't want to attract people.
They are very convenient to travel with.
They are more breakable. Use caution when mixing with large dogs not only for the prey drive reasons but because a larger dog doesn't have to hurt them to terrorize the ever living crap out of them. A terrorized small dog tends to make a noise which eggs on something terrible out of other dogs. Keep in mind toy breeds are not working breeds - they tend to be softer and they tend to have long memories.
They are prey to other animals. Coyotes - raccoons - larger dogs - owls - eagles - etc - you really can't just leave them out unattended.
They will live longer than a bigger dog. This is a good thing and something to consider. The oldest papillon I know of lived to 29.5 years old in pretty decent health considering. 15 years of this would have been as an ancient dog with all the normal ancient dog issues.
Training is pretty much the same except the rewards need to be smaller. Think small like split a pencil eraser into 4ths or smaller. Also you can man handle a small dog without intending to do so so think in terms of scale. You are after all a giant to them.
They are very cute. They attract people even when you don't want to attract people.
They are very convenient to travel with.