My friend put me onto a "Little Black Dog" and I almost wish I'd not have known - because now I want one!
These would be Schipperkes and they're supposed to be holy terrors! Not 'fragile' by any means - if anything they appear to get quite vicious if riled up. In fact, they sometimes don't look like dogs at all - more like a Tasmanian Devil. Supposedly good watch dogs, anyway. And a tad bigger - I think in the 20, 30 lb. range.
And they're quite expensive too, like 2K for a Pedigreed one. I began thinking of these again the other day as I was watching a dog show on TV and TJ the Schipperke won in his class. YAY!
They're awfully cute and entertaining anyway
Schipperkes Behaving Badly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62TPs4M3c2o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9tjVCaUzI8
There's tons of sim videos on there, including training videos for these - which might work on your dog too.
Here's one, and the guy mentions the 'little dog' temperament. He's got a whole website on training, you might find some good tips there ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSLugeM4fRw
I wish my friend hadn't told me about these because now I *want one*! I feel like I'm "asking for it" - crazy beasts! I can't believe they're so freaking
expensive! GAH.
But, I did find out that most specific breeds have rescue groups so if and when I get one - I will check those first. And not just to save $, but so I can give an already existing dog a
home place to bark and howl freely and tear up
Folks who have a certain breed they like - keep this in mind - there are rescue groups out there for specific breeds.