The cult of the lap dog

In the office where I shed blood, sweat and tears for most of the week, some of my colleagues bring their dogs with them. To work. And not just any dogs. I am talking about the kind of pampered, pocket-sized pooches that you might seriously inconvenience if you didn’t check your seat before sitting down. I’m not sure what this says about the marketeers (it’s always marketing, isn’t it?), or Belgians in general, but I’m used to interaction of a less intimate nature when it comes to our four-legged friends. Here in Belgium, however, dogs, particularly the small, yappy kind, and their not-so-small excretal deposits, can be found everywhere. What gives?

In Belgium approximately 20 percent of all families own at least one dog. Although the most popular breeds are German and Belgian Shepherd dogs, they are closely followed by smaller breeds like Terriers, Chihuahuas and Spaniels. In addition, of the various dog breeds that originate in Belgium about half, such as the Bichon Frise, Dwarf Spaniel and Griffon Bruxellois, are less than 30cm in height.

Since I am not a big fan of dogs, I fought back my repugnance and entered the office of my colleague Isabelle, who is the proud owner of an orange (even if she insists that it is “apricot”) dwarf poodle. Isabelle has a theory on why this country is so pro-pooch. “Belgium is dog-friendly, that’s for sure, but we’re also a friendly country in general. As regards small animals, it might be that as a little country, we prefer to keep our pets small.” Intriguing. As this “nation” goes to the dogs, its politicians certainly have good reason to feel small, but since political controversy isn’t the point of this article, I’ll put my expatriate bewilderment to one side and focus on the matter at hand.

Historically, the relationship between these lands and our canine friends hasn’t always been so puppy-dog-eyed. Back in the 18thcentury dogs were used by lace smugglers in an operation that was both straightforward and very cruel: dogs were stuffed with good food in Paris, then sent to Brussels to starve. The dogs would later be sent back to Paris with excess luggage in the shape of beautiful pieces of lace concealed underneath the pelts of bigger dogs that were sewn to their hides. This dastardly trade may or may not explain why Belgium was the first country in the world to hold a dog show in 1847, although it does little to elucidate the lack of decentlysized dog models.

The case of the barking purse

So is the small-scale dog a trend or an inbred phenomenon? I asked Sara De Bast, manager Arlon's Doggy Palace, a luxury dog hotel that provides five-star facilities such as 24-hour veterinary services, acupuncture, à la carte cuisine and even a Jacuzzi. “A decade ago, we saw lots of Dalmatians, after the Disney movie 101 Dalmatians. Now, in the last five years, we clearly face a Chihuahua epidemic,” she says, citing the popularity of movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Legally Blonde (although Reese Witherspoon’s dog in the movie is actually a white Pomeranian). However, if there is one woman who can be held responsible for the popularity of the barking purse it’s Paris Hilton.

As heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune, Paris has elevated the small pooch to the status of fashion must-have – like a Hermès Birkin bag or a pair of Louboutins. She does not hesitate to dye her dogs pink, dress them in silly clothes or give them away when they become too big. And while their popularity in countries like the US means that De Bast believes that Belgium’s fondness for lap dogs is nothing out of the ordinary, she will admit that “Belgian dog owners tend to indulge a lot in accessories. And there’s just more products for small dogs.” Following this lead like an enthusiastic bloodhound, I called Vanessa Tenret, who owns Precious Dogs, a dog accessories shop in Galerie Louise. She confirmed that, although fancy collars exist for dogs of all sizes, if you are serious about accessories you’re better off investing in a lap dog. From chic black raincoats to tiny pink jogging bottoms or hoodies made from dog biscuits, the latest trends exist only in small sizes. The same could be said for humans, but since Vanessa wasn’t the one I had an issue with, I decided not to launch into a polemic about anorexic models.

Her explanation for the popularity of dogs here is simple: “It is just a lot easier to have dogs in this country. Restaurants are very understanding, cab drivers are sympathetic and shop managers do everything to make their clients’ animals comfortable. Contrary to Australia or France, very few parks in Belgium forbid dogs to run on the grass.” Newsweek magazine seems to agree with her hypothesis as it recently crowned Belgium the best place in the world to be a dog owner but that still doesn’t explain why so many of these dogs are so small.

The special relationship

Joseph Vandergoeten, who runs the “Shaggy and Jo” pet shop in Laeken, was the most explicit about the real reasons that link Belgians with little dogs. “Belgians are blessed with a practical mindset,” he says, “and they want to be bothered as little as possible. Think about it: a little dog takes up little space, and it usually lives longer than a big dog. It is not cumbersome, especially when it comes to excrement – you can train a little dog to do what it has to do on a newspaper in a dedicated place in the house, for instance.” But having bred and sold 500 to 1,000 Chihuahuas annually for the last 30 years, Vandergoeten says the Chihuahua isn’t just a post-Hilton overnight sensation. “The Chihuahua is a big boss in a little body,” he says, pinpointing the essential characteristics of his favourite breed of dog. “It has a very strong personality, and its love for its master is of the exclusive kind.” So there we have it. This country’s love for little dogs is motivated by the Belgian’s innate desire to have a loving and loyal friend who can hold its own in this world just as well as him. And where else will you find that except in a tiny mutt afflicted with small dog syndrome that thinks it is in charge of the world. Eureka!

Christiane Reniers, a dog behaviourist who trained in the Netherlands and the UK, is the founder of Canischola, an organisation which promotes understanding about canine behaviour as well as offering naturopathy consultations and dog training. Busy as a bird dog, she still calls me back one evening to discuss the pros and cons of man’s best friend. “The smaller, the more… spirited,” she discloses with what can only be described as an impressive handling of euphemisms. “Small dogs are likely to have a strong temper, but they’re also quite loyal.” She also confirms that small dogs are demanding, and I take it as a substantiation of my new theory that Belgians like dogs that match their headstrong streak. Having patiently listened to my ecstatic flights of fancy, involving a revolutionary comprehensive rereading of Tintin, she softly murmurs, “But really, I don’t think there are more small dogs here than anywhere else in the world. In my practice, it’s a fiftyfifty ratio between small and big dogs.”

Mystery of the Belgian soul? Solved. Enigma of the small dog? Inexplicable.