Why Small Dogs?

Meet The Paws-itive Pack 🐾

Small dogs often get labelled as “nasty”, “yappy” or “badly behaved”.

In reality, many small breeds were historically bred for companionship, closeness and emotional support, not guarding, herding or protection.

Their sensitivity, size and attunement make them particularly effective at supporting calm presence and emotional regulation. Modern psychology would describe this as co-regulation, something we now know plays a key role in wellbeing and stress reduction.

What’s often interpreted as “bad behaviour” in small dogs is frequently a response to fear, overstimulation, or not having their communication respected.

At Pause with Paws, we work with small, well-socialised dogs because their calm presence supports gentle, trauma-informed wellbeing experiences for both humans and animals.

When we change the narrative, we change the outcomes 🐾 ❤️

Many of our team have been helping with emotional regulation in the community since they were pups and enjoy the connection as much as the humans 🫶