You’ve heard the term, that’s for sure.  Maybe you’ve even said it.  As in, “Oh, she’s just a lapdog” or “I would never want a lapdog.” Like it’s an insult of some sort.  Or even a curse. Sorry to say, lapdogs have gotten a bad rap, and it hardly seems fair.
Full disclosure: I’ve owned a lapdog for the past four years.  She’s a purebred Pomeranian, with tiny paws, tiny teeth, and a tiny, foxy face.  She weighs all of eight pounds, and she is never happier than when she is in someone’s—okay, usually my—lap.   She will sit on my lap when I am reading or typing at the computer, head nestled companionably in the crook of my elbow.  She snuggles contentedly in my husband’s arms, her barely audible grunts of satisfaction punctuating the sounds of the Sunday afternoon football game.  She sprawls on my daughter’s lap when she is being groomed; she’s a regular spa-hound, and adores having her fluffy, glamour-girl fur brushed and combed.  She loves laps; we love her. Where’s the problem?
Fact is, for hundreds of years, dogs have been bred for specific purposes. We have trained dogs to hunt and to herd, to point and to fetch.  Dogs are wonderful learners and they aim to please: they will sniff through cold, mucky bogs in search of an elusive scent, they will track and corner their prey, they will bring back their prize—furred or feathered—and wait patiently for our praise. If dogs are so eager to do our bidding, what is wrong with breeding a dog simply to love and be loved? Where’s the harm—or more importantly, the shame—in that?

Pomeranians were bred down from larger (sometimes 60 pound) Spitz dogs that originated in the winter-wonderland of Germany.  Their ancestors pulled sleds along snow-packed trails and icy hills. Now, in their present, miniaturized incarnation, Poms could barely pull a shoebox filled with a teddy bear across the room.  But that is because they have been steered toward another, equally essential purpose: bringing love and happiness to everyone around them.  It’s a tall order for such a small dog.  But Poms can handle it.  They’re lapdogs, after all.  Lapdogs and proud of it.