In Japanese cities, it's nearly impossible to find a place to rent that allows large dogs. Landlords have strict weight limits on pets. Out in the countryside, you can get away with big dogs, but most of the population lives in the cities.
There's other problems too: if you have a tiny dog in the city, you can put it in a carrier and bring it on the train/subway with you. You can't do that with a large dog, so you're barred from using trains, which means you have to drive when you want to go somewhere with your dog, or take a taxi ($$$$, assuming you can find one that allows the dog). A large portion of the population doesn't have a car, because it's very expensive to park it, and even if you do have one, where are you going to go? There's very little parking and it's expensive. So having a large dog is a huge restriction on your lifestyle.
Basically, a large dog in the city is a huge luxury and a status symbol, because it shows you're really rich. A small dog is also a luxury and status symbol, but it's much more affordable and doable for middle-class people.
Interesting. Thanks for the explanations. NYC has similar limitations but there are plenty of large breeds. Maybe the first bullet about weight limits is the key differentiator.
Could be a cultural thing, but can be a smart choice. A smaller dog will enjoy living in an apartment and a "limited" (from a canine view) urban life more than a bigger dog.
They're also easier to entertain, especially because many people don't know how to entertain/exhaust their dogs without getting exhausted themselves. No, you're not supposed to run marathons with your dogs. It's much easier to train them to fetch stuff like frisbees and you can sit in a chair all day for all they care.
My dog has a knee problem so the vet told me to not fetch with him. Fine by me but it makes tiring him out all sorts of tricky. Training him for treibball at the moment as that's one of the few dog sports I've found that doesn't involve quick direction changes or jumping. Fingers crossed he'll take to it.
Well poodles can be decently large, though I’m impressed with the sheer consistency of breed popularity there, no ebb and flow of top breed’s compared to the other countries
