History Main / MisterMuffykins

* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'' had Ms. Forbes' dog, Foo-Foo, as a supporting player in her appearances.

* Then there's Biggles, Janet's mother's dog in ''Series/MyHero''. Biggles hates the way she makes him wear a sweater, and the fact that everyone calls him Biggles despite the fact that his name is actually Malcolm.

* [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Quen Elizabeth II]] is well known for raising Corgis and Dorgis and is often pictured with a group of them following her around. Although she's a very good dog trainer, no less a source than Prince Charles, himself, says that her majesty's dogs occasionally attach themselves to the odd ankle (including members of the Foot Guards). Not too surprsing, as Corgis are ''herding'' dogs, and nipping at the feet of livestock is a herding tactic that is bred into them. When they have no livestock to work, they start herding other pets or humans, especially children.[[note]]Note that these herding nips are not the same thing as a genuine bite, or even a fear-induced snap. While trainers will do their best to clamp down on this kind of behavior, the truth is that these ''are'' herding dogs and their instincts will never go away completely. Fortunately, while these nips will often sting, they aren't genuinely dangerous as they're not an aggressive behaviour, and will very rarely so much as break skin.[[/note]]

* This is a common problem for most dog breeds. In general a dog was historically used to hunt prey (Dachshund, Poodles, yes Poodles!), to specifically hunt vermin (Terriers, Chihuahuas), or as guard dogs (Sheepdogs, Lhasa Apsos). Dogs who actively avert this are dogs of the Bichon types, who were bred as companions (on sailing ships, among other things).[[note]]Even the Bichon was once a popular breed for guide-dogs, and they're descended from fishing dogs[[/note]]. In general that poses the threat, that many kinds of dogs are trained improperly. As many episodes of ''Series/ItsMeOrTheDog'' shows, the rule of thumb tends to be "Is this behavior still cute and/or acceptable if that dog was a Great Dane?" The trend is, that this improper behavior from the side of the owner leads to a dog playing this trope straight (which is not healthy).

* The Maltese is cited as one of the most commonly abandoned dog breeds because they can be so yappy. In Australia, they've been called ''the'' most common dog to be dumped. (Specifically bred to be loving companions, they are ''extremely'' intelligent and require a huge amount of attention, thus the yapping if they're left to themselves.)
** Creator/KeithOlbermann actually did adopt two Maltese dogs in 2013 and 2014, and declares himself "born again in dogs," that loving and caring for them is one of the true meanings of life. Creator/CraigFerguson razzed him no end when he got the first one -- "Does it fit in your purse? Why'd you get a tiny little dog? Why didn't you get like a regular American dog?" -- but simply replied this was the right size dog for a New York apartment. (He later claimed that his little friends did his taxes for him.)
* Your average veterinary staff member is far more likely to be wary of your Dachshund, Pomeranian, or Chihuahua than they are of your [[BigFriendlyDog pit bull, Rottweiler, or Doberman]], unless said pit bull, Rottweiler, or Doberman has specifically been trained as an AngryGuardDog.

* Dire poodles and other killer yappy dogs occasionally appear in comedic games. The ''Blog/ThingsMrWelchIsNoLongerAllowedToDoInAnRPG'' list [[TheLoonie discourages this]].

* No less a source than Prince Charles himself says that Queen Elizabeth II's corgis occasionally attach themselves to the odd ankle (including members of the Foot Guards), though given Her Majesty is said to be a very good dog trainer. Ankle nipping is a fairly common problem in corgis, so it's not unexpected even in Her Majesty's dogs. Corgis are ''herding'' dogs, and nipping at the feet of livestock is a herding tactic that is bred into them. When they have no livestock to work, they start herding other pets or humans, especially children.[[note]]Note that these herding nips are not the same thing as a genuine bite, or even a fear-induced snap. While trainers will do their best to clamp down on this kind of behavior, the truth is that these ''are'' herding dogs and their instincts will never go away completely. Fortunately, while these nips will often sting, they aren't genuinely dangerous as they're not an aggressive behaviour, and will very rarely so much as break skin.[[/note]]

* Subverted in ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''. One strip (the one where he theorizes why people hate these dogs) has the owner shouting at her dog Fifi to come home, Fifi running like mad towards the door, and... ''the pet door propped and nailed shut from the inside''. Another strip has three poodles discussing the pros and cons of murdering their owner.

[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/TheChipmunkAdventure https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/claudia_with_sophie.png]]]]

* Mrs. Pumphrey and her dog Tricki Woo from the ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall'' novels and TV series by Creator/JamesHerriot. This is a relatively benign example, since Tricki is very good-natured and his owner is a very well-meaning person, but highly over-indulgent of Tricki's appetite. Although Tricki has luxirous habbits as keeping a Pen Friend/Pal with another dog and gambling on horses; Tricki always sends a large wine, cheese, and sausage basket to the vet clinic for Christmas.

* ''Film/PhantomBoy'': The crooks in the movie have a nasty, yappie little dog in their ranks. It's not a spoiled, pampered type of dog, but it is just as loud and tempermental. One of the crooks summed him up after witnessing his viciousness thusly.

->'''Crook:''' This dog has the soul of a shark in the body of a squirrel.

* Several yappy small dogs appear as villains who like to torment and even ''kill'' the cats in both the comic and animated versions of ''ComicBook/BillyTheCat''.

* Yukari's Pug in ''Apartment Gensokyo'' to a degree. She acts like a lapdog would, though she is rather friendly, but can be annoying and normally being referred to as to being rather yappy. This is mostly so in chapter 59, where she barks, at intermittent periods.

* ''Film/TheEigerSanction''. [[SissyVillain Miles Mellough]] has [[CrossesTheLineTwice Faggot]], an annoying yappy dog with a tendency to hump legs without invitation. After Hemlock abandons his master in the desert to die, Faggot leaves him without hesitation to hitch a ride back in Hemlock's pickup.
-->'''Hemlock:''' Pretty quiet now, aren't you? You little prick.

* [[TeamPet Iggy]] from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' is a Boston Terrier who makes an ass of himself on several occasions, though he's more flatulent than loud. His egotistical attitude is not a product of being pampered, but because he's not afraid of abusing his [[FightingSpirit Stand's]] [[SandBlaster powers]]. Still, [[CharacterDevelopment he gets better]], [[spoiler: and finally makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Polnareff]].

* [[TeamPet Iggy]] from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' is a Boston Terrier who makes an ass of himself on several occasions, though he's more flatulent than loud. Also, his egotistical attitude is not a product of being pampered, but because he's not afraid of abusing his [[FightingSpirit Stand's]] [[DishingOutDirt powers]]. Still, he gets better, and finally [[spoiler:makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Polnareff]].

* Paris Hilton's little dog Tinkerbell. Ms. Hilton started a trend among the rich, elite, and impractical of carrying very small dogs (usually chihuahuas) around in handbags. She never made a statement on how to keep the inside of the handbag ''clean'' (they have special liners that can be removed and washed).

* [[TeamPet Iggy]] from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' is a Boston Terrier who makes an ass of himself on several occasions, though he's more flatulent than loud. Also, his egoistical attitude is not a product of being pampered, but because he's not afraid of abusing his [[FightingSpirit Stand's]] [[DishingOutDirt powers]]. Still, he gets better, and finally [[spoiler:makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Polnareff]].

* Iggy from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is a Boston Terrier who makes an ass of himself on several occasions, though he's more flatulent than loud. Also, his egoistical attitude is not a product of being pampered but because he's not afraid of abusing [[DishingOutDirt his stand's powers]]. Still, he gets better, and finally [[spoiler:makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Polnareff]].

** A memorable episode showed Paris Hilton literally [[DrivenToSuicide driving her pets to suicide]] through misaimed attention. And unfortunately, [[ButtMonkey Butters]] was her latest pet]].

* In ''Film/GoWestYoungLady'', eastern lady Bill (a.k.a. Belinda) owns a lapdog named Waffles, which seems outs of place in TheWildWest.

The thing is, as theorized by no less than Gary Larson of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' fame, it might not be the ''dogs'' that people have a problem with so much. It may actually be the rather specific kind of person who tends to have little yappy dogs named Mr. Muffykins (or something equally ludicrous). In fiction, IdleRich old ladies or {{Grande Dame}}s in particular tend to have a small pack of little fluffy creatures. In older fiction, said dogs will have [[PredatorsAreMean foul little hearts and minds deep within their fluffy little bodies]], to go along with AristocratsAreEvil archetypes.

Expect this character to be CuteButCacophonic, whether friendly or [[CuteIsEvil evil]]. If they can back up their bark with bite, this makes them a KillerRabbit or SuperPersistentPredator, overlapping with BewareOfViciousDog moment. If they can't but they try to fight anyway, they are a BoisterousWeakling. If they are used as active fighter pets, that overlaps with RightHandAttackDog. Compare TheNapoleon, AngryGuardDog, SavageWolves, CatsAreMean and PsychoPoodle, and contrast CuteKitten, PreciousPuppy and BigFriendlyDog. And please don't EatTheDog... [[PragmaticVillainy as there's barely enough meat here for an]] ''[[PragmaticVillainy hors d'oeuvre]].'' The really annoying form of MisterMuffykins can make a KickTheDog very satisfying indeed.