Pomeranian

Pomeranians are among the smallest of the dogs that the Toba brought from Earth, and for that reason, some Toba thought that they’d never be able to hold their own in Rocket Dogs races. What could Poms do if they were blocked behind two huge Siberian Huskies? Or surrounded by a pack of German Shepherds?

Even Goigako, the Toba dog trainer who specialized in working with some of the smaller breeds, had his doubts. The only other mini breed that the Toba brought back from Earth, the Scottish Terrier, was a working dog, and demonstrated its competitive instincts by crawling into burrows, chasing rabbit-like leni across fields, and finding shortcuts through dense undergrowth when racing against larger dogs … but the Pomeranians were a toy breed, and didn’t have the terrier’s working dog skills. Could the Poms do anything to even the odds?

Goigako realized when watching some of the larger dogs play that the Poms had a secret weapon. A pair of Siberian Huskies was roughhousing, and the Old English Sheepdogs were too far away interposing themselves and make a wall to protect the small Poms, so Goigako raced over to make sure that no one got stepped on and hurt - but before he reached the site of the wrestling match both Huskies let out yelps and ran off - leaving just a grinning Pom in the center of the fracas. Ankle-biting might not be much fun to those whose ankles get bitten, but it’s a heck of a defense if you’re the one doing the biting!