I grew up with big dogs too, German Shepherds in fact, and I swore I would never have anything to do with small dogs. Then my mom brought home a poor naked little guy who needed help and despite his severe personality issues he ended up being a good friend and a lot of fun. He was smart as a whip and would do anything for a chickpea, but he never could be trusted around other dogs, especially big ones. I had to withdraw him from an agility class because not even the trainer could stop him from trying to kill the biggest dog in the class, a Great Pyrenees! DrKMcK is right, these guys don't know they're small
A funny little quirk he had was the people he chose to associate with. He loved his immediate family (us) but hated all people in what I'm going to call their middle years, roughly teens to 50's. Small children and the elderly he loved though. Go figure!