Newfoundlands' Sweet Friendship with Shih-Tzu Gives 'Three Musketeers' Vibes

It's always adorable to see dogs hitting it off with each other and forming friendships, but it's not exactly surprising when they're well matched from the start. Dogs of similar ages, energy levels, and sizes will generally get along well as playmates, of course, but it's interesting to see what happens when a bigger dog and a smaller one become BFFs — or in the case of the Instagram video below, two bigger dogs.

It would be hard to find two breeds more opposite in size than a Newfoundland and a Shih-Tzu, but it doesn't seem like that's stopping the pups below from forming a truly sweet friendship. Take a look:

In this footage shared by @teddythenewfie_swe_ , we get to meet an adorable friend group who has been nicknamed the Three Musketeers: two Newfoundland pups and a little Shih-Tzu who looks even smaller when next to these big dogs!

The big dogs are both huddled around the little one, who impressively enough doesn't appear to be scared of their large friends one bit (in fact, it seems to be the opposite — look at that little tail wagging!). At one point, one of the big dogs is even giving the little one plenty of kisses. Aww!

Of course, the comments are filled with messages from people gushing over how sweet these three are together.

One person wrote, "How sweet they are to the little one!" with others asking for more video of the dogs playing together. I'm in agreement with that — these are thee very cute friends.

Are Newfoundland Dogs Always Good With Smaller Dogs?

Watching this video, I couldn't help but wonder if it was unusual that the dogs seemed to adore their much smaller friend or if it was a trait of the breed, and as it turns out, Newfoundlands are often known for this kind of friendship!

While it's obviously true that personality, training, and socialization will always play a large role in how a dog interacts with other dogs of any size, it seems to be a rule that Newfies are famously good with small animals and even small children, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Dogs who belong to this breed are known for being calm, patient animals who make excellent companions, and it seems like that's true whether it's a human or a pup like a Shih-Tzu looking for a new friend!

They might be giant dogs, but they also seem to be big old softies. Wait, I might have just talked myself into adopting one...