Bred certainly, but not... teacup poodles, you know? This was probably some "working breed" and it sounds like it was on the large side.
The Pinterest link to the statue submitted earlier (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11049681), if it's supposed to be a depiction, makes the dog look pretty damn big by today's standards. I would not fancy my chances against it with just a cudgel... :)