Drake

Drakes are a species loosely related to dragons, with a draconian appearance. They are much smaller, however, ranging from twenty to fifty feet from nose to tail when full grown and standing ten to thirty feet at the shoulder. Although they are predators, if care is taken they can be trained well and are not resistant to being used as a mount or beast of burden.
While there are a few accounts of drakes being trained after reaching maturity, it is much more difficult. The best option is to obtain one young enough that it can imprint on the caretaker. As long as the caretaker feeds and provides for the young drakeling before it has a chance to bond with any others of its species, it will see the caretaker as the mother figure and be much more apt to listen to and obey mortals of that species. Often, other species can train it, but it will still listen best to the original caretaker and their kind.
While excellent mounts and highly efficient beasts of burden, drakes do consume a large amount of meat. This necessitates that the owner is wealthy enough to provide, or that the drake is taken out hunting for its meals. In the wild it eats two to three times a week depending on the size of the hunted meal, and in captivity it may either receive a smaller meal once a day, or be fed larger meals to mimic it's natural diet. The drake will consume its prey bones and all, often regurgitating a small pellet of indigestible matter. This differs from the true dragons, whose stomach acid is potent enough as to dissolve the entire animal, bones, fur, and all.
Pet drakes are often identified by a wing or tail piercing, often a semi-precious or precious stone set into a small metal tag with the owner's name engraved on it. The tag in question is placed so as to not impede flight or hunting but so as to be easily recognizable. A drake's owner often has a single tag with a specific stone or set of stones and a specific pattern and kind of metal, so that it is recognizable from a distance. Noble houses with multiple drakes will have the same style of tag, often their noble crest, applied to all drakes, with occasional differences in the case of a favorite perhaps having more stones or a more elaborate or detailed tag. The tag is applied through the membrane of the wing or tail in an area with relatively few nerves and blood vessels.
If a drake is kept with other drakes in a stables of sorts, there are often mages on hand to care for the drakes, as with a beast so large magic is needed should it become spooked or decide to plow through the stable door. However, part of what makes drakes so desirable for their use as mounts or beasts of burden is their calm and relatively bombproof temperament, albeit somewhat stubborn at times. They have been hailed as the draft horses of the draconian world. A single drake can often fetch a high price, especially one with a longer line of domestication and fine pedigree. Breeding drakes in captivity is difficult, but can be done by someone with the right know-how and resources.