Larger Breed To Be Trusted Around A Smaller Dog?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I’m considering rescuing a large breed dog once I leave the house. Kind of a security factor in the sense of large dogs are intimidating. I already have a papillon *very, very scary, no?* So the big dog needs to be compatible, at least when I’m around to supervise. They’ll both be crated when I’m not around.
I’m seriously considering a great dane rescue. if i were to bring one home while he/she was still young I’d assume they could be trained to “playnice.”
A lab is second choice, but I dont know how trustworthy it would b around Boo.
Is there any larger breed that would be “perfect?” Anything recently or currently bred for hunting is out.
Also, we’re out in the country and I’ll have a BIG fenced yard *chainlink, not chicken-wire* if that makes anything better. All animalswill sleep in the house, though.
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I find alot of big dogs are good with smaller ones usually, but even if the dog is gentle and likes the smaller dog accidents can happen. my friend has a smaller dog and a larger dog as well and one day the bigger dog accidently stepped on the smaller one and it broke its leg. so id be concerned about that.
great danes might do well- they are pretty lazy. Other ones that tend to “nurse” other animals are good as well- any type of collie as well as golden retrievers we have found to be good with animals of all types. My experience comes mostly with their reaction to ferrets, but a small dog would be less food-like than a ferret would be.
Definately only have supervised play and let the large dog have plenty of time to trust and respect you before you put the small dog in. Make sure you introduce them through a window or fence (or both on leashes) and let them sniff eachother before actually putting them together.
No no, do not get a big dog for safety purposes, if you need to be safe get an alarm or a gun but not a dog. It’s a bad idea, whoever wants to get into your place will have access whether you have a dog or not, all they need is a gun or a poisoned piece of meat, your dog will not survive the attack of a thief.
And for people who suggested great danes, great danes might look scary but they are sweethearts, he will most likely become friends with the thief and invite him home, even open the door for him and feed him.
Your best bet would be to try to get a retired police dog, he will love to have a job in your house, will bark when they see danger and you won’t have to train him, BUT most likely will not be friends with your little dog unless you introduce them correctly.
In any case your little dog can become an excellent watchdog, he will not take down a human being but again only police dogs can do that and a lot of them get killed in the process, check this website on how to train your watchdog . http://barkingdogs.net/trainingwatchdog.…
Great Danes are just big gentle couch potatoes. Many people have a big dog with a small dog and they have done just fine. You may find the Papillon may boss the Great Dane around. We rescued a Pomeranian/Papillon hybrid and he bosses my other dogs around, especially my 11yr 9mo. wolf hybrid. Labs on the other hand are big kids and can be more then your Papillon can handle. Both my neighbors have Lab mixes, one is a female just over 2 and the other a 15 mo. male. Both are highly active and bounce off the walls. Another nice choice are Greyhounds, they are usually retired racing dogs that need a good home and a couch to lay on. There are rescues listed on the internet, perhaps there is one in your area.
Good luck
Your best answer will come from someone in the know, talk with a dog trainer or dog handler, someones who’s been around many different types of dogs.
i own a fully grown doberman and dalmatian, both are male and very big and under the age of 3
i also own an 8 year old border collie cross who bless him is only half the size of my other two.
i have had them all since they were 8 weeks old and have found that my dal and dobe naturally take a protective instinct toward my older dog and let him be.
they’re never far behind him though but they never hassle him.
you don’t know until you try, of course you don’t want to put either dog at risk so read up some books on whatever breed you plan to get and also get some advice from the vet.
good luck hon, hope all goes well.
xxx
you sound like a wonderful owner… many many of the larger breeds will do fine,, i advise against rescue,, as i am one who doesn’t like to gamble with temperament.. i like to see the temperament of both parents and also see the health clearances of both parents , grandparents, etc. a properly bred german shepherd dog, a newfoundland, a borzoi, etc. etc. etc.. would all be great ,, as well as any hunting dog…. i would strongly advise getting a pup from a reputable breeder and letting it grow up with your pap….. go to akc.org and read all about the different breeds,,,,, they will all work for you
Im not sure how the great dane will be but labs are a good choice. Another breed to consider is a golden retriever. Either two is a good choice. Believe it or not being that the small dog is already there the larger dog will probably be submissive to it being he got there 2ND. That happened with mine when the bigger dog came into the place withmy smaller one.
Good luck. Shouldnt be a problem.
I don’t think paps mix well with big dogs, because the are so small and fragile. You don’t want the pap to get hurt.
i have a boxer and a toy poodle ..the boxer is very good with him and all other animals for that matter ..but i don’t leave them together in the house while i’m at work and they r supervised when i’m home but the best way to introduce them is on neutral territory just to see if they will except one another.until they do only let them play while they can be supervised
It really depends on the dog. Do NOT just put any two dogs together. not to scare you off from your idea, but this has happened in several dog parks.
Several dog parks have built a fence dividing it so large and small breed dogs can be seperate. other parks have regulated that only on certain days can small or large breed dogs come. This is because of deaths in dogs due to dogs “rough housing” WAY too hard. The larger dog does not try to hurt the other, but it cannot control itself.
I vote for the Great Dane. I love them! They are very gentle, even with babies and small dogs! They’re very sweet, loyal, and always entertaining.
My friends have a few. They stay outside in the day and sleep inside at night, and they play well with the smaller dogs and cats.
Well I had a very sweet german shepherd that was great with other animals and kids etc. When I got my papillon she wanted to play with it and have fun etc. The one problem is when you have a large animal like that….even being nice they can injure the smaller one very easily by trampling it or play biting. Papillons are not scared of larger dogs and try to play as if it was another papillon. I would strongly advise not getting a larger dog. The vet bills will pile up!
Though a puppy may seem like a good idea, they do grow pretty fast and may not realize just how big they are when playing and pups do play rough, and milk/baby teeth do hurt and can result in skin tears, It may be possible if your papillon
puts the puppy in it’s place very early on and the pup is submissive enough not to try ongoing play but most puppies I have had tend to be pretty pigheaded when they want to play and don’t take no from the other dogs all that easily.
If you go thru a rescue for an adult dog that is being fostered you probably have a pretty good chance to get a good match, especially if the rescue has foster parents with toy dogs.
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I have 2 greyhounds an eskie and a chinese crested
Here is 3 of the 4 playing together outsidehttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/mle…
This site would help with finding an adoption group in your area and discusses a bit about greyhounds, http://adopt-a-greyhound.org/ I do recommend if interested that you use only groups that foster the greys in homes rather than adopt from a kennel
These 2 of my foster dogs who I had to cat test they both went to homes that had cats. Pictures were taken about 2 weeks after they came off the track, and one good thing is they are used to crates from their life on the track.http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/mle…http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/mle…
I have 2 golden retrievers and they are very submissive and nice to most dogs, ESPECIALLY the smaller ones. Labs are good too but instead of being submissive they can be rather playful and may scare the smaller dog… but they wont fight normally.
I’d say golden retrievers, they are so lovable and loyal to both dog and humans, they can make the sweetest dogs if you train them right…. and they dont even require that much training to be nice =) GOOD LUCK! I hope you get a golden! =)
Great Danes are a very greceful and gentle dog. They aren’t very territiorial either. It would be OK with a small dog.
If dogs are sort of raised together with the large breed being a pup when introduced to the small breed they usually get along fine. As the larger one grows the smaller one will probably get aggravated with the larger ones puppy playfulness occasionally and snap at it. But that will be about all.