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Limit Size Of Other Dogs?


Mavis
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Hello! I have been reading for a long time and decided to finally register and post as I have a question which I have not seen discussed. We have a tiny 1.15kg 8month old Pomeranian who has been socialised with dogs of different sizes. However I have never allowed him to interact freely with a large dog as the potential for injury is too high even if the other dog is friendly.

What do others think a reasonable size differential is for free interaction with another friendly dog? Even a 6kg dog is 5 times the size of our little guy so it is a hard one. Most people in my small town have very large dogs (e.g. malamutes and GSDs), staffies and working breeds so he does not often meet a small dog and has never met a dog as small as him since coming home at 10 weeks.

I am also interested in figuring this out so that we can make the right decision when we eventually add a second dog to our household. We have 2 cats, the largest is 5kg and they all (dog and cats) enjoy playing chase together.

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Thanks Suzi... 18 vs 34kg is a bit less than twice the size so I suppose would be like our dog playing with a 3kg dog. At this stage I probably wouldn't be happy with him playing freely with a non toy breed. I am yet to meet a larger dog that didn't become overexcited at the sight of him! However it would be nice to be able to consider a bigger dog for our family one day.

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I don't allow my large dogs to play off lead with small dogs that I don't know well. A small dog used to being with big guys is usually fine, but if I don't know that about them they can interact with mine inside with people around but they can't go outside with mine. That is my working rule, I have a downwards limit but varied according to what I know about the other dog.

Edited by Diva
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Rascalmyshadow assume you mean you will NOT allow them to play with dogs over 5kg? Sounds fair. Our boy is inquisitive and friendly with larger dogs but is not interested in active play which helps. I think I will keep doing what I do now which is no play unless it is another small (toy sized) well socialized dog.

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I have a 25kg staffy cross who used to tear around the leash free park with a tiny Pom (she ruled the park, tiny as she was and would only interact with a select few dogs).

I really wish I had photos to show you, as she was so tiny and so bossy!

Sadly they have moved now and we don't see them anymore..

Zig is pretty aware of little dogs but can also play full on body slamming games with the big boys as well.

I guess it really depends on how the other dogs interact with your dog. If they are much bigger and playing rough, I would keep your dog clear of them.

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If they are friends' dogs that are known to be good with other dogs (no matter what their size), then you could socialise with them.

At that size, I wouldn't mix your dog with larger dogs. You even need to be careful of some small dogs - I am currently fostering a 3 kilo Malt cross that was nearly killed by a Jack Russell.

I am very careful with my own littlies, as a rescuer I hear far too many horror stories.

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I won't let Elsie (13kg) play with small dogs unless I know the owner and dog quite well - there are only a couple of small dogs that she is allowed to play with and she adjusts her play style really well. When Elsie plays with big dogs its all chase, bite, bodyslam, tackle etc... when she plays with a little dog (or a puppy) she lays on the ground and lets them climb all over her while she mouths their legs. She is really quite gentle when she has to be!

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Size can make it hard. I've had big dogs and small ones play together supervised and generally all was ok. One girl I had, a Gordon Setter, was the gentlest kindest girl you could want but I had to restrict her play with the really small/younger ones. She would lay down and let them jump all over her but she had the habit of occasionally swinging a front leg which could accidently pin a littlie down and more scare them than hurt but it was worrying for this worry wart lol.

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As with so many issues, it really depends on the dogs. Some don't know their strength and some will be fully cognisant of the need to adjust their behaviours around a very small dog. I'm sure most of us here have seen examples of each.

If you want your little one to play with other dogs, you could consider going to parks and sussing out the dogs and owners there to see if there were any suitable candidates remembering too that dgos can play differently in different places and under different circumstances.

Or you could get another one :D :D

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Pebbles I am a massive worry wart too!

Our boy loves to play with a 9kg (that's right NINE kg) Pom at the park.The owner insists that her dog is a "standard" and mine is a "miniature" (ahhhh) but they do seem to have very similar play styles so I think this is a big factor in happy playtime.

I would get another Pom in a heartbeat! My partner loves our dog but would also like a slightly larger one (maybe a 9kg Pom haha). I might be pushing it with our landlord though.

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Oh forgot to mention that he is always on leash while playing so it is mostly excited sniffing and a little bit of running around. I only let him off leash in our own yard because our town is absolutely full of roaming dogs which is very sad.

Edited by Mavis
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Jesse my Rough Collie ,24 kg played very well with Lulu ,my 5kg Japanese Spitz .Although so small she very definitely was in charge and he was very gentle with her.However ,we never left them together if we went out ,there was always the potential for an accidental bite etc.My sisters Standard Poodle plays well with our two little ones ,again only together when supervised ! :)

Edited by Aleksandra 157
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Size can make it hard. I've had big dogs and small ones play together supervised and generally all was ok. One girl I had, a Gordon Setter, was the gentlest kindest girl you could want but I had to restrict her play with the really small/younger ones. She would lay down and let them jump all over her but she had the habit of occasionally swinging a front leg which could accidently pin a littlie down and more scare them than hurt but it was worrying for this worry wart lol.

I agree with this... that it's fine when you know well the behaviours of the big dogs. And how generally comfortable your own small dog tends to be with bigger dogs. It's really a case by case matter....and in what environment. Especially when it comes down to any 'free play and how you can manage it.

I've also experienced the other side. Owners of mild big dogs that can't get owners of small dogs to socialize. When I used to take my Tibbie girls for walks (on leads), we'd sometimes come across people with dogs like that. Like a big Lab and an Irish Wolfhound (also on leads). My girls lived next door to greyhounds, which they loved... & two of them had been brought up with big dogs (a Tibetan Mastiff and a German Shepherd), so weren't spooked by size per se. If a dog was big & they picked up that it was mild, they had no problem with a passing socialization.

I've also known people who've owned unusual pairs including a Tibbie.... like Rottweilers (someone had a lone Tibbie with 7 Rotties), or a Dobe. In those cases the dogs all were well raised with good temperaments, & well managed and there was never any damage.

But dogs that you don't know so well....& having 'free play' with your small dog, is another call. As someone else said, then it's not just size, even a Jack Russell-size can cause a problem

Edited by mita
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Personally I believe it is important for both big dogs to interact with small dogs.

How on earth are they otherwise know how to deal/cope interact with each other.

It can be done responsibly, and well. You "control" the play by limiting how rough each other is. The last thing y want is the pom to be scared of big dogs. If it never interacts with them in either a positive way, then it could be creating issues further down the track if a negative interaction happens.

Classic example. My sister in law has two dachounds. One standard and one mini. The mini does not like other dogs in general. They did not let it socialise properly with other dogs, especially bigger ones for fear they may put a paw on its back and cause damage. They would not even allow other dogs to smell her butt. It's a dog thing - get over it.

Now she is just a lap dog. Fearful of bigger dogs and dogs in general.

They rescued a couple of years ago a standard dachound puppy from the RSPCA. My mother on law also rescued a mastiff x ridgeback pup from the pound around the same time. This time they allowed controlled play. Still keeping in mind the potential danger of injury.

The result: the standard is much more social, less demanding on human intervention where other dogs are concerned. Plays with the big dog and the big dog has learnt to control his behaviour around smaller dogs.

The biggest problem with MOST small dogs is not enough socialisation. Lack of socialisation causes issues and temperament issues. Poor socialisation can lead to fearful aggressive nature. Something I have noticed in many Poms when I was a groomer. Bad tempered, aggressive and fearful creatures. If there is already a tendency for this in a breed, then. It is more important to socialise the dog with every thing at your disposal.

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