# How do your GSDs do with small dogs



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Lately I've been toying with the idea that, since I won't be ready for my working line dog for probably at least another 4-5years, I may get a smaller dog before then. This is not something I would be doing right now; I am going to wait to do it until I move for grad school because I don't want to deal with trying to find a place that will let me have two dogs. I'd rather just deal with the one and then see what my options are from there, but if I found a place that would let me have two I was thinkin' I might go with a little dog.

I've never been a huge little dog fan, but for some reason lately they've grown on me. I really like dachshunds and Chinese cresteds but am not really set on anything yet. I'm not really sure how well Sasha would do with a little dog. She loves to play and I'm afraid she may accidentally hurt one, not so much that she'd bite one, but more that she might paw at it and hurt it. I dunno...she doesn't do that with my grandma's poodles, but they pretty much are always telling her to go away. The other thing is, though this would be a dog I would be getting because I want a dog, I want a dog that Sasha can have some fun with, so maybe something more Australian shepherd, spitz, medium size would be better? 

Like I said, not happening anytime soon, just wondering what other people's experiences have been?


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## WendyDsMom (Nov 18, 2011)

My friend Deb had a Shiloh Shepherd, 3 GSDs and a Min Pin. All was fine. The Min Pin could hold her own against the larger dogs - as a matter of fact, she always got her way because she was more agile that the bigger dogs.

After a year - she got chubby and lazy - she had already set herself as alpha and didn't have to work at it anymore!


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I have a mini doxie female. She rules the roost. I don't allow them to play with out me around, because of the size difference. Hondo does use his paws on her, and can fit her entire head in his mouth. When he does that she licks inside his mouth - grosses me out. I think they do that because it grosses me out. 

When he gets on her last nerve she'll snap at him. Normally he'll quit and find someone else to pester. 

When Hondo is possessed with the zoomies, she'll run for cover...under the bed..coffee table...kitchen table...my lap....The down side is Hondo (27 months) still thinks if his head fits so does his body. So if I'm not careful he can flip the coffee table, or kitchen chairs.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

He loves them, for some reason. He gets so excited and goofy when he meets little dogs.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

My GSD is great with all sized dogs. Young males he may get a little dominant with, but small dogs he's in love with. He loves laying down on the floor and rolling around, but you really have to gauge your own dogs' personality. Some dogs are great at "matching play styles" while others have ONE STYLE and that's how they play with everyone.


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## Dejavu (Nov 11, 2010)

I have a mini Poodle and most of the time he's with my GSD girl. They're very sweet together, they even play and chase each other (I'm always there to watch them when they do, of course).
She does know how to play gentle though, she goes very VERY easy on the little one.
And the little guy is smart and has fast reflexes so he knows when to move out of the way of the huge paws of the Big Furry Beast if necessary.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Lilie said:


> I have a mini doxie female. She rules the roost. I don't allow them to play with out me around, because of the size difference. Hondo does use his paws on her, and can fit her entire head in his mouth. *When he does that she licks inside his mouth - grosses me out. I think they do that because it grosses me out. *


That's hilarious. a mini doxie is what I was thinking about. I find it really hard to gauge little dog breeders, though, since I don't need a show (conformation) dog but most of them don't seem to do anything with them unless it's that, so I never know what I'm looking at.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I brought Lucy home as a puppy when I had a senior smaller dog. The senior dog put the excited puppy right in her place right away. There was mutual respect from day one until the smaller dog died about 6 months ago and never any problems.


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## Snarly (Sep 7, 2011)

Nova LOVES anything small. Little dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, you name it.


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## TimberGSD2 (Nov 8, 2011)

Kya and Phinneas the min pin are almost inseperable since TJ passed away. She loves her little dog and it really pretty good with most little dogs. TJ was also really good with the little dogs. Now the little dog thinks he's a big bada$$. I'm thinking this is normal though, I've only had shepherds, the min pin is technically the hubbys.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Rio gets on with small dogs, she sees them all as puppies and gets very protective of them (following them around, licking them, nuzzling them). Its really cute. 
Just to say though that most small dogs can hold their own with the big guys. My terriers were ALWAYS the boss and had no trouble putting big dogs in their place. My cairn/scottie cross only had to give my huge St Bernard a look and he knew to go away (and stop drooling on Biggys head lol). 
Most of the small terriers I had were certainly not lacking in confidence. 
I really miss having a little dog around, they add so much to your life and can be picked up and cuddled


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## Snarly (Sep 7, 2011)

Who needs a little dog for that? I hold/cuddle Nova all the time! 



catz said:


> I really miss having a little dog around, they add so much to your life and can be picked up and cuddled


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## iBaman (Oct 25, 2011)

We're possibly adding a Pomeranian to our household, and he gets along great with her (as long as he gets a nap, he doesn't get crabby). they get a little rough sometimes, but she lets him know when she's had enough (which is never....)


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

I have 2 JRT's and GSD's. My GSD's are all high drive and most are dominant with other dogs, but when introduced properly to my terriers, they are fine.
Cricket was soo tiny when we brought her home - she was about 5 lbs, she's probably about 10 lbs now. I did have to watch that they didn't hurt her at first, but now they are all fine.

I NEVER leave the big dogs and little dogs together unsupervised. It wouldn't take much to really hurt or kill the little dogs, and I know my big dogs would guard food or toys and I just won't risk it. But if I'm around to watch for any trouble then they are fine.


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## Discoetheque (Nov 2, 2011)

I have a Pekingese in addition to my two GSDs. He gets along great with the both of them. He'll sleep right on Reba's pillow with her sometimes, or right next to it if she's taking up the whole thing. Then he can turn right around and play 'rough' with Discoe and hold his own. He's even run with a pack of GSDs, which was pretty entertaining to watch.
Reba was introduced to the home when she was a little over two, and he was nearly six years old. There was no issue with bringing her in: no initial scuffles or anything of that sort. For a small dog that had little interaction or socialization with other dogs, this surprised me. Discoe came to our home at 8 weeks old (this would make him almost 8 years old) and while they had their little 'property' squabbles early on, to this day, they still play and chase one another just like they did two years ago. Discoe is surprisingly gentle with him, especially for a dog who plays like she does with dogs her own size.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Yeah I figured I'd have to have a way to keep them separated, which is another reason why I need to wait until I see what my set up will be. It would work out just find here because I barricade Sasha in the part of the apartment that has access to my room and the living room and the smaller dog could be in a crate in the bathroom (until it could be trusted to be outside the crate). However I don't know what I'll be getting into when I go away (about a year and a half away). Just a thought I'm playing with.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Mine do the same as any other dog. They don't really care for dogs not part of our pack, but they aren't any more or less likely to tolerate a small dog. We do flyball which is dominated by tiny dogs (teacup sized Aussies, JRTs and mixes, very small BCs and BC or other terrier mixes) plus these little dogs are screeching and running fast. I was concerned at first but it hasn't been a problem, in fact Nikon often runs alongside a JRT/corgi mix.


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## stolibaby (Mar 6, 2011)

When I got Stoli my roomie at the time had a pug who was the "man" of the house they LOVE each other frank actually comes over when his owner goes out of town and those two play play play. Stoli knows the limits and when he gets too mouthy or rough frank let's him know and then will go steal a toy of stoli's in revenge haha. Someday I plan on getting a pug (prob a couple years from now) it's a dream of mine lol. So basically my boy loves little dogs and little dogs seem to be just fine in letting the big ones know when they are at their limit.


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## Gmthrust (Mar 3, 2010)

NewbieShepherdGirl, it took us about two and a half years to find the "right" little dog to join our family of three white shepherds and one cat. I started browsing rescue websites (for example, petfinders.com is an excellent springboard starting point because it houses about a gazillion discriptions of little dogs needing forever homes). 

Pippen is the one we chose because in her discription.....and it was the first one to say it....."gets along great with big dogs." The foster lady and her husband met with us and our dogs...and it was wonderful....and it's still wonderful! Our big girls, ages almost 7, almost three, and newly one year old, adore her, and she, them. It's a perfect match.

It's been six months. Pippen's health and personality has truly blossemed. She is now up to 3.5 lbs, and has fur! lol. We've put her thru beginning obedience, where she bigtime WOWed the whole class, and she is enrolled in agility ...wowing the whole class again! She runs beside our bike for two miles, and loves it. We are seriously considering enrolling her in tracking as she mimicks what the big girls do.

Pippen keeps amazing us. On school days, the little kids gather around her (before and after school), and she loves every minute of it.....she is just as incredibly amazing and crowd pleasing popular as our big girls! The older folks love her, too. She is a chihuahua in size but GSD in smarts and intuition.

In a few days Pippen will be four years old. What a great little dog she is. We feel blessed. Hoping you'll consider browzing the rescue websites.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Whiskey and Wiva can't be trusted around small dogs. They have too much prey drive in them and are way too rough. Whiskey unknowingly hurts puppies that come out at training because he swats them with his giant paws without realizing his power. I think Wiva genuinely wants to hunt and would snap a neck if she had the chance. I don't think I could have cats or small dogs because of a very likely chance of the smaller animal getting hurt.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Gmthrust said:


> NewbieShepherdGirl, it took us about two and a half years to find the "right" little dog to join our family of three white shepherds and one cat. I started browsing rescue websites (for example, petfinders.com is an excellent springboard starting point because it houses about a gazillion discriptions of little dogs needing forever homes).
> 
> Pippen is the one we chose because in her discription.....and it was the first one to say it....."gets along great with big dogs." The foster lady and her husband met with us and our dogs...and it was wonderful....and it's still wonderful! Our big girls, ages almost 7, almost three, and newly one year old, adore her, and she, them. It's a perfect match.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your story! Yes I have been browsing petfinder, but I try to limit myself otherwise I'll have a dog a lot sooner than is wise lol!


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

I love hearing from folks with small dogs who say "my little dogs can hold their own/dominate the BIG ones" (I.E. GSD's). Same as with cat folks who claim (and a couple have actually done so to me) "My cat is not afraid of a GSD, he will just chase him away".

Same as with people, folks, yes a few little people can beat a few big people up; BUT size matters. 

A tough big guy will beat a tough small guy most of the time. (else why have weight divisions in pro boxing?) A big dog will almost always beat a very small dog (when it gets serious!).

And a house cat vs a GSD? Be serious!

But it is interesting to hear the chatter.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

codmaster said:


> And a house cat vs a GSD? Be serious!


My 9 month old kitten won a fight against a Boston terrier. Not quite the size of a GSD, but still..


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

codmaster said:


> I love hearing from folks with small dogs who say "my little dogs can hold their own/dominate the BIG ones" (I.E. GSD's). Same as with cat folks who claim (and a couple have actually done so to me) "My cat is not afraid of a GSD, he will just chase him away".
> 
> Same as with people, folks, yes a few little people can beat a few big people up; BUT size matters.
> 
> ...


Yeah I always find that a little interesting too. My grandma had this little black poodle that thought it was big and bad. It would come over and hang off our golden's rear (the golden seemed to be fairly oblivious since he never showed interest one way or the other in small dogs) and my grandma called it being feisty. Well the "feisty" little brat tried to take a GSD when she lived in AR and wound up at the vet and barely lived through it. I think people that have dogs that back off of little dogs are just dogs that are tolerant of small dogs; I don't think it should be expected though.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

our bou plays with our neighbors Dachshund nicely.
in one of the areas where we play there's a
gathering of dogs. sometimes there's 25 dogs there
running around. there's big dogs, medium dogs
and very small dogs playing together. the big dogs
play differently with the small dogs. it's as if they
know not to play rough with the small dogs.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

DJEtzel said:


> My 9 month old kitten won a fight against a Boston terrier. Not quite the size of a GSD, but still..


And David beat Goliath as well!

But who would a reasonable person bet on in a rematch? BTW, did your kitten kill the Boston Terrier?

How about your cat versus say, a regular Dachshound instead of a GSD?


And can one really compare a Boston terrier to a GSD? I don't really think so.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Our cat knows which dogs he can mess with and which ones he can't. We have an elderly 110 lb newfie, and he will walk right up to her, hiss at her, and smack her in the face. She's afraid to walk by him if he's nearby, and won't even look at him. She's never stood up to him. 
The cat also has Madina beat; she respects him 100%. But she's a big softie too.

On the other hand if he tries to push around 15 lb Gizmo he'd get hurt. Gizmo won't go after the cat for no reason, but if the cat tries to get nasty, he won't hesitate to go after him. And Kessy is basically the same way. So the cat doesn't dare to try to stand up to either of them...


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

codmaster said:


> A big dog will almost always beat a very small dog (*when it gets serious*!).


And the "when it gets serious" is key. Big dogs tolerate little annoying barking dogs better than I can believe... but if it really came down to it, the little dog is probably dead. I've often wondered if big dogs just realize those little ones aren't much of a threat and allow them to carry on with their antics. Now this is my official experience from watching so many dog park antics, so take it with a big grain or twelve of salt. I've just seen so many pretty aggressive little monsters pester the snot out of Bailey and plenty of other big dogs at the park, and 99% of the big dogs seem to give a doggie laugh. Interesting.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Abby thinks of small dogs based on the way they act. Some of them are ankle biters and she doesn't want to get her ankles bitten so she avoids them. Some are dullards and she ignores them. Some of them are playful and she plays with them. She doesn't make generalizations about small dogs, she leaves that up to me.


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## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

When I say my small dogs can hold their own with my big dogs I mean it in the sense that they are not delicate little dogs, I have 2 Cairn Terriers and a JRT and they love to play with the big dogs, Gavin actually prefers being with the terriers than the other Shepherd, they are more fun, they love to get the zoomies and tear around the yard chasing each other, Gavin is great with them, they jump up and grab his neck area as they wrestle and he loves to roll on his back while they climb on him tugging with a rope, he grew up with them and they are part of his pack, I think terriers are a good mix because they are small but not delicate and they have endless energy as well, I have always had small and large dogs, I love them both.


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## meldleistikow (Oct 24, 2011)

We decided to get a little dog last year. Our Lab was getting really old and our GSD didn't have anyone to play with. We needed a small dog that would fit in the car with the other two when we went places though. Charlie (the GSD) is gentle with kids, but loves to play rough with dogs, so we needed to find a small dog that was tough and had the same energy level. A couple months on petfinder and 200 miles later, we found Banjo. He is a red heeler/jack russell mix. He is under 30 lbs and can sort of be a lap dog. He is super social and good with all dogs and kids, plus he has the same play style and energy level as our GSD (maybe a little more). He is also my running buddy and can outlast us all with his short and stubby legs (8 miles is his farthest so far). We could not be happier with him. He is a cool little dog with an awesome temperament. Cute too.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Bailey's best little buddy is a year old spayed Boston Terrier. Hyper little girl, but as sweet as sugar... and loves to PLAY HARD!!!!!! She's fast, quick and those two are hilarious to watch. Their play styles are exactly alike, in spite of the big size difference. It's so interesting to me; she's a fearful dog in other ways, but once she and Bailey get going? They're both very happy and have so much fun. I've noticed Bailey seems to tone down a bit with her, he rolls on his back more often and lets her "pounce" and then over he goes, repeat, again, etc and so on but she's a very hard playin little girl and they absolutely adore each other.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Yeah I had considered a JRT but I honestly don't know if I could keep up with one lol! They are such cool little dogs though, and the ones I've seen could definitely give Sasha a run for her money. I know I couldn't get a lazy dog; I would need something that would be able to go for a whole day outing with me and Sasha or just a simple hour long walk, depending on our day. I know it might be a little silly to take Sasha's wants into account when considering another dog, but I feel like since I love pretty much all dogs I might as well get one that would fit both of our wants.

I've had two other ideas as well, those these dogs are a little bigger than I was thinking about going (given I shall be an apartment dweller, most likely, for the foreseeable future). One was an Australian shepherd. This was the kind of dog I had originally wanted and they aren't too big (I love big dogs but don't know that I would want two in an apartment, and Sasha's not even that big). I thought maybe, since there is a high prevalence of deaf or blind Aussies, and Sasha loves other dog and those dogs need other dogs, that going that route might be something worth looking into. 

I also really like pitbulls. My reservation there (and the reason I probably won't get one until I own my own place) is that a lot of apartments don't allow them, so even if I find one that will there's no guarantee I'll be there for more than a few years (until I finish graduate/law school/whatever) and then who knows where I'll end up. I don't want to have to give up a dog because of my moving and I know no one in my family would take a pitbull for me until I found a place to keep it. Also, they are rather prone to DA and I don't want to put Sasha through that. If I got a pit it would probably be my only dog.


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

My 2 did great with my mom and dad's little Chihuahua/Yorkie mix. 

About a year ago, I had been talking to my dad about Nadia and how she is nippy with people and I am working with her. He said then that she is a liability and I should 'get rid of her'. I was hurt, but he is old school, so I let it go. 

A couple of months ago, I made a trip to mom & dad's. Took both dogs with me. Dad was impressed with the 'big dogs' and said they were well trained  That made up for the hurtful statement before and made me very proud of my 2 'Big Dogs'


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Bianca is great with small dogs. She is very careful and gentle around them and she seems to get along with "new" small dogs a lot better than big dogs.
A friend of mine had "Danny" a Chi/terrier or something mix (foster dog) a while ago and it was really cool to see Bianca play with my friend's rambunctious young Lab/Husky mix Calvin and this little dog at the same time and how she could play rough with the big dog and gently with the little dog at the same time.
I guess it's not too surprising she's good with small dogs since she's awesome with my cats too.

Here are the three dogs I mentioned; Bianca, Calvin and Danny at an event together so you can see the size difference:


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Very cool! That little guy is a total cutie!


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

NewbieShepherdGirl said:


> Yeah I had considered a JRT but I honestly don't know if I could keep up with one lol!


You might consider a Rat Terrier. They are similar to JRTs except not quite as high energy requirements. I know a lot of people who have a Rat Terrier and a big dog. I used to have a Rat Terrier mix and a Golden and they got along great.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

Banjo tolerates small dogs. Really really small dogs freak him out a little, I guess the size thing is setting off prey drive while at the same time his nose is saying it's another dog. Either way, when a small dog goes beyond his limits he simply holds them down with a paw, so he rarely gets to interact with small dogs. He chases cats to smell them, which is NOT okay with most cats.

My former dog, Katy-BC/GSD mix, was LETHAL around small dogs. She dropped into stalk (for real) mode and wanted nothing more than to render small dogs into bite sized chunks. Katy was a hunter/killer. 50 pounds of BC agility with the reasoning power of a BC/GSD mix, if it was prey it was in trouble around her. Cats? I don't know how many dumb cats met their end by straying into her fenced in area, but the number was considerable.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

My big dog and little dog do *NOT* get along together. My GSD will just attack him..usually with no signs that I can see. It's never over food, water, or toys. He just attacks. It happens so fast. It's very scary

These two got along fine for 2 years.

In the last couple of months...my terrier went from being an outgoing, pretty playful little guy... to a very timid little guy.



I have 3 Shepherds. My oldest male and the terrier were puppies together. They got along good together. Then we got our female later....and they all got along great together. Then 2 years ago, we added our youngest male. The terrier never liked him. When our GSD was a pup...the terrier would snap at him if he got to close. Now, he's not a pup anymore. It's almost like he's paying back the terrier for snapping at him when he was a pup..

Well, here's my oldest GSD and terrier playing together. This was awhile ago. Yes, little dog and bigger dogs can play good together...but when it goes bad, it can go so bad.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Don't have a GSD here, but Ozzy is the smallest out of our 5. He weighs 13 lbs, and the biggest one here is Sania (lab), roughly 75 lbs or more. Gracie (pit bull), about 60. Aiden (Frenchie), 30, and Shelbye (blind, deaf, and dumb pit bull/schnauzer) about 20. He plays the hardest with Gracie and he has no problem getting away from her or bouncing over her if he needs to. LOL He has a bit of a hard time playing with little dogs. I think mostly because other little dogs don't want to play (most of the time they try to eat him), but he plays quite rough with dogs his size. 
There was a 4 month old GSD he played with at the park one time and he was giving her a run for her money! Haha. Methinks he'll have tons of fun with a landshark when I get one.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

codmaster said:


> And David beat Goliath as well!
> 
> But who would a reasonable person bet on in a rematch? BTW, did your kitten kill the Boston Terrier?
> 
> ...


Haha, what does a Dachshund have to do with this? Since the Boston was bigger than a Dachshund, I'm sure she wouldn't have a problem defending herself... ??

And no, she didn't kill the dog, but he backed down from killing her after about 30 seconds, which is still a win.


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## horsegirl (Aug 11, 2010)

I have a mini daschund and two GSD's , boh GSD's came into my family after the dashy, Both gsd's were around four months when I got them. My dashy is the boss! My male GSD loves my little lucy, they lay together and he protects her from my gsd bitch, who likes to pester Lucy. If my bitch gets in lucys hair , lucy lets her have it ! 
Its super funny to watch a 9lb dog latch onto a 60 lb GSD. My gsd bitch gives in and then the two dogs go about thier day. I love love love daschunds, they are scrappy and can hold thier own. Makes for a fun family that for sure.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

horsegirl said:


> I have a mini daschund and two GSD's , boh GSD's came into my family after the dashy, Both gsd's were around four months when I got them. My dashy is the boss! My male GSD loves my little lucy, they lay together and he protects her from my gsd bitch, who likes to pester Lucy. If my bitch gets in lucys hair , lucy lets her have it !
> Its super funny to watch a 9lb dog latch onto a 60 lb GSD. My gsd bitch gives in and then the two dogs go about thier day. I love love love daschunds, they are scrappy and can hold thier own. Makes for a fun family that for sure.


I like dachshounds also and they are certainly scrappy BUT they hold their own only as long as the GSD lets them!


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

horsegirl said:


> I have a mini daschund and two GSD's , boh GSD's came into my family after the dashy, Both gsd's were around four months when I got them. My dashy is the boss! My male GSD loves my little lucy, they lay together and he protects her from my gsd bitch, who likes to pester Lucy. If my bitch gets in lucys hair , lucy lets her have it !
> Its super funny to watch a 9lb dog latch onto a 60 lb GSD. My gsd bitch gives in and then the two dogs go about thier day. I love love love daschunds, they are scrappy and can hold thier own. Makes for a fun family that for sure.


Question, so is your daschund able to run around and play with your GSD in the yard or anything like that? Like can it keep up. I honestly don't know that much about daschunds other than what I've read, so I don't know their energy level. For instance, if I got one and I let them play off leash obviously the daschund isn't going to be as fast, but would it still be able to play and have fun with the GSD (provided they are compatible personalities)? Would one be able to go for walks with Sasha and I without me having to carry it?

That's my problem with some breeds. While I am kinda lazy myself, as long as I have Sasha in my life I can't be, and I really don't want a dog that can't do stuff with us. One of my family members suggested a pug, but besides from me not finding dogs that look like they ran hard into a window cute, everything I've read seems to indicate dogs like that can easily become over exerted. I don't want to have one dog I can bring everywhere with me (Sasha) and another I would have to leave with someone if I wanted to go on an outing for the day.


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## King&Skylar (Jun 3, 2010)

Skylar is great with all sized dogs- she loves small ones, and is gentle with them. Kayden is okay, but he stalks them so I watch hard, and on walks/hikes I don't let them approach each other. I wouldn't have a small dog now that I have Kayden- but if it was just Skylar I would have no problems, I toyed with the idea of a papillon before I settled on another shepherd =)


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## bruiser (Feb 14, 2011)

Bruiser does not like small dogs at all! We have small dogs that live on each side of us and they constantly antagonize him on the other side of the fence. I can get him to stop barking and wanting to get at them but the owners of the small dogs don't do anything to try and train them, they leave it all up to me. I guess it annoys me. Also, he's had smaller dogs go after him when we were on walks. I protected him but still they weren't even on leashes. So, no he doesn't like smaller dogs :smirk:


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## Salem (Oct 26, 2010)

Salem does very well with my mom's Bichon-Maltese mix. 

They love playing together and when they are tired, Salem likes to give her little flea-bites behind her ears, and she will sit there and allow it until she turns around and bops him on the nose, initiating play again.

He especially likes to take a tennis ball and roll it onto my bed when she is up there, taunting her with it (she has only begun to express interest in tennis balls ever since he begam playing with them). He can rest his head comfortably on my bed, so it is the perfect height to "even the playing field" for them.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Sorry for the vid quality being so crappy, it was from my phone. Just took it last night. This is Bailey's best galpal, who just happens to be the spunkiest, most hard playing little Boston Terrier I've ever seen.! (Which isn't saying much, since I haven't met too many Bostons, but wow!) And if it appears she's the least intimidated by Bails, I promise, she's not!!!!


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Chelle that's so cute! He looks like a playful guy; he and Sasha would get along swimmingly. That boston is a cutie too.


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## matthewm11 (Oct 18, 2011)

Indiana, my 9 month old GSD mix, actually seems to prefer playing with smaller dogs. The problem though is that the owners of the small dogs usually aren't thrilled with the idea of letting there dogs play with the big, bad, scary GSD. Indy got bopped in the nose by a dachshund owner with an empty water bottle for trying to get his dog to play with her. When I confronted the guy he insisted Indy was being aggressive with his dog. A GSD getting aggressive with a dachshund would be an ugly seen, luckilly this was not what happened. I had seen the entire event unfold and unless you consider playbows and tail-wags an aggressive overture...
Another time a small dog owner picked her dog up when Indy was trying to play with It. I had been having luck with teaching her not to jump on people but she couldn't resist in this situation. I corrected her but couldn't too mad.
I love every kind of dog, but not every kind of dog owner. From my experience, small dog owners are less likely to be truly educated on dog care and dog behavior, are usually more interested in "protecting" than socializing their dogs, and in general seem to spoil their dogs. I also meet small dog owners who seem to have liked the idea of owning a dog, but didn't like all the work involved. So they got a small dog thinking it would be easier and neglect to walk/play with/train their dogs, leave them in their crates for extended periods of time even when home, and use puppy-pads in liue of housebreaking. These dogs end up neurotic and/or aggressive but since they aren't an 80 pound GSD that could kill someone, and because they are ignored anyway, no one seems to notice.
All that being said I know a whole lot of very responsible small dog owners.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

NewbieShepherdGirl said:


> Chelle that's so cute! He looks like a playful guy; he and Sasha would get along swimmingly. That boston is a cutie too.


Well someday we'll have to give it a try! If you're ever down this way, maybe we could meet up someplace.

The Boston is a sweetheart. I could never own one myself, they become winded too easily and snort and all of that. I think it's kinda cruel they were ever bred actually. Poor things can't breathe right.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

chelle said:


> I could never own one myself, they become winded too easily and snort and all of that. I think it's kinda cruel they were ever bred actually. Poor things can't breathe right.


Haha, tell that to my foster. He didn't snort or become winded a day in his life, despite other medical conditions. He was able to breathe just fine, and most of our fosters can.  HUGE misconception. The winded thing can definitely happen, but 9 time out of 10 they breathe like a normal dog.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

DJEtzel said:


> Haha, tell that to my foster. He didn't snort or become winded a day in his life, despite other medical conditions. He was able to breathe just fine, and most of our fosters can.  HUGE misconception. The winded thing can definitely happen, but 9 time out of 10 they breathe like a normal dog.


I sure wish that was true of the two Bostons my parents have owned.


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## atruepastime (Mar 12, 2011)

Problem with Daschunds is their high risk of spinal issues.. 8/10 dogs that come n for spinal surgery at work are Daschunds, tie that in with a playful gsd that may accidentally place a paw too heavily on its back.. your asking for a disaster I reckon... Daschunds aren't the most agile dogs, they kind of awkwardly bounce along when running.. I couldn't see them keeping up with an active agile breed like a gsd, and most importantly I couldn't see them being able to nimbly move when playing to avoid accidents.. not saying they aren't nice dogs temperament wise.. I just think the whole extreme long back and short legs is a ridiculous design and not very spine friendly... but as we all know humans will breed what they like the look of despite how it might affect the dog itself... because they can.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Small dogs are nice prey to chase.
Catching them is even better.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

chelle said:


> Well someday we'll have to give it a try! If you're ever down this way, maybe we could meet up someplace.
> 
> The Boston is a sweetheart. I could never own one myself, they become winded too easily and snort and all of that. I think it's kinda cruel they were ever bred actually. Poor things can't breathe right.



That would be fun! I usually go by Des Moines every weekend (don't usually go into it as I can go around it and get home faster) but I'll have to swing that way sometime. Always looking for playmates from my girl, who have like minded owners 

Yeah I'm not really a fan of dogs with short noses.... guess I got the right breed with a GSD


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

atruepastime said:


> Problem with Daschunds is their high risk of spinal issues.. 8/10 dogs that come n for spinal surgery at work are Daschunds, tie that in with a playful gsd that may accidentally place a paw too heavily on its back.. your asking for a disaster I reckon... Daschunds aren't the most agile dogs, they kind of awkwardly bounce along when running.. I couldn't see them keeping up with an active agile breed like a gsd, and most importantly I couldn't see them being able to nimbly move when playing to avoid accidents.. not saying they aren't nice dogs temperament wise.. I just think the whole extreme long back and short legs is a ridiculous design and not very spine friendly... but as we all know humans will breed what they like the look of despite how it might affect the dog itself... because they can.


Yes, that was one of my reservations. I know that she'd never hurt one with her mouth, but was worried she might bring a paw down on a back and ouchie. I suppose that's trainable, but it's definitely a concern of mine.


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

we have a 3 year old, Yorkie(Daisy)..they play well for a while. I just separate by gate, crate or Daisy's safe haven(the couch) where Tess is not allowed when Tess's energy overwhelms Daisy..(they are on the only chair Tess is allowed on in this picture..)


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

NewbieShepherdGirl said:


> That would be fun! I usually go by Des Moines every weekend (don't usually go into it as I can go around it and get home faster) but I'll have to swing that way sometime. Always looking for playmates from my girl, who have like minded owners


Yes, let's try it sometime! Maybe when the weather is a little better, but I'm perfectly willing to suit up and brave it. 

On that note, though, I want to be really upfront with how Bailey plays! If it wouldn't be a good match, then that's ok... no need to expose either of them to a bad situation.!

Bailey loves to play hard. I mean, full out running, jumping and rolling around. He LOVES to be chased. He'll grab a stick or anything that he thinks might make another dog chase him and try to lure them to chase. His favorite thing in life these days is to get a dog to run alongside him with each dog's mouth on the stick. He's basically a very big goofball. His coordination lacks at times, hehe.

Now, just recently, he has had two humping incidents; one at home and one at the dog park - both that I shut down ASAP without incident. He just looked at me like, what? I can't do that? He's a bit over seven months and intact. The hump things weren't sexual; one was my spayed girl and the other a neutered male. He also showed a possible posturing thing with the neutered male and it ended as quick as it began, as the other dog ran off before it went anywhere. (I thought I saw it, I could be wrong.)

Just want to be really detailed in just where he is in life now.  If you think your girl would like his style of play, I'm all for it.  The next time I'm at the dog park, I'll take some video so you can see for yourself. I'll be there this Sunday.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

chelle said:


> Yes, let's try it sometime! Maybe when the weather is a little better, but I'm perfectly willing to suit up and brave it.
> 
> On that note, though, I want to be really upfront with how Bailey plays! If it wouldn't be a good match, then that's ok... no need to expose either of them to a bad situation.!
> 
> ...


Sasha loves pretty much all dogs. If a dog barks at her, she'll bark back but when allowed to approach is very friendly.

Sasha's favorite game it chase! She has no use for sticks lol I would like to say though that she is a rather bossy player. If Bailey were to come to you and want you to throw a stick instead of play with Sasha she would probably bark at him (it's not a mean bark it for sure a play with me bark).

My best friend's dog tries to hump Sasha sometimes. She doesn't really seem to get it. I'm not sure if she thinks he's trying to play or what, but she doesn't get mean or anything. She just kind of looks at me like...what? lol 

Yes I think waiting until the weather is nicer would be more enjoyable. I like cold weather, but it's been so muddy here lately. Sasha is not a fan of baths so I am not a fan of a muddy dog lol! Also, she has gotten quite an attitude lately and has decided that recall is not important, so it will be nice to wait a bit so I can try and get a handle on that a bit. She's a good girl, but such a challenge sometimes lol!


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Echo, as a general rule, is petrified of little dogs. He has no interest in playing with them, and will generally avoid at all costs--probably because of the nasty little jack russel's down the road. Our other neighbors, however, have a dachshund who he freakin' LOVES. They will play for hours...but he won't roughouse. Instead he'll just play bow as close as he can get, and then they'll bark at each other, and then one will chase the other and vice versa...and then they start all over  Other little things though, he loves. My friend's ferret, my parent's cats...he doesn't try to chase them....he tries to get THEM to chase HIM. The cats are always like "what the....go away."


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