# Which small breed can get along with a GSD?



## makira (Jun 29, 2019)

My mom wants a velcro small dog (less than 20lbs) but we have a 7y old GSD with a quite high prey drive ( she chases cats but doesn't harm them) my mom is thinking about a Chihuahua, do you think they can get along? i heard Chis are quite aggressive


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Why does she want to add a Chi? As lap dog? If so, what about the cats? Is the GSD trained and obedient? Is she doing 'down-stays', 'leave it'. recalls? Unless you and your mom want to seriously complicate your life, do not add a very small dog to a high drive one that is already showing to chase cats. Chi are only aggressive when they are allowed to be. I had several Chis in my class who were trained and socialized (people did their homework!) and were normal dogs. My breeder has a Chi as house dog and told me he has to keep them apart or manage the GSDs with the Chi.
My gut tells me not to do it. Enjoy the GSD.


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## Luke Doggy Dog 63 (May 3, 2019)

I don't know if this will help but we have a deer legged chiuaha and an Austrailian shepherd the Chiuaha was so fast and agile she couldn't catch him no dog could it was unreal he was good with all dogs my daughter's have husky Anitolian mix, Pitts, teacups they all get along. I think if you introduce them the right way your GSD will adopt what ever she get but all dogs react differently


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

OP, as long as the Chi wears glasses, you shouldn't have a problem I guess.


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## Gwyllgi (Aug 16, 2017)

I had a 3 x GSD's when I was a teenager, my mom had a Chihuahua.

Chihuahua got into their compound and growled at one of my bitches. My bitch gave it a correction; Chihuahua dead.

A GSD is much larger and big dogs do not go easy on smaller dogs. If the chihuahua was the same size then the correction would have been minimal but for the chihuahua, it was full force.

I have a small dog but I keep my GSD well away from it. 

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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

The magical mythical breed. Why set your dog up for failure? The only way I would own a small breed is if they were completely separated and NEVER allowed together. Like not even for one second.

Lyka had a best friend. My sisters little Yorkie. It took one time when the Yorkie had the zoomies, and Lyka tried stopping her by putting her paw on the Yorkies back, and pushed her down. It didn’t cause any lasting damage, but the Yorkie did the super high pitched “I’m going to die” thing for a few hours. 

They weren’t friends after that.


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## LRP (May 8, 2019)

I wouldn't do it. The small size leaves a Chi open to getting hurt much easier with a GSD. Even if the GSD is just trying to play... there may be issues. Your GSD is already at such an established age it wouldn't be fair to either dog. Chi's are loud, snappy, bossy... a GSD wouldn't put up with that.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Like someone else said, what about the cat? I can't sit down without a cat trying to get into my lap. They follow me all over. And cats are softer and don't dig into you with boney elbows or claws.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

No reason with dogs with strong drives to eat other family pets and are able to coexist within small animals in there home. Not to say eating the family pet has not happened. If you are not able to train such a dog it is different though and is also dependent on the dog and other drives. Many dogs chase cats which many people may induce that is a high drive dog but also common. You would have to know your dog best. There are high prey drives and over the top prey drive. Some dogs chase small animals and others kill them. Max has a high prey drive makes him super fun to train but can be more challenging. I had to work a lot on him not chasing the feral cats and packs of deer. Max also has a high pack drive makes him coexists peacefully with his small animal family - My chihuahua and bird (the bird a newer addition)are a big part of the family daily. It would be more of a challenge if they were always separated for them to coexist peacefully as they would see the small animal as more of an intrusion. They all have learned the rules and listen. As mentioned if you introduce them the right and also if you have well established boundaries and rules. Dogs do not get to work it out in their own and they know that you are the one who is supervising and you enforce the rules. Supervision is a must and it is important you have a crate for your small dog pup. Even older - my chihuahua is always crated when no one is home - just for extra safety reasons.

Chihuahuas are great dogs. People spoil them and give them no rules to abide by. Topper has been raised with little kids, love kids and people super sweet dog. He does not like gsd noses shoved In his face and obnoxious pups. It did take him awhile to adjust to our first shepherd pup after the loss of his best friend bella - he was miserable at first but he did adjust. They all do get along. “Leave it” was a very well practiced command. No dogs are to be harassed by puppies. All get much attention and love to keep jealously down to a minimum. Dogs are fed separately. Max would naturally lay down to play and was very gentle with my chihuahua. He is not normally gently can be an intense dog both my shepherds are not couch potatoes dogs. My chihuahua stopped playing with Max when grew quite large. . My - chihuahua interacts with my shepherds-Max and Luna by lying next to them or sunning with them, going for walks. Also I always make sure food dropped on the floor means they all get something so there is not squabbling. 

You may want to ask a trainer on their opinion if they are familiar with your dog. No one can really answer this question but you. I am not expert but can share my experience of owning 7lb chihuahua with two large shepherds. You must be aware of the risks. There is a big responsibility to both animals to keep them safe. If it does not work you would have to permanently separate the dogs and rotate them or rehome the chihuahua. So many chihuahuas for adoption many rescues have a meet and greet as an option and may be able to make sure the personalities click. 






















































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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I adopted a GSD who came to me chasing the cat in her former home. Not to kill it but for the fun of the chase. I had to spend a lot of time with her teaching her that MY house rules were no running in the house and gentle. We started with putting her on the place command and letting the cat get ok around her.

My daughter has a lovely chi but they are delicate little dogs. I would probably think a small terrier (a lot of GSD folks have border terriers and I would consider but gather they are not particularly heat tolerant) I think Christine Kemper a GSD breeder has JRTs


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I know GSDs living with: (1) a chihuahua, (2) a yorkie, and (3) a shih tzu. ALL of the little dogs I know boss the GSDs around -- these particular GSDs just roll with it. The yorkie is the biggest crap-starter of the bunch, and that's probably a breed trait -- he thinks he's a giant-sized dog. 



One major caveat: it's not just about the GSDs accepting little dogs who sometimes have Napoleon complexes. Accidents can happen even in very diligent homes with very easy-going, dog-friendly GSDs. The Yorkie that belongs to my friends required major ortho surgery because he accidentally got rolled by the GSDs when they ran after a squirrel. They didn't mean to hurt him, but he was trying to run with the big dogs and got under foot, breaking his leg badly.


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## makira (Jun 29, 2019)

Thanks for the answers, i'll give some background: my mom wants a small dog for practical reasons (and because she likes small dogs), she recently went to see a Chi and she loved it, i told her about the dangers and she agrees but it's getting resentful with my GSD making comments like 'because of her i can't have anything' and stuff like that, i understand and i think is fair for her to have 'her' velcro dog, maybe i can convince her of getting another breed, with no napoleon complex that might be more suitable for us, my GSD is very gentle only when the other respects her, i don't know how gentle she would be with a dog who tries to boss her around.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I don't know how old you are but if you have the resources, move out to a place of your own with the GSD?


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## makira (Jun 29, 2019)

Luke Doggy Dog 63 said:


> I don't know if this will help but we have a deer legged chiuaha and an Austrailian shepherd the Chiuaha was so fast and agile she couldn't catch him no dog could it was unreal he was good with all dogs my daughter's have husky Anitolian mix, Pitts, teacups they all get along. I think if you introduce them the right way your GSD will adopt what ever she get but all dogs react differently


Did your Chi bite as a puppy if you tried to take away something from his mouth?


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## makira (Jun 29, 2019)

Jenny720 said:


> .


Did your Chi bite as a puppy if you tried to take away something from his mouth?


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

NONE. It's not safe. One mistake and that Chihuahua's back is broken. Not worth it.


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## germanshepowner (Oct 26, 2018)

Gwyllgi said:


> I had a 3 x GSD's when I was a teenager, my mom had a Chihuahua.
> 
> Chihuahua got into their compound and growled at one of my bitches. My bitch gave it a correction; Chihuahua dead.
> 
> ...


This ^. If the situation is unavoidable, train your GSD to just leave it alone at all costs. My GSD 10 month old LOVES my cats. She tries to cuddle with them constantly and would die to play with them. It makes her so happy. But we’ve trained her to just stay away completely. She’s a puppy so it’s still in progress but working.

BUT your dog is older. Can you borrow a small dog from a friend for a week or so? See how it goes? I don’t want your mom to bring a dog home and then get her heartbroken because your GSD won’t accept it.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

No. None of my dogs did. I never had to feel the need to test dogs with their food. I left them all alone. All my dogs knew as pups they would get a abundance of fresh food when I had to take something out of their mouth or when I walked bu when eating. They knew anyone’s presence meant nothing and would be left alone when they ate. I made sure of that. It is why crates are good to my chihuahua always eats in his crate. My chihuahua was raised with my kids. He loves kids to. Which is what you need when a lot of kids come over. I often brought him to soccer games, school shopping snuck him friendly’s once. Many breeders of Chihuahuas would not sell dogs to homes with small children either. As they can get hurt easily. I did go to a puppy pet store (i am not for pet stores either very much against puppy mills) and it was a love at first site with all of us. Walked out of the store with my daughter balling. Two days later that little guy still heavy in everyone’s heart. We went back to get him. Him and my daughter are quite a team. He did not ever get dropped, stepped on or sat on by a human or trampled by our dogs. It was stressful in the beginning bringing max home - as I was aware of all the stories of large dogs and tiny dogs but once I got figured out what worked and set boundaries all worked out. There are good stories and bad stories in everything. If I listen to all the bad stories I would have chosen another breed. Being aware, common sense, supervision with due diligence are always important in every kind of scenario and still there is no guarantees - that is life.


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## atomic (Mar 28, 2016)

There will always be a risk. I personally am just as worried about myself accidentally hurting a dog that small as the big dogs. But I do know someone who has a Chihuahua along with a GSD and two Dobermans. I have a parrot that thinks he’s a dog sometimes, all of them get along and my dogs also know to leave my ducks alone too.


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