# do you let your shepherd play with very small dogs?



## lorihd (Nov 30, 2011)

well i took lexie to the dog park today, i only take her when nobody is there (it was very cold today) we were having a nice game of fetch and hide and seek, when a woman with a mini pinscher showed up and came in. i hooked up lexie's leash because i didnt know how she would react to this tiny little cutie (she was about 3 to 5 lbs). well that little robust dog wanted to play so bad with lexie, and all my dog did was try to hit her with her paw. but i didnt trust her to unleash her i was afraid to. so i told the woman i would go,(we had been there for half an hr) but she said no, that she would go and left. anyway i know some of you at there take your dogs to the park, do they play well with these little dogs? i was afraid lexie thought the dog was a squirrel. my dog is 7 months old and is about 50 lbs or so


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> well i took lexie to the dog park today, i only take her when nobody is there (it was very cold today) we were having a nice game of fetch and hide and seek, when a woman with a mini pinscher showed up and came in. i hooked up lexie's leash because i didnt know how she would react to this tiny little cutie (she was about 3 to 5 lbs). well that little robust dog wanted to play so bad with lexie, and all my dog did was try to hit her with her paw. but i didnt trust her to unleash her i was afraid to. so i told the woman i would go,(we had been there for half an hr) but she said no, that she would go and left. anyway i know some of you at there take your dogs to the park, do they play well with these little dogs? i was afraid lexie thought the dog was a squirrel. my dog is 7 months old and is about 50 lbs or so


 
I would not, unless my adult GSD was very used to playing with little dogs. Too easy for the little one to get hurt just by accident. All the big dog has to do is to bump the little guy never mind any prey drive stuff.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Shasta is allowed to play with smaller dogs. She's very good with smaller dogs and puppies. She'll lay down and just play with them. She really likes mirroring and they play bow and all kinds of things. It does however depend on the dog though. When Shasta was about your pups age, she was very rough and did like to paw, like yours seemed to try. She's learned to tone it down though. its also in the training too. If she's never allowed to play with smaller dogs, she's not likely to learn how to behave properly with them. Its really all about supervision IMO.


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## vicky2200 (Oct 29, 2010)

I just got a 19 week old toy poodle puppy. My german shepherd (4 years old) is interested in him, but she generally leaves him alone. It has only been a few days and I am hoping for the best.


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## KaiserGSDLove (Oct 21, 2010)

Kaiser plays with my mom's two dachshunds and my sister's two dachshunds. Kaiser does very well with little dogs, he will get on their level. Although I tend to keep him separated from my sister's dogs now because the girl bit his tongue this past summer and blood squirt everywhere . Ends up the little ones are sometimes the ones that can cause the harm!


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

I don't let my Shepherds loose around any dogs smaller than my rescue (60lbs). They are even sometimes too rough for her. Just recently, Wiva put two holes in her neck  
Plus their prey drive is so high that they pretty much want to catch and kill anything that moves so I don't take that chance.
Also we don't go to dog parks...


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I do let mine play with small dogs, but she is only 5.5 months. I might add that since day one she has been around lots of cats, bigger dogs, and a rabbit. She also does well with the small dogs in obedience class...they bark at her and she looks at them like they are crazy. I intend to keep taking her around all sizes and types of dogs so that she can learn to adjust accordingly...so far its working


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## Whiteboy (Jul 19, 2011)

my stryker only has our lil fat pug otis to play with during the day till we get home. he is great with otis, it looks rough when stryker chases otis and pounces on him but oitis can hold his own and try and play back. but i only let them play cause stryker was brought up from a pup with otis and otis beat him up when he was a bigger so i see it as pay back now lol.


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## mwiacek10 (Nov 8, 2010)

I find the little dogs have something to prove and usually chase Gunny around the dog park. People get a laugh at watching him run away from them. I however, don't think its so funny.


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## SophieGSD (Feb 6, 2012)

The smallest dog Sophie has ever played with was a Pit Bull pup that was maybe around 10lbs, but Sophie didn't really want to play with her. She was more infatuated with the other two Shepherds that were there!

My mom and I took Sophie and her Husky, Aviee, to a dog park yesterday, but no one else was there, so they got to run and play by themselves. But usually, if Sophie goes to a dog park to play and exercise, she prefers the dogs her size and bigger. She usually avoids the smaller ones on her own.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

No. I don't do dog parks. But I don't let my big dogs play with small dogs. Way to easy for the little ones to be hurt accidentally. Let alone injured or killed intentionally.


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## Laney (Feb 12, 2012)

I do let mine play with small dogs. He is very good with him. He is only 7 months old (about 60 lbs), but I have never seen him be aggressive with any dog, cats, or humans. When I first got him I lived with my mom for a few months and she has a 15 lb boston terrier. They play great together


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## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

My dog's best friend is my roomate's kitten so no matter how small the dog is, I let him play with it. It took about three weeks, but he learned he was not allowed to play with the kitten standing up and not allowed to mouth at her. Now when he wants to engage in play with her, he lays down and gently rubs his head on her.

My dad's golden, on the otherhand, will chase any small dog under 10 pounds. We have a cat there too and he is very gentle with it...but small dogs he thinks are squirrels, rabbits, etc. In Venezuela where my step mom got him, he used to chase small creatures at the park. Now that he is in the US, it is kind of hard. If the dog is on a leash, he ignores it. HOwever, when a chihuahua or small hairy dog runs around the big dog park, the owner is asking for trouble. There is a small side for a reason.


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## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

He lets her bite and claw him all day. Sometimes he sleeps while she attacks him.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Honestly, Shasta doesn't seem to be interested in playing with the small dogs. She greets them nicely, but then walks away. So I'm not sure if I'd let her actually play with one or not. I guess it would depend on how things developed.


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## BlackJack (Jun 23, 2011)

Immo got to play with one the other day and I was super nervous at first. Since good portion of his play is with Molly and those two could destroy a house around them when playing. But with the small dog they just chased each other back and forth, I was pretty proud of him.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I don't think Hondo would 'play' with small dogs. I wouldn't allow it. He is used to our mini doxie and he plays very nicely with her. That includes holding her with his front paws and pinning her to the floor. He also puts her entire head in his mouth. Our mini doxie comes to him for play. 

I think if he was so inclined to play with another small dog, he'd attempt the same moves. The other dog may not be as happy with it as our mini doxie.


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

Dax is allowed to play with my parent's small dog who I know. He is also allowed to play with our cat. I wouldn't allow him to play with a very small dog or puppy who I was unfamiliar with or let them play in a place where it would be hard to control the situation like a dog park.

When they do play, Dax just play bows and runs away from the little dog. No high speed chases and absolutely no wrestling. Dax's playing with my cat only consists of him laying down and the cat pouncing on him which eventually just becomes the two of them grooming each other.


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## Jeven's Tyde (Feb 1, 2012)

While I'm waiting to close on my house, I'm staying at my moms, where there are two Chihuahuas. And they are TINY ones. The female weighs 5lbs and the male weighs a little less than 4lbs. 

They don't really like Tyde very much... especially the male. He is always trying to be the "big dog" of the house. Tyde wants to play... but they're not having it. The female just kind of hides from him, the male will occasionally come up and try to start stuff. 

When my brother's dog is over (MinPin/Weenie dog mix) is over, she and Tyde will play. Took a while for her to warm up, but they will play now. She's older though, and will let him know when she's had enough. They're pretty much the same size, whereas he's more than double the size of the chihuahuas. 

I was hoping they would get a long and he could learn to not play rough with them, but I don't think it's going to happen. The female is coming with us, it's my daughter's dog.

So I will be searching the site for answers to "How to get your dogs to get along..." 

I hope to get a kitten one day... haven't decided if that's a good thing or not. I am pretty certain it can't be until Tyde has developed some listening skills, especially the "leave it" and "off" and "drop it" requests. I have a feeling it won't be a good idea until he's older and past this unpredictable puppy stage, but at the same time, would it be better for him growing up with them and being taught how to interact?


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## Oona's_Mom (Jan 13, 2012)

Oona can be great with our Yorkie, but she can get too excited and there is a very large possibility that she could hurt her. If they are both tired, and quiet there is no issues and Oona is extremely gentle. But if the Yorkie runs, Oona wants to chase her and play rough. I usually keep them apart and always supervise them when they are together.

At the dog park, Oona does a great job of greeting small dogs (I remind her to "be gentle"). But I do not let them engage in play and I take her to a different area of the park.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

Masi tends to prefer smaller dogs, she was raised with my sister's two papillons (who beat her up on a regular basis so she seems to gravitate towards them. She's very gentle with them, altho she will bluff charge them, and stop, they chase her, she chases them but doesn't 'touch' them..
Here she is on a hike with one of the little monsters









And this is her favorite cat Boogie









This was Dodge with his two little buddies he liked small dogs to, but my dogs all seem to be kitty lovers


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## TrickyShepherd (Aug 15, 2011)

No, not too often...

Zira does when she goes with me to my friends house. She has a Sheba Inu, and sometimes when small dogs came into the dog park (we now go when no dogs are there though). She is not aggressive, just plays too rough and likes to smack them.... which for a dog that is small, that can hurt pretty badly. Zira is better with bigger dogs that can play how she does and take the rough bumping, smacking, and grabbing with her front legs.

Duke doesn't like small dogs. He got picked on during his first 2 years by small dogs and now he wants nothing to do with them. So I have no reason to put him around them.

When raised around them, they tend to get along pretty well and the GSD learns to be a bit more gentle. Since Zira was not, she doesn't understand how to play at their level. Duke is another story all together, he would have been excellent with them (very gentle, and respectful dog), but because of being tormented by them while growing up he now dislikes them.


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

Tazor lives with 5 toy poodles..all aquired by rescue from 2 breeders who brought them at dif. times to be put to sleep because they werent nursing. Im such an idiot lol..im not a small dog person but by 8 weeks my girls were in love with them...anyway, he gets too rough at times being 15 weeks now but is def. Improving. His best friend is my cat mr. Deeds. The cat runs around the yard..chasing tazor who loves it. Go figure.


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## Gsd girl (Feb 14, 2012)

Yes Yes Yes, a well socialized GSD will love on most other animals..even cats (if they dont run and activate the prey drive)


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