tangopatutti Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My husband has finally relented and agreed that we can have a new puppy - YAY! I'm going to get a rescue doggie and have been perusing the rescue sites and a lot of the dogs are bull arabs/ bull arab crosses. I love the look of the dogs, and the two adult bull arabs I have known personally were beautifully natured dogs. After lots of googling, it seems they make terrific pets also. The problem is, I have a pet minipig, with another pet minipig on the way (our pig lives with us and the dogs, i.e, sleeps inside at night, inside the house during rainy weather and runs loose with the dogs outside during the day). Bull Arabs are bred to be pighunters. So the question arises; what is most dominant, nature or nurture - i.e., if I brought a young (10 weeks old) bull arab pup into the home and he/she grew up with our pet pigs, would they be okay with them as adults, or would the pig hunting instinct kick in? I successfully introduced the wee pig to our 7.5 year old German Shepherd and 7.5 year old Cattle Dog with no problem, and we have kept chooks in the past (and will again in the future) which we trained the dogs not to bother. Both dogs were incredibly interested by both the chookies and the pig at first, but training soon made them realise they were "family" and not to be harrassed. Would it be the same for a bull arab pup? Considered opinions greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (can you post a photo of your pig?? Pleassseee??) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Oooh good question, I would imagine that if you got the dog as a pup and raised him/her around the pigs they should be ok, I don't have personal experience with the breed though so could be wrong! Hopefully someone with more experience can help. Oh and I second a vote for piggy piccies!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aziah Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yes piggy photo please and I agree, if you raise the dog from a puppy then it should be ok but same rules apply for any breed...I'd never leave them unsupervised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerProwler Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I cant offer any advice, but would love to see a picture of the piggy. And Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangopatutti Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hope this works! This is Poppy Porkchop. We got her just before xmas - she too, was a "rescue" pig, poor little girl had already been through two new homes before coming to us, her forever home. We get our second little piggie (one that I was on the waiting list for since September) in a few weeks time. Thanks for all your responses. I would never leave the pigs and the dogs together unsupervised, even if I thought I could 100% trust them. I am home most of the time (work from home), so Poppy is out and about with me and the dogs, but if I have to go out she is either locked into her bedroom inside the house and the dogs in the rest of the house, or if the weather is fine, into her pen outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aziah Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Squeeeeee! She's really cute :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangopatutti Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hope this works! This is Poppy Porkchop. We got her just before xmas - she too, was a "rescue" pig, poor little girl had already been through two new homes before coming to us, her forever home. We get our second little piggie (one that I was on the waiting list for since September) in a few weeks time. Thanks for all your responses. I would never leave the pigs and the dogs together unsupervised, even if I thought I could 100% trust them. I am home most of the time (work from home), so Poppy is out and about with me and the dogs, but if I have to go out she is either locked into her bedroom inside the house and the dogs in the rest of the house, or if the weather is fine, into her pen outside. The little doggies with poppy are our little girls, Pixie Lulubelle a chi cross, and Smudge a tiny little pomerianian (has been given a haircut for summer). Pixie is 11 years old and Smudge 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerProwler Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 How adorable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 The problem with a "Bull Arab" is that it isn't a pure breed but a mix of breeds so the temperament is less predictable. Puppy "A" might be fine but puppy "B" a disaster. Instincts like hunting and herding are very hard to suppress in dogs that have been bred to do these jobs for centuries. I wouldn't risk it and would suggest a non huntng breed instead. If you get a dog that doesn't work out then it could be very hearbreaking all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 OMG I want a pig soo bad, I am going to call him Eggs'n :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadbury Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Thanks Teebs just spat my coffee over the puter.....lol :D OMG I want a pig soo bad, I am going to call him Eggs'n :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 :laugh: My cousin keeps telling me i need to call it "N'Eggs" but that just looks silly :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Like Dancinbcs said a bull arab can be a mixture of anything & every thing these days . At one stage we would see a consistent style of BA but now they go from medium size to massive & the varying breeds certainly make the BA vary as well. The other thing of course would depend on where it was breed & how early the whole litter is taught to hunt . The other thing to consider for the pigs is you introduced it to 2 mature dogs. This time it will be a very boisterous pup V pigs so alot will also depend how the pigs react to the pup & it play methods & how much they squeal & whether that noise will be a tad too much for puppy . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeimMe Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I think it depends on the dog and how strong their prey drive is. We have a Weimaraner and she was an adult when we brought home our chooks. I fully anticipated that there would be big trouble, and built a chook fortress so that she would not be able to get at them. Daisy has always been very interested in ducks and birds at the lake (we'd never dream of letting her at them), so I accepted that I'd have to work hard at making sure that if the chooks were out, the dog was in. All was going swimmingly for a few months, until a houseguest opened the door and let Daisy out in the backyard at a time when the chooks were out. I only realised what had happed about 20 minutes later and went outside with my heart in my mouth expecting carnage - only to find the chooks happily walking about and the dog ignoring them. I think that after all this time she had fortunately decided that the chooks were meant to be there amd were untouchable, just like the cats and being an older dog she was better able to resist temptation. I know that not everyone has such a happy ending though... I don't think that I would risk it with the piggies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangopatutti Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Thanks everyone for your input, it is greatly appreciated. I guess I kinda suspected the answer before I asked, but I do so love the look and nature of the bull arab (asides the fact it is bred for hunting I'll keep trawling through the rescue sites until we find the perfect doggie. Our GS has had a small op, so we have to wait for him to fully heal anyway before we bring a new pup into the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieDog Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 This is Poppy Porkchop. Absolutely love the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazzapug Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Also big pigs will eat chooks. We only ever raised our pigs as vegetarians...but the ducks we had at the time were very quick to scoot out of the pig yard when the pigs got too close. So you have a few "nature" things a happenin. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Thanks everyone for your input, it is greatly appreciated. I guess I kinda suspected the answer before I asked, but I do so love the look and nature of the bull arab (asides the fact it is bred for hunting I'll keep trawling through the rescue sites until we find the perfect doggie. Our GS has had a small op, so we have to wait for him to fully heal anyway before we bring a new pup into the mix. I have a bull terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier and 4 cats. They have no issues, it did take a bit to get them all to like each other but now are fine. I cant see an issue with what you want, but you need to make sure you have the right dog with the right temp. Maybe you can list what you like about the breed and we can help you find something that will suit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have a Greyhound who lives with cats, foster kittens and even bunnies (bunnies are safely enclosed though). She has been raised not to chase them and she is very gentle with the cats and kittens. I think if the bunnies got loose, she would give chase. But she doesn't stand there and harrass them in their cage or anything. But it is a risk so if something more appropriate came along, that would obviously be a better option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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