Advice On Owning A Big Dog And A Little Dog

[Odin-Genie]

You mention exercise- you'd be suprised how lazy they can be (you don't see so many fat ones for nothing ) . They may be bigger but my bet would be on the Frenchie outlasting the Goldie! :laugh:

You are lucky. My goldy is exercise crazy and is very lean. She just doesn't put on weight and would go on walks every hour if we were willing!!! She is six now and requires long walks twice a day with play times and zoomies with my elky during the day.

[Christina]

I used to have 2 Chihuahuas, a Great Dane & a Doberman.

Big dogs were only allowed socialisation with little dogs as pups on my lap. Supervised when together as adults but seperated when we were not there.

Was fine apart from a one off incident that occurred when the Doberman was 10. She wasn't well, turned out later to be cancer. Little dog went to pinch a biscuit from her in passing. Big girl did one big snap, no attack. Broke little dogs jaw. Fluke thing really & so quick, they had been friends for 7 years & I was there with them.

Its usually ok if you are sensible.

[mita]

Our Tibetan Spaniel, Angel, was brought up with her breeder's Tibetan Mastiff. They were fine... as are a Brisbane couple's Tibetan Mastiff & their Tibbie.

Here's a little one between his owner's 2 Tibetan Mastiffs. Click to enlarge:

Edited May 17, 2013 by mita

[SwaY]

Giant and Small here..

Supervision and training are the key

Great Dane and Affenpinscher

Great Dane and Min Pin and Pug/Stafford xx

[whitka]

I have an older Goldie and he lives with my mum's little fluffy thing and brother's Border Collie. My boy now days is not that interested in playing with the other two but he is very tolerant of both them. The little guy plays really rough with the Border Collie and he takes whatever she does to him. They all get on so well.

[Zug Zug]

I have an old mini poodle x and a young standard poodle.

They are both very active - obviously the younger dog is a lot stronger and my older dog at 14 years old is not as strong as she thinks she is. She has also always been nervous with other dogs and had been attacked by a dog not long before we got Pasha, so I was careful (bordering on paranoid) in the early months with these two together.

I was aiming to get a gentle natured boy dog but instead have a fabulous, very playful, sometimes rough boy dog. While she has handled it well, there are times when we do separate them to give her a break. He has been a pest at times, and we don't expect her to put up with him 24/7 (although they are quite safe left in the yard alone together).

If these are issues for you, I would suggest that early on you make use of a baby gate, later on you may consider using a crate to separate them when need be and settle things down when you need to and to give the smaller one a break (and you for that matter). Puppies can be persistent.

We did both of these things, don't need them anymore, but I do still intervene to ask them to settle at times when things are getting boisterous inside.

I have a rule that goes something like this: play = outside. calm = inside.

[WeimMe]

I have an old Wiemaraner and a young Beagle cross. Hugo the Beagle X is 18 months now and still very feisty. They play a lot - pretty roughly sometimes! - and yep, they do crash into furniture and often I have to put Hugo on leash while inside to calm him down and give Daisy a break. I have to say, it can be bloody annoying isn't very conducive to relaxing!

Nobody has been hurt here, but Hugo is quite a bit larger than a Frenchie.

Thanks so much for sharing! Yes that definitely sounds like the kind of craziness I am anticipating :laugh: expecting lots of time-outs as well, regardless of what dog we end up choosing! I know you mentioned you had a beagle X but what is his personality like if you don't mind me asking, is he very playful? A beagle is definitely the runner up at this point if we don't decide on a Golden - we've done months of research on both but I like hearing from the owners!

He has quite a strong personality - very willful and confident and at this stage still very naughty! He is pretty full on - has a lot of energy and is very playful. When he was younger I despaired of him ever learning how to behave indoors. He ate two couches and scratched up my kitchen cupboards. I have learned that he needs to be kept busy, otherwise he will find something to do on his own that generally is not something that I want him to do. He's not a purebred and I couldn't say with any certainty what other dogs are in his lineage, so I don't know if all Beagles are like that. There is supposed to be some Tibetan Spaniel in there too.

Reading this I guess I have painted him as some kind of demon dog, but he does have his good points! He is a lot of fun to own and very affectionate. Makes me laugh every day.

Life is crazy with two dogs!

[cowanbree]

I have an aussie and multiple shelties and they get along great but I would never leave them alone unsupervised together. Things do happen and a big weight difference can cause serious issues. My aussie is quite rough and can sometime without meaning any harm hurt or frighten the shelties by pushing it just a bit far. Without me there to say enough I would hate to think what would happen.

[mixeduppup]

The largest dog here is a Maremma and the smallest is a mini foxyXJRT. 50kgs or so smaller than the maremma. I've never had a problem. They adore each other. And since you're getting the larger dog second and it's a GR, I honestly don't see any issues arising.

[Chequeredblackdog]

Giant and Small here..

Supervision and training are the key

Great Dane and Affenpinscher

Great Dane and Min Pin and Pug/Stafford xx

OT but Sway, that coat your Dane is wearing is GORGEOUS! Where did you get it?

[Simply Grand]

I have an aussie and multiple shelties and they get along great but I would never leave them alone unsupervised together. Things do happen and a big weight difference can cause serious issues. My aussie is quite rough and can sometime without meaning any harm hurt or frighten the shelties by pushing it just a bit far. Without me there to say enough I would hate to think what would happen.

I have an Aussie (22kgs) and a Sheltie (7.5kgs) too, the Sheltie is 7 months older than the Aussie and they get along like a house on fire. They do play quite roughly by the Sheltie's standards but the Aussie is way more careful and gentle with the Sheltie than she is when she plays with bigger roughy dogs. I never taught her this, she just seemed to figure it out. I also have and older small poodle x (5.5kgs) so the Aussie came in as a baby being slightly smaller than the older two so they sorted out their playing together I think.

I haven't owned either Frenchies or Goldies but from what I know of them I think they'd be a really good combination. Frenchies are fairly roust little dogs and Goldies are less crazy full on than herding breeds tend to be so I reckon they'd sort out a good relationship

[Flyntahn]

I have a papillon who is 4kg and German Shorthaired pointers who range from 26 to 35 kgs. They only play together under supervision, but wo behold any of the big dogs if they get too rough. The Pap lets them know in no uncertain terms, and they all back off. They dont want bits out of their face.

[Nevafollo]

I have big & small but you need to teach the little dog just as much as the big .

Big dogs play like big dogs some little dogs are stirrers & can be the trouble maker .

My big dogs are taught to lay down to play BUT they are also allowed to have big dog play because i won't take away what is natural to them especially when there pups.

I guess the biggest concern witha Frenchie & chosing the right playmate is the summer months & it not going over the top in the heat .

It can be done but matching the personalities is a must ,Frenchies can be full on so its depends whether you want something that matches well or in the Goldies case will require more exercise as a pup & want to walk longer distances than say the Frenchie will.

It depends i guess on work whether you want big & small,keep in the mind the Goldie will shed alot more coat than the Frenchie .

This is really good advise! I second it!

A very good friend of mine has frenchies and goldens, they are kept speerate when shes out ect but they dog play really well together.

I have pointers and Griffons (neville is a 5kilo ball of madness) and they get on famously but hes been raised with them, my older girl whos only used to little dog (I got her at age 4) cant play with the bouncey pointer I have but my two mellow girl pointers she can socialise with just fine!

[persephone]

42 kg..........V under 10 kg .......... :)

[Loving my Oldies]

I haven't read this thread because I cannot contribute from personal experience, but I thought of it while out driving today: along a leafy street in Castle Hill a very very large mastiff style of dog on a lead, a little black dog on a lead and trotting along behind a tiny tiny white Chi ... off lead. :laugh: :laugh: Not laughing at the off lead, but just the mix. They all seemed very happy and at ease.

[Lady Flying Furball]

All the photos are a delight :D

[Ons]

I had an old maltese and got a golden retriever puppy. Sadly My maltese only lasted a year longer because of cancer and heart failure

did they get on well - brilliantly. Onslow really brought out a new life with Daisy and she adapted her games to play with him, he would tear around and around the backyard and she would just spring out at him. I never left them unsupervised though, accidents can happen in a fraction.

My griffon's best friend is a large coolie, Tannin was bred by myself so he has always been around and Mocha and he just love each other. :)

As long as you separate them when you are not around things should be fine :)

[dee lee]

You mention exercise- you'd be suprised how lazy they can be (you don't see so many fat ones for nothing ) . They may be bigger but my bet would be on the Frenchie outlasting the Goldie! :laugh:

You are lucky. My goldy is exercise crazy and is very lean. She just doesn't put on weight and would go on walks every hour if we were willing!!! She is six now and requires long walks twice a day with play times and zoomies with my elky during the day.

Funnily enough, I wish my Goldie had more energy! She loves running, but I'm finding she can't keep up with me after a while- she flakes after 5kms. From what I've seen, it's pretty normal for GRs- mine has been one of the more energetic I've met.

You must have a very special one! :)

[Lady Flying Furball]

I have a papillon who is 4kg and German Shorthaired pointers who range from 26 to 35 kgs. They only play together under supervision, but wo behold any of the big dogs if they get too rough. The Pap lets them know in no uncertain terms, and they all back off. They dont want bits out of their face.

Yes, my dog walker describes my Pap Tonka as "tough as nails" and he frequently goes walking with big dogs including a great dane. He lets them know if he doesn't like it/ feels scared.

[LillyFlower]

Oh my goodness, thanks everyone for your advice and ADORABLE photos!!! The Great Dane and the Affenpinscher almost had me in tears. So cute!

I think we have almost made up our mind on the GR, our frenchie got to play with a young GR this weekend and they got on like a house on fire :laugh: Though a beagle would be more of an ideal size, I'm not sure I could handle all their "cons" including the escape artist tendencies I might be misinformed but it sounds like something that's extremely hard to train out of them even if you do all the right things. I think the GR size, shedding and stimulation/exercise needs are an easy compromise for what sounds like a great dog for our family.

Plus we have managed to teach our stubborn bulldog some good manners and a number of commands, I figure we are equipped with the patience for anything :laugh:

If anyone can recommend a great breeder in NSW please PM me, we are in no rush happy to wait for the right healthy puppy :)

Thanks again for everyone's help!