Big And Little Dog

[Ashling]

Beautiful photos.

My boy is a very fit 40kg so really want to be careful about any accidental injuries to a little one. I think any second dog will be the boss of him since he's so gentle and easy going and plays to the level of the other one.

Love Havanese… so many dogs to choose from, it's so hard.

[MonElite]

I wouldn't be leaving them together ever.

My friend lost two whippets that she had with an Anatolian.

Both died right in front of her when dog were playing. The Anatolian landed on the whippet and broke its neck. The same thing happened to the second whippet.

[Ashling]

That is horrible and sad. Thank you for that perspective.

I think maybe an English Cocker but not sure I feel super comfortable about it yet.

Thanks everyone.

[denali]

Beautiful photos Denali. Your dogs have such great personalities.

Thank you Grumpette!

I wouldn't be leaving them together ever.

My friend lost two whippets that she had with an Anatolian.

Both died right in front of her when dog were playing. The Anatolian landed on the whippet and broke its neck. The same thing happened to the second whippet.

That is terrible.

That is horrible and sad. Thank you for that perspective.

I think maybe an English Cocker but not sure I feel super comfortable about it yet.

Thanks everyone.

Cockers are lovely dogs, and the ones i know defnitely hold their own with the big dogs :)

[sas]

I have a Dane (80 kilos) and a Lab x (16 kilos), they don't play together because the Dane couldn't figure out how not to pommel the Lab x when he really got into play.

If you want play mates then getting size appropriate dogs is fair and safer.

[Leah82]

Yep cockers hold their own pretty well, they are solid dogs for their size.

Plus having another dog with a gun dog temperament will be a good match.

My cocker is the bigger of our two by only a few kgs but he still adjusts his play to take into account her size, weight and penchant for bouncing around

[Ashling]

Would you feel safe with leaving a English Cocker alone with a large Labrador, once the cocker is grown that is?

[Leah82]

Would you feel safe with leaving a English Cocker alone with a large Labrador, once the cocker is grown that is?

I wouldn't have a problem with it as long as I was comfortable with the labs temperament to not persist in playing if the small dog was uncomfortable.

As long as they both speak dog there shouldn't be any problems.

I know a couple of cockers that have German Shepherds as siblings and I work in with a rescue that specialised in Cockers and Shar Pei and the breeds interact quite well

[Ashling]

Thanks!

My lab is very good with other dogs and reading dog. He doesn't really engage more than a hello unless the other dog does so it sounds like it might work well.

I've started looking into the English and Welsh Springers too, a bit bigger… I agree, another gun dog is probably the way to go. Even if I do decide on another Lab or a Golden she most likely will be much smaller than my big boy.

[denali]

Thanks!

My lab is very good with other dogs and reading dog. He doesn't really engage more than a hello unless the other dog does so it sounds like it might work well.

I've started looking into the English and Welsh Springers too, a bit bigger… I agree, another gun dog is probably the way to go. Even if I do decide on another Lab or a Golden she most likely will be much smaller than my big boy.

I love welshies!

They would be a good size mathc for the labs too.

but i personally wouldnt have an issue with a grown cocker and lab together anyways.

[Leah82]

Thanks!

My lab is very good with other dogs and reading dog. He doesn't really engage more than a hello unless the other dog does so it sounds like it might work well.

I've started looking into the English and Welsh Springers too, a bit bigger… I agree, another gun dog is probably the way to go. Even if I do decide on another Lab or a Golden she most likely will be much smaller than my big boy.

Check out field spaniels as well :)

[Kirislin]

I think it depends on the individual dogs. I have a tiny 4.3kg Italian Greyhound and 2 big 17-18kg whippets who are very gentle with her but I didn't dare leave them unsupervised for probably the first year, although looking back, I could have, the boys have been amazing with her.

When I first brought her home, she was absolutely tiny and the boys seemed to know they had to be gentle with her. This is Tag with Neko.

5F6A9499dppt by kirislin, on Flickr

5F6A9504dppt by kirislin, on Flickr

The chicken on the other hand required alot more supervision! :laugh:

5F6A9936dppt by kirislin, on Flickr

Edited May 21, 2015 by Kirislin

[Ashling]

Adorable!

I think my boy would be good with however small but I really want them to be able to play rough if they wish and to limit the chance of accidental injury so I'll definitely keep that in mind with deciding on a breed.