Getting A Big Dog A Small Dog Friend....

[EllieDog]

We have a beautiful, energetic Lab "puppy". She's very big and strong. Currently sits around the 30kg mark at 11 months old.

She's been trouble since day one ;-)....in the crazy Lab puppy kind of way. She has energy to burn, and I am often left wondering if dogs can have ADHD :-P

She goes for 2 big walks a day, plus she is ssllooooowwwllllyyyy working her way through obedience classes. She gets distracted easily in class, so she may be *cough* repeating *cough* for the second time. They try to assure us that the more boisterous the Lab, the more intelligent. If that is true, I believe we have the Albert Einstein of Labradors.

Our family plan was to get our gorgeous Lab....wait out the crazy Lab puppy days until she was more settled and mature and then add a Miniature Dachshund to the mix, however, more recently we're wondering if our Lab would benefit from another dog friend now, to help her burn some of that crazy energy.

We have playdates with a German Short Haired Pointer, and also a Hungarian Visla. Initially she's extremely submissive to other dogs, but once she has warmed up, they can frolick endlessly together. It really is a joy to watch. It's quite different to the extreme boisterous play she does with us (which normally ends with her launching at my face, or drawing blood or bruising me!)

My question is, would it be more beneficial to introduce another dog now, and if so, would a Miniature Dachshund be hurt by her boisterous play, or is she more likely to calm down with it? Or would we have to resign ourselves to looking at a different breed more in match to our Labs size?

Would be interested in any feedback.

Edited May 22, 2016 by EllieDog

[Steph M]

I think its less about size and more about temperament, I'd be worried about a dachshund's back and joints running free range with a big, active, boisterous dog. I have a retriever who sounds similar, haha.

Regardless of breed, I'd be waiting a while until your lab is more settled and able to show a new pup how to behave rather than join in the mischief haha. :)

Edited May 22, 2016 by Steph M

[EllieDog]

I'd be waiting a while until your lab is more settled and able to show a new pup how to behave rather than join in the mischief haha. :)

I have to admit, that is a concern...that they will join forces and plot against me together!!! hahaha

[Steph M]

Haha don't laugh, it happens! There's a lot of stories here of puppies egging each other on!

[Pjrt]

If you like the Dachshund could you consider a standard instead. They are a much more substantial dog. I'd still have the same concerns as StephM mentioned but a bigger puppy would lessen those concerns a little.

Another houndish / gundoggish breed with a bit more substance that might match well is the PBGV

Edited May 22, 2016 by blinkblink

[EllieDog]

If you like the Dachshund could you consider a standard instead. They are a much more substantial dog. I'd still have the same concerns as StephM mentioned but a bigger puppy would lessen those concerns a little.

I grew up with a Mini Dachie, had him for 16 years, he was my best friend, so they hold a very dear place in my heart. From my experience, I would be more concerned about back issues with a standard then a mini. Perhaps we do just need to wait the years out until the Lab is calmer....and maybe invest in some sort of Lab sized hamster wheel......

[ish]

I've got a 6 month old GSD puppy and a 9 month old corgi pup - they're good friends, and both being working breeds are quite similar in energy/play styles. However the GSD pup just pummels the corgi into the ground with her roughness and size advantage (and she's not a big GSD) - when they play together I put the GSD pup on a long line so I can have some control over the intensity. There's no way they could be in the backyard together unsupervised. I also find that the GSD values her little friend so highly that she loses all focus around her, which hinders her training and again makes it difficult to umpire their play. I wouldn't trade either of them but just wanted to share my experience

Previously I've had a 3 month old corgi with an 8 week old GSD which worked perfectly, and also young adult corgis with any of my older GSDs has worked really well too

[Pjrt]

If you like the Dachshund could you consider a standard instead. They are a much more substantial dog. I'd still have the same concerns as StephM mentioned but a bigger puppy would lessen those concerns a little.

I grew up with a Mini Dachie, had him for 16 years, he was my best friend, so they hold a very dear place in my heart. From my experience, I would be more concerned about back issues with a standard then a mini. Perhaps we do just need to wait the years out until the Lab is calmer....and maybe invest in some sort of Lab sized hamster wheel......

I must admit I love minis too. More so than stds! I can understand your affection for the mini. My fave is the mini long nut if I ever got a mini myself I'd be torn over a wire too. I love love love wire coat anything!

[EllieDog]

I've got a 6 month old GSD puppy and a 9 month old corgi pup - they're good friends, and both being working breeds are quite similar in energy/play styles. However the GSD pup just pummels the corgi into the ground with her roughness and size advantage (and she's not a big GSD) - when they play together I put the GSD pup on a long line so I can have some control over the intensity. There's no way they could be in the backyard together unsupervised. I also find that the GSD values her little friend so highly that she loses all focus around her, which hinders her training and again makes it difficult to umpire their play. I wouldn't trade either of them but just wanted to share my experience

Previously I've had a 3 month old corgi with an 8 week old GSD which worked perfectly, and also young adult corgis with any of my older GSDs has worked really well too

Thanks ish, really appreciate you sharing. I find it interesting that my Lab is quite rough with her play with me, but a lot more subdued play with another dog. That said, she's only ever played with other dogs around her size, so I've yet to see how she would behave with a smaller dog. We do have a rabbit though, that she seems completely unfazed by.

They would however be left in the back yard together, so I would need to be very confident she wouldn't be too rough. Although, a better behaved dog could be left inside while Lab was out (she WANTS to be an outside dog, much to my disappointment and continued training to get her to sit with me while I watch TV). In hindsight, perhaps we should have gotten two puppies together, but she was a very high maintenance puppy. I had to learn the hard way that rough-housing with a miniature dachshund has very different outcomes to rough-housing with a 30kg Lab.......

Edited May 22, 2016 by EllieDog

[EllieDog]

I must admit I love minis too. More so than stds! I can understand your affection for the mini. My fave is the mini long nut if I ever got a mini myself I'd be torn over a wire too. I love love love wire coat anything!

They have a personality that just makes me laugh constantly. Big dog trapped in a teeny tiny dog body haha! My mini was a tan smooth hair, but I really really long for a mini long cream....could you imagine that paired with a my yellow Lab, with a little friend who looks like he just got shrunk in the dryer! From what I research though, they are few and far between! Wires are just gorgeous too!

[OSoSwift]

I have a large rescue and Whippets. They happened to collide by accident playing. Needless to say my 15kg Whippet was down paddling and I thought he had broken his back. He hadn't thankfully but was very sore and bruised and extremely lucky. 4 weeks out he is still not 100%.

My BRD is not overly boisterous and we are careful.

I wouldn't risk it with a Lab as you have described.

[Rascalmyshadow]

I don't think it's a good combination, I think there would be too much risk for the daschund ending up with a back injury.

If you wod like a small breed I would consider a Jack Russell, very tough, active and agile.

[*Avanti*]

It might be a good idea to get a smaller dog that was already used to a bigger companion. I've been looking at some rescue adoption websites lately and come across some that require the company of another dog. If you are willing to be patient the right one might come along. Also I'm not sure with size differences but I often have heard getting a dog of the opposite gender is more likely to work, so a male might be best. I'm not sure if that matters though.

Edited May 22, 2016 by LabTested

[*kirty*]

I don't know. I have three big dogs (all 25kg approx) and three tiny dogs (2.5-6kg) and they all live together. However, the big dogs rough house with each other and the small dogs generally play separately. The big dogs are very gentle with the small dogs but they are not super boisterous anyway. I would be concerned about a goofball lab with a tiny puppy.

[tdierikx]

Patience will be the key...

Your Lab is still a puppy herself... I'd wait at least another 12 months before adding a puppy to the family - especially a smaller breed.

My Lab girl was a shocker when she was young - her name is Trouble for a reason - but she started to grow a brain at around 2 years of age. I wouldn't have trusted her with a small breed pup before then... or any pup for that matter... *grin*

For what it's worth, Trouble ended up helping me foster and raise around 200 rescue puppies over the years. As naughty as she was as a pup, she has turned out to be damned near bombproof as an adult and an awesome dog all around.

In the meantime, work on her obedience training and continue with controlled exposure to playing with other dogs. My Lab was expelled from group obedience training, so don't despair that yours is taking a bit of time to get the drift... it WILL happen, OK? Maybe limit the amount of rough play YOU have with her, as she needs to learn that it's not OK to bite, scratch, or jump all over people... you want her to learn control over her own boisterousness.

T.

[persephone]

having TWO pups - one of them needing ALL your attention and work doesn't sound much fun to me ;)

many labs do not do adult until around 2 yrs of age ...and I would never put a small puppy with a boisterous lab - small things break too easily

[Willem]

our 17 kg BC has 2 lab friends (both over 40 kg) and they all like to play pretty rough - however, if it is too much for her she can outrun / outmanoeuvre the labs easily - a dachshound won't be able to do this and getting constantly hit by a 35 kg and heavier meatball could do a lot of damage to his spine. If you want a smaller dog as a companion for a lab, have a look at BCs, Kelpies and the like as these breeds are used to deal with bigger sized animals.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Willem

[Kavik]

I think some small breeds would cope better than others with a boisterous large breed. Someone has already mentioned Corgis, and from what I have seen with friends they do work well alongside large breeds. A Dachshund I would worry about though, not as robust and their back would be my concern.

[EllieDog]

Thank you for all your feedback, it is truly appreciated. I think it's settled in my mind that we need to wait a couple of years until she matures a bit more (and calms down) before we add a smaller dog into the mix. I would be devastated if she hurt another smaller dog. I have no doubt that she would never do it intentionally, she truly just does not realise her own size or strength and she just wants to play, like any puppy would, but whilst she is still so boisterous and unaware of her size I agree, it would be a bad idea to get a smaller dog. We are best to just continue play dates with her bigger dog friends until she grows up a bit.

Patience will be the key...

Your Lab is still a puppy herself... I'd wait at least another 12 months before adding a puppy to the family - especially a smaller breed.

My Lab girl was a shocker when she was young - her name is Trouble for a reason - but she started to grow a brain at around 2 years of age. I wouldn't have trusted her with a small breed pup before then... or any pup for that matter... *grin*

For what it's worth, Trouble ended up helping me foster and raise around 200 rescue puppies over the years. As naughty as she was as a pup, she has turned out to be damned near bombproof as an adult and an awesome dog all around.

In the meantime, work on her obedience training and continue with controlled exposure to playing with other dogs. My Lab was expelled from group obedience training, so don't despair that yours is taking a bit of time to get the drift... it WILL happen, OK? Maybe limit the amount of rough play YOU have with her, as she needs to learn that it's not OK to bite, scratch, or jump all over people... you want her to learn control over her own boisterousness.

T.

You give me hope!! I've heard similar from others that 2 could be the age she starts to calm (I wonder how many lawnmowers she can eat in a 2 year period?....Three and counting so far!)

She goes to obedience weekly, and we work with her daily. You do make me laugh and give me hope at the same time. She was the only dog that ended up in the "crate of shame" at puppy school (for dogs who needed some time to calm down), and we're currently repeating the second obedience level again. My husband always jokes that she acts like a complete ratbag the whole time they are there, but then heels like an angel on the way back to the car. We walk past a German Shepard Club training on the way through, and I can see the GSD judging us as we get dragged through hahaha.

I have stopped the rough play with her some time ago. I realised too late that I gave her the signal that it was ok when she was little......and then she got big.....it's going to take a lot longer for her to realise now that it's not cool to launch herself at my face! Funnily enough, she's not as food motivated as we were expecting, so keeping her attention can be a struggle.

We WILL get there, and I know she'll be the most gorgeous dog when it clicks....how I long for her to sit still for more than 2 milliseconds so I can snuggle with her!!

[Redsonic]

I had to learn the hard way that rough-housing with a miniature dachshund has very different outcomes to rough-housing with a 30kg Lab.......

Re the rough play with you, can I suggest that you divert her play towards interactive toys? Tug, fetch, hide and seek etc.

She may mouth or scratch the wrong person one day (thin skin, immune compromised or not a dog lover), draw blood and be in trouble.