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Originally Posted by Clyde_Dexter  I've found that most large dog breeds do well with little dogs if taught that they are not toys & to be GENTLE. We lived out on 80 acre land for awhile .... we had a border collie that did well with our 12.5 pounds Yorkshire terrier, Clyde. We also did not have fencing AT ALL.
If you're just careful with the little guys I can't imagine you'd have much problems. The one rule I had to remember was to always be aware that there are other animals out there looking at your dogs like dinner.
Like the person above me stated, puppies are definitely going to go through "those stages" were they are clumsy and rambunctious and there will definitely be opportunity during these times for the pup to accidentally plow into one of your smaller guys. If you're definitely set on a puppy I think you could make it work, though.
I've noticed however, that there are certain larger breeds that tend to "swat" more at small dogs. The Boxer in particular. I have nothing against that breed of dog. I <3 Boxer's... and I'm not saying ALL Boxer's do this ... but just in my experience with dogs there are certain breeds that like to try and use their paws more during play. For smaller dogs that means getting stomped on. |
I agree! Jackson does not tend to like bully breeds (and Boxers, etc) for that reason. The swatting, big paws, not gentle or respectful of space (often ramming into things, and people, LOL)... those kind of dogs Jackson is not big on, and he pretty much gets along with everybody. But he will snark at those goofy, paw swatting, clueless kind of dogs, hehe.
Labs are GREAT once they are older. The puppy phase can be hard. Goldens, to me, have always seemed more gentle even as pups. I love both breeds, but Goldens appeal to me more for that reason. Both tend to do very well with little dogs though in my experience. And honestly, sometimes the biggest tend to be most gentle giants (Mastiffs, Danes, etc). I think getting a puppy from a good breeder and raising it with small dogs would work out well, but also an adult who is already tested around small dogs would be fantastic.