How do I introduce a GSD to a Yorkie?
 

My brother has a German Shepherd that is 5 1/2 months old. My yorkie is 4 months old and she weighs only 3 1/2 lbs while he weighs over 50 lbs. They have the exact same amount of energy even though they are different sizes. We've had them both for about the same amount of time but when my yorkie came to me she was a tiny little puppy the size of my hand and so we did not let them get close to each other for fear the GSD would hurt her and because they were both in the process of getting all their shots.

We have tried to slowly get them acquainted with each other under supervision but letting them sniff each other and be in each others presence but after 5 minutes the GSD wants to play but it would be far too dangerous to allow that. She is terribly afraid of him and will roll onto her back in a submissive position. She is a very shy puppy when it comes to other dogs but she absolutely adores people.

My question is how do I go about getting them use to each other? I don't want her to fear other dogs. My GSD doesn't know his size and he will try to but his mouth over her head and will bite and snap if he gets too excited. Will I always have to keep them apart? I want them to become good friends without anyone getting hurt. Thanks in advance for any advice.

He puts his mouth over her head and bites and snaps? That's a tragedy waiting to happen. I don't think hoping they can become good friends is realistic ..... or safe.

Those are suppose to be two separate sentences. He bites and snaps when he gets excited but he's been trained to understand that biting is not appropriate.

I'm not hoping they will become good friends. I want them to be good friends and if they can't then at least tolerate each other. I would appreciate advice and not opinions. Kicking one dog out because he is too big is not an option. They are our family.

Sounds like he's just playing biting just like our Yorkies do. :) I would just practice with
the two of them around each other, and teaching BOTH dogs boundaries and show them
what they allowed/not allowed to do. It's perfectly capable for a little dog and a big dog
to become great friends. As long as the GSD is not dog aggressive, or aggressive in general,
I think you will be fine. Show your Yorkie that when the GSD is around -- she gets a treat,
so she associates him with good and positive things. When the GSD is doing his
playful biting, gently take him away and say 'gentle' or any other word so he learns
what is acceptable and what is not. Basic training, if not done already, is always
a great step for both dogs to learn sit, stay, down, away, etc, so that if you think
things are getting out of hand, you can give them a command to obey. :)

There are many YT members who have large dogs in the same home as their Yorkies. However, Ladymom has been on YT long enough to read enough tragic stories of Yorkies being killed by their larger family members. It is a risk.

There was a story here not too long ago about one member who came home to a bloody, heartbreaking surprise. Even if you supervise closely, attacks can happen too quickly for you to stop.

The GSD needs professional training one way or the other. I have owned large dogs, and I firmly believe they need highly qualified trainers.

Asking if you will always have to keep them apart is asking for an opinion.

Running those two sentences together substantially changes the whole scenario you presented us with when you asked your question.

If you reread my post, no where did I suggest "kicking one dog out". I just said it was unrealistic to expect them to become "good friends" in answer to your question. That answer was based on your statement that "My GSD doesn't know his size and he will try to but his mouth over her head and will bite and snap if he gets too excited."

I do agree; it is a risk. For sure. But I've always read a few stories of little dogs killing each other while no one was home as well, including 2 Yorkies. I think it works (big dog/little dog combos) more than not work, but of course you're going to read on the internet more about the bad things than the good things, because that's generally why people come to the internet, when there is a problem, so when reading this forum, you will read more problems than good things in general, just because it's a place people seek medical and training advice. I think you have to know your dog well (both little and large) and just be smart about things. If the dogs don't live together 24/7, I wouldn't leave them alone unsupervised. My grandma's large Lab is great with Jackson and he loves her, but because he's only been around her about 8-10 times or so, and never left alone with her, I wouldn't leave them alone unsupervised even though they've always 100% gotten along.

I believe that all dogs, large and small, need good training because, in all honesty, I meet alot more nice well behaved large dogs than small dogs, because their owners know the large dogs usually get blamed, lol. A 100lb GSD that is lunging at the end of its leash barking at other dogs while on a walk is going to get a lot more grief and criticism than a 4lb yorkie doing the same thing, and I think both situations need to be handled the same.

I totally think it's realistic for them to become friends, but you'd have to explain he mouthing and biting a little more. Is it aggressive or playful? That makes a huge difference. Also, my friends Yorkie, Nala, is on her back 90% of the time at the dog park, lol. She loves everybody... it's just what she does. She's just really submissive. But she has a blast at the dog park (we go in small dog section) but she's still always on her back. It's just the way she feels comfortable.

BTW-- this is not directly aimed at you Maximo! I'm just posting this as a general statement for this thread, even though slightly O/T.

Not O/T at all, and Maximo knows you aren't talking about him, lol. ;)

I agree with you on all points in this post. My 2 young, male Yorkies are never left alone together -- not because I think they will attack each other (although anything is possible), rather because they get each other going too fast and jumping off things and crashing into things and wrestling. When no one is here to slow them down, I separate them with xpens. (I have multiple xpens connected to make large play areas).

I would still recommend that any owner of a GSD enroll in advanced training classes, especially if the dog is going to share a home with a tiny Yorkie. If I invested in a good GSD, I would want the dog to have the best training.

Totally agree! :thumbup::thumbup: GSD's need extensive training and socialization, moreso than other breeds, but I think alot of Yorkies would benefit from these classes as well ;) lol. I had a GSD growing up and she only lived to be 4 years old because she attacked a worker than came onto our property unexpected and we didn't lock her up, she had to be put down that day. I was devasted and now knowing what we know about them and dogs in general, she could have been an amazing dog and I still miss her. :(

Jackson is an only dog at our regular house but sometimes we will spend up to 2 nights at my dads home and we leave all 3 of the dogs loose in free roam but they all just sleep when we're not home, LOL. We do have the upstairs gated off because that's where the 2 cats 'live' lol. He used to do the same thing when my moms dog was still alive and lived with us. So we've been lucky, they don't get into things when we're not home. When we ARE home-- a whole 'nother story. :rolleyes:

OMG! That is so sad. I'm so sorry for you.

You have proved you are an excellent trainer with Jackson. I bet you could train a GSD today. For the OP, time is critical and there isn't enough of it at this point to adequately learn to train a GSD at home. Seek out a pro to help make your GSD the best dog he/she can be.

I think that even being friends, accidents can happen. It took quite awhile before Bear (80lbs) was very patient with the Yorkies getting around his face. He would air snap. He is a gentle spirit and that is how he would show his annoyance. He is very tolerant with them, he is just more laid back. But the other day when DH was getting the boys (Baxter and Bear) ready for their walk, Bear was unusually excited and in the process of jumping around came extremely close to crushing one of the girls. Had I not seen and been standing right there to push his hip as he was landing he would have put his weight directly on
Baby's exposed tummy. (She fluctuates between 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 lbs) he would have done serious internal damage or death. DH was there, if I had not been, that would have been considered close supervision. So, we are all on big happy family, that always puts the girls in an xpen when we are not there to closely monitor, that never lets the 'kids' all play together without close supervision.
BTW, Bear jumping is unusual and not allowed in the house...LOL, don't know what came over him, he was being ordered down when it happened.

I absolutely agree that large breeds needs professional training but that goes for small dogs as well. I was at the petstore the other day and two elderly ladies had a chihuahua inside their cart and admitted to the cashier that their chihuahua will bite someone that it doesn't know when the cashier asked if their dog was nice.

When he bites her, its a soft bite that makes me know that he is aware of his bite inhibition but I still don't trust him because to him she is a dog that he can play with and unfortunately he does not know how rough is too rough. He also tends to use his paw to push her which is something that he gets reprimanded for. She barks at him when she knows he is being held back which I think causes the GSD to get more excited. The ironic thing is that when we take him to the dog park, he is afraid of dogs that are larger than him. He is a high-energy breed but my yorkie has a reputation with her vet and everyone else that knows her as being a hyper puppy hard to calm them down since they are both always excited and active. I really don't know how to go about doing this because I'm introducing a big puppy to a little puppy and everything I have read has been about introducing an older dog to a younger dog or vice versa.

He in general is a very good dog and all I want to do is set them both up for success. When we do the "training excercises" they are always 10 minutes or less (because the GSD gets too excited). I always have my bf and brother present with me when we do exercises like this for fear something could go wrong. I think my GSD gets upset when she is in his "room" (where we have his crate) because that is what he has established as his territory. She is crated in the bedroom with me because I had read somewhere online it is best to keep dogs in separate rooms when you first get them. My GSD was the first to join us and a month later I adopted my yorkie. We are moving to a new apartment in a week and a half so they will both be in a completely new environment so will that make any difference in how they acclimate to each other? I'm sure it will be a setback in potty training with my yorkie.

@ Ladymom: When I asked if I would have to keep them separated, I really wasn't asking for an opinion. Copying and pasting a sentence out of context and saying it mandates an opinion makes it look like that but my next sentence in my original post was gratitude for any advice that would be meaningful to my situation. What you had to say only made me feel like there was no hope for having my dogs coexist peacefully...which was why I said kicking one dog out was not an option for me because you said it was an unrealistic expectation.

They do live together and we definitely never leave any of them unsupervised since they are both puppies and like to explore and get their mouths on anything and everything. When we have to leave they are both crated in their own crates for their own safety and my peace of mind. It really is true that large breed dogs get more criticism than a small dog. I've had so many situations when walking my GSD and people back away from him in fear because he is such a large puppy and people have asked me if he bites based on breed stereotypes. We struggled to find an apartment because of the GSD because it is a restricted breed at so many apartments. I blame it on ignorance and poor handling on the owner's part.

I definitely appreciate all the advice and tips.

Nana, you make an important point: serious injury can occur even with non-aggressive behavior. I'm glad your Baby was not hurt.

To the OP: Try visiting the "brothers and sisters" section of this forum and reading some of the threads, then private message some of the owners. They should be willing to offer advice or share their experiences.

Come now, this is too much protest. You asked: Winston Churchill advised keeping an open mind, but not so open that our brains fall out. If you were given the choice of being attacked by Vern Troyer or Mike Tyson, which would you choose? Having personal experience being bitten by many dogs, from GSDs to Shihtzus, I'll go up against the Shihtzu any day.

I agree all dogs of all sizes need training and should be well-behaved, well-socialized. However, even dog-passionate experts like Cesar Millan will tell you that some breeds pose a greater risk to causing greater injury than others.

Apartment owners and management aren't discriminating against certain breeds out of ignorance. They are advised by insurance actuaries who carefully study real statistics. Some people will argue that statistics are skewed by inaccurate reporting. I refer you to my first paragraph.

You cannot be offended by people being afraid of your GSD. My family had a gorgeous 80+ pound Airedale and it's another breed that the average person doesn't run up to and swoon over and beg to pet. Airedales are playful clowns, but they were also bred to be aggressive working dogs. If you are going to properly train a dog, you have to respect the breed and its capabilities.

I'll leave you with one more personal experience: I used to dogsit my neighbor's GSD, who has passed on. This male was highly trained, very mellow, and he had grown up with a toy dog. One day, he was on the porch, off leash, when a woman walked her toy poodle past the house. The GSD shot out to the street and grabbed the poodle in his mouth and shook it until the GSD's owner managed to tear them apart. Luckily, the poodle survived. Things happen. The only solution is unwavering vigilance and taking precautions.

I have both as well
 

As someone who has both GSD and yorkies, they do NOT play together, hangout together or sleep together, they are kept separate. My German Shepherds though well behaved are 1 and 2 years old and still love to play. My male is over 100 pounds if he were to pounce on one of the yorkies, though in play, the results could be devistating. This may not always be the case, I got my first yorkie when my German Shepherd Dreivon was 5 years old. Drevion was my K-9 and very well trained. Your brothers GSD is 5 months and no where near where he should be in his training to be allowed near a tiny dog.

I have one Yorkie and 2 Black russian Terriers - these are large dogs.

On sleeping arrangements : Razzle is crated in our room, and the two blackies have free run of the bedroom.
On awakening: Everyone loves to run over to say hi to Mom be4 my feet truly hit the floor: :) so Razzle stays in his crate and I let the blackies out in the back yard for the morning run. Blackies come back in - Razzle goes out.
Now both Blackies are adult but our female was 7 months old when we got her and Razz at that time was only 5mths old or so.

They were not allowed to "play" together, we did walk them together one dog per owner, until Zoey was obedience trained to heel, sit, stay come etc. Now we walk all dogs I have Magic on left lead and Razzle on right Lead.

All our dogs are taught the STOP command. This means any action is stopped immediately and you freeze stay in place.

They are not allowed to run free together ; just too dangerous too risky for the Razz man - besides which our female has a "high" prey drive, makes it more risky in the heat of the fun that she might flip into a prey drive on Razz man.
The only activity other than walking on lead the three are allowed to do is swim together. and that only if my husband is around too.

Now we do feed all three at the same time in the same room, but when younger the blackies were fed first then Razzle.

Now as adults when we are home, they are allowed to be in the same room together, but almost always supervised. Each of the main rooms in our house that the dogs like to congregate in has a crate or xpen for Razz man. All three just love to be guard dogs !! Barking cessation training is a must for all dogs, but my experience is our Yorkie is the worst barker. We still are working on getting him to stop barking "immediately" when told.

That's it for now must run

Yes, Bear is usually very 'dainty', he will not even push a kitchen chair aside to get to a favorite toy. But, he was not paying attention. Accidents happen, that is why they are called accidents and not 'on purposes' as Judge Judy says. So, even not playing, not being aggressive, not doing anything except 'being', it can happen, it's just a difference in size and weight issue. Not long ago there was a posting on here where an owner sat on her own dog and injured it, wasn't there? She certainly wasn't being aggressive or playing. Just can't ever ever leave them alone together, so when the accident does happen you can handle the aftermath i.e. ER vet, as quickly as possible. JMHO, YMMV.

Yes, you are correct. I don't mean to make light of a serious issue, but I often joke that I pose enough of a danger to my dogs with my own big, fast-moving feet. Constantly have to remind myself to do the "Yorkie Shuffle" to be careful.

As I noted above, I separate my male Yorkies with xpens when they aren't supervised. There is less than a pound difference in their size, and they both are neutered and have great temperaments (not hyper). However, they do like to run fast and play hard. If no one is around to say, "Hey guys, slow down," they would probably end up swinging from the chandeliers and breaking a leg.

I'm so glad you posted Gemy. You are one of the people I thought of to refer the OP to for advice.

In the case I cited of a YT member whose larger dog unexpectedly killed her Yorkie, the prey drive is what many YT members suspected caused the tragedy.

It's important to keep in mind that even the best pets are animals with instincts bred into them. Those instincts and certain traits aren't character flaws or unfair stereotypes conjured up by ignorant people.

So very true. It is a concern always with a large/small mix in your dogs. My breeder/trainer told me we need to train RAzz man from a puppy to always get out of the way. Also door training, not to rush door, to stay back when door is opened or closed. One of her breeding was inadvertently killed when owner closed door on her little puppy. I still try to do the Yorkie shuffle particularly in kitchen where all beasties like to follow me around.

The other thing the poster will need to be aware of - she has a guard breed. Once this GSD matures, dependent on their particular level of guarding instinct, this dog will always protect owner and "her" pack, which includes the Yorkie. If their Yorkie is also protective, and they walk together there may occur situations that the Yorkie either instigates, or contributes to when their two meet strange dogs.

Always stop aggressive behaviour whether it be from Yorkie to large dog or vice versa. Here it is Razzle that aggressively protects his toys, and tries to steal the big dog toys. My trainer said I must correct Razz very firmly for this, even though Magic man is very accepting of this behaviour. Actually Magic couldn't care less, he knows he's the boss:D But it is bad behaviour on Razz's part, and other dogs might not be so placid about it.

Ahhh, Maximo...the 'Yorkie Shuffle'...LOL we do that at our house as well, and when backing up you learn to step lightly and never ever put all your weight down until you know there is nothing underfoot. It truly is a lifestyle change, permanently.

We have 2 German Shepherds 3yrs and 10months and Yorkie Alfie who is coming up for 9 months. The german shepherds are highly trained, the older one tends to ignore Alfie even when he's humping his tail, Alfie is gay, bless him. Alfie plays for hours with the female 10months and they are all fed together. They all know their own bowls and that of the others. They sit with the bowls placed infront of them and do not touch the food until they are told "good, take it". They have learnt to live together, just as cats and dogs can live together. They live as a pack and its so lovely to see them all running together when we are out in the forest.
My hubby is training to be a dog trainer, he is a policeman. Mind you if one strats barking then they all start which can be deafening sometimes.

I had a friend who had a rottweiler and a yorkie..........They were slowly introduced to each other. The rotty btw was a wonderful dog. Not a mean bone in her body. The rotty while "playing" decapitated the yorkie right in front of a room full of adults and children. Im sorry........this is a BAD idea. They are so little and so quick even the best dog will go into prey mode. They cant help it. Its in there psyche.

When I introduced my yorkie to my friend's GSD we let them sniff each other and we make sure they were both ok with the other. They were acting super excited so we let them go, and they started running around, and playing. We had to make sure Luchi (GSD) didnt run over or pounce on Roman (yorkie) or get too rough.
They love each other! Luchi and Roman were both about 2-3 years old at the time. Luchi had never been around a dog Roman's size, but it's like he knew he couldnt play super rough. With a puppy it might be different because part of being a puppy is learning how hard you can play with something.
You should make sure that the GSD isnt too rough with the yorkie and make sure the yorkie isnt super scared. If the yorkie were to snap out of fear, that could cause the GSD to snap back and that would not be good. They didnt have much room to run around as we were in a living room, which I feel helped because Luchi couldnt run and chase Roman...i wouldnt want Luchi to think Roman was prey. They were always in site, so we could monitor what they were doing. So my experiences have gone good, but I would never let them be together unattended. It wouldnt take much for a GSD to hurt a yorkie. I hope the meeting goes well!
Here's a few pictures of Roman and Luchi playing

I also want to add that while little dogs have been hurt and even killed by big dogs, it does not happen that frequently. People can't live in fear that something *might* happen. Yes, it's possible that something bad could happen, but it's not very likely.
I'm VERY over protective of my yorkies, but I love dogs of all sizes. I'm going to own big dogs one day, when I still have my yorkies. I will not let them be together without a knowledgable adult, but I plan on having both at some point. I'm not going to keep myself from owning a wonderful large breed dog just because someone has had an awful experience.

May I ask your source for these statements?

When analyzing statistics to make these statements, you would also have to factor in the frequency or infrequency that 'toy' breeds have contact with certain larger breed dogs.

I don't recall ever seeing a study done on this particular matter, so I cannot give you actual facts. But I work with dogs. I have ever since I was 14 when I started volunteering at a humane shelter. I know many people who own both large and small dogs, and I have not heard a horror story to the extent that some have talked about on here. In fact, I don't recall ever hearing directly from someone that their big dog killed their little dog. Sure, I've heard he said/she said kind of things, but never directly from the source. I've also never seen a dog kill another dog (little or big), but I fully understand that stuff does happen, even if it's not likely. Don't press for facts that you know no one has. All I speak is from my experiences and those of the people I meet. I'm sorry I can't give you percentages. Do you have these number somewhere? Because I'd love to know them.

The first statement I made in this thread I indicated that many YT members own large dogs and Yorkies. I then cautioned the OP that it is a risk, especially for novices.

In this forum alone, I have read enough anecdotal evidence of personal experiences (not second hand stories) to argue against statements that large dogs (especially certain breeds) 'rarely' injure or kill small dogs, or that it is 'unlikely' to happen.

I too have a lot of experience with a wide variety of dog breeds, large and small. As I stated above, we need to remember these are animals with instincts. We can tame these instincts and shape behavior to an extent, but I believe it is unwise to think all dog breeds will live happily together.

I agree we shouldn't live in fear, but we also shouldn't be foolhardy or too idealistic.

Ok, if we're both in agreement that things of this nature could happen, but that people shouldn't live in fear then why have you singled me out? I feel like you're attacking me for sharing my experiences and giving my opinion, when you you are doing just the same. No one has facts regarding this information, so all we have to talk about is experiences and opinions. However, I am willing to argue that more often than not, big dogs and little dogs are able to coexist peacefully. If you do not agree with that, then that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I am also entitled to mine. I do not wish to take up anymore the OP's thread with your personal attacks. If you have anything else to say feel free to message me, although I'm not sure I have anything left to say to you.

GREAT pics! What a beautiful GSD. It makes me miss my Sadie. :(

Jackson loves bigger dogs, and I just take each situation accordingly. The other day I went to a dog park during the day and there was barely anyone there. No dogs in small section, about 3 in big section, all 3 were mellow (1 was a Golden, the other 2 were mixes) so I asked if they were good with little dogs and owners said yes, very gentle, so we opened the gates and let them all play. I wouldn't even say play, they kind of just walked around and sniffed each other, lol.

Jackson loves my aunt's Pit Bull
and they get along great. I trust Max and I trust Jackson.

I also dogwalk a Rottie 5x a week and have begun bringing Jackson with me. The Rottie is only 14 weeks old now and they do great together, Jackson actually teaches the Rottie pup stuff, and encourages him etc.