can yorkies play with big dogs

[Missy's Mommy]

Originally Posted by wd6474

there are two hugh pitbulls across the street. lucky is so scared of them but the owner says his boys are very loving and encourages them to be friends. they have a yorkie in their building who gets along great with his pitbulls but the yorkie is 9 years old and weights about 10 pounds so he's the senior of the neighborhood. compared to my boy who is 4 months and 5.6 pounds.......when lucky is in the backyard the big one comes to the gate and just stares at lucky and sniffs him through the gate. when i take him for his walk and the pitbull comes up to him i can tell hes scared because when the dogs stiffs him lucky is very still. i can almost hear him praying to the puppy god. "lord please dont let him eat me, i want to have an afternoon snack not be one". is it ok for him to be around such big dogs that are not mine.

I'd say NO, I do not think it would be OK.

I took Missy & Max to our local yorkie meet up a few months ago, and there were 2 terrier mixes there that were approx 15-20lbs. The terrier mixes were running around and playing and right away ran after Max, the owner told me "dont worry, they are very nice and are just playing" well in less than 3 minutes of "playing" they started to attack Max. Biting, snarling and fur flying! Luckily I was able to reach into the dog fight and rescue my little Max. Max wasnt hurt but he was very shaken up and tramatized, I swear he had nightmares for days afterwards. It was so scary! Thank God the dogs were smaller, I cant even imagine what would happen if one of the attacking dogs were a pit bull or a large dog, I know I wouldnt even have a chance to save Max.

There is a difference between a large dog your yorkie is raised with and the neighbors large dog who is a stranger. For all you know your yorkie will bark at him too much and out of irritation he will snap at your yorkie. A snap from a big dog can be deadly, don't risk it.

If the neighbor wonders why you wont let him say "my yorkie doesnt play well with big dogs" blame it on your yorkie, but dont let they play just so you look like the nice neighbor.

Those terrier mixes at the dog park looked a little rough to me but because the owner said they were so nice and friendly I didnt want to look like a snob so I put my little Max down to play, I feel so bad for putting him in that situation.

[Bentley'sMom]

I would not let your little one play with bigger dogs unless the bigger dogs are your own and you know their temprament. You just never know what another dog could do. Even if a big dog is gentle, your pup could easily get stepped on and get a broken leg. It is also possible that they will be traumatized for the rest of their life if they have a bad encounter with a big dog. Don't take any chances!

[Missy's Mommy]

Originally Posted by Bentley'sMom

I would not let your little one play with bigger dogs unless the bigger dogs are your own and you know their temprament. You just never know what another dog could do. Even if a big dog is gentle, your pup could easily get stepped on and get a broken leg. It is also possible that they will be traumatized for the rest of their life if they have a bad encounter with a big dog. Don't take any chances!

So true!! Max is tramatized and gets so scared when he sees a stranger dog. I have a really nice dog walking trail near my home and we take daily walks. He used to love meeting new dogs and would wag his tail with excitement when he saw them. Now when he sees stranger dogs he tenses up and barks/growls at them. I am working on his fear with him and hope one day he will trust other dogs again.

[crystalsmom]

I was going to stay out of this but those of us that are careful for good reason are
being told we didn't do research. Well I'll tell you one thing the Insurance Co's did!!!!
Since they do not like to lose money; they did ALOT of research and they came
up with small group of dogs that we have the good sense to be careful of....Some-
one said some of us said "hate" and I beg to differ with you. Hate was not mentioned
on this site once. I can tell Summer had a pit bull she loved very much and maybe
it was a "lover" but I'm sure down deep in her heart she can see what we are
saying. Let's just all love our dogs and train them the best we can.

[azkaty]

Ok..here is one of our Goldens (85 lb Charlie) with Ralphie ( 4.3) lbs. I do not leave them unsupervised, only because I do not want Ralphie to get stepped on.. but Charlie would never hurt anything!When the two Goldens play-- I keep Ralphie away, because its too easy for him to get stepped on as well.

[whispersmom2]

I just finished reading a post on another forum where the Yorkie was killed playing with a large dog. The dog was not a stranger but a playmate..So, I have mixed feelings about this matter..

[pIxieE]

iT so0o fuNnY buTt PiXieE actuaLLy gETs aLoNg better with bigger dogs rather then smaller dogs. My neighbor has a lab and she is like her best friend lol.. whenever she sees a small dog she never stops barking .

[Shanatink]

Originally Posted by Breeze

I have a boxer as well as my yorkie and they play really well together. My boxer knows how to be gentle around Daisy. I am though very careful with my yorkie with other dogs of all sizes that we do not know, better to be safe than sorry.

Your boxer is gorgeous! My boxer, chi , and yorkie love to play together too! Penny(my boxer) is very loving with chloe.

[kindness_001]

We had a pit and a little toy poodle. they played great together, then one day the p[it Puts the poodle in his mouth hurting him and wouldnt let him go. My hubby had to chock him (pit) down so it had to dras a breeath so it would drop the poodle so nooooooooo I wouldnt let my yorkies paly with a pit. The pit might think the yorkie was his toy.

[Breeze]

Your boxer is gorgeous! My boxer, chi , and yorkie love to play together too! Penny(my boxer) is very loving with chloe.

Aww thank you I will tell her you said so. I love the pics of your boxer, just priceless. I think my boxer Breeze is going to look a lot like Penny as their marking are almost identical. Penny is just gorgeous!

Thanks for sharing the pics.

[Flakes]

Thanks Alaska Post #104. Interesting stats.

[Connie]

I had a scare once with Maddie being attacked by a big dog...no, it wasn't a pit, and I can't remember the breed he was, maybe a german shorthair... but he was supposed to be so gentle and never hurt a flea and Maddie and my daughters yorkie had been around him before and never a problem. This particlar time, Maddie was simply standing there looking at the dog when the dog suddenly lunged at her and started to attack. She was wearing a harness and I pulled very hard on her leash to get her away and the other dog's owner was pulling his dog off of her. I have never been so scared and I have to say Maddie was so traumatized. She is very scared of strange dogs now and I will NEVER leave her on the ground with a strange dog around! She plays with dogs she has grown up around, but as far as me thinking she has to be socialized to play with strange dogs, I just will not take that chance on her being injured or killed. Another worry is them being stepped or jumped on by a large dog...they could end up with broken backs or legs. I just don't think it's worth the risk. I also don't care if people think I'm overprotective...I'd rather be that than sorry!

[CookieBear]

My yorkie was killed by the two neighbor golden retrievers. I don't trust ANY big dog unless they both are kind and comfortable with each other. Assimilation might be in order. I wanted to bring my yorkie to a dog park but I simply don't trust other dogs. Yorkies look like bunnies. Hunting dogs are no friend of a yorkie in my opinion. Theres always a exceptions to this for other people...but not for me.