Unfortunately, many larger dogs perceive Yorkies (and other small dogs) as - literally! - "toys". Or prey.

Many dogs are just big ol' pussy cats: my daughter's 70 lb. pitty appears to be completely tolerant of my 7 lb. Yorkie - who thinks he's Alpha. When Nitro's had enough, he simply stands up and raises his head out of the way.

Except for MY dogs, I'm always wary of other larger dogs.

I'm so sorry for your loss of Sophie. Losing a cherished pet is always difficult; losing one to a mauling is unimaginably heart breaking on so many levels.

Sincerest condolences.

My heart goes out to you as well . Terrible as it all is ... it is a lesson for all of us to be more cautious no matter what .

I'm so sorry for your loss. After hearing this story and the ferret story, I'm going to keep a very vigilant watch over my furbaby when they interact with other pets.

I'm sorry for your loss, but suggesting people start going after retrievers, isn't helpful. I would always be careful with a much smaller dog around TWO big dogs, no matter what the breed. Two dogs can get worked up and fight together. I know what you went through was extreemly painful, and I'm very sorry this happened to you.

I think the OP brings up a good point that retrievers have a strong prey drive, so just because they are mellow around kids doesn't mean they won't attack a small dog. I think in general people are more alert around pit bulls, rotties, german shepards, etc, but assume that retrievers wouldn't hurt a fly.

Please dont hate any breed of dog. Always remember that dogs are wild first, domesticated SECOND. Dogs are opportunists unless they are highly trained (that means even when owner is NOT present). Breeds have certain characteristics inherent to them that as owners, one must be responsible and educate oneself on those characteristics and train accordingly.(Ie. Goldens are very anxious, nervous dogs, they should have an alpha owner who will train them scrupoulously, and they have severe seperation anxiety, and must be socialized to the nth degree to have a calm and confident dog, they have a high energy level which much be dealt with every day to keep their mind busy. Any anxious dog is not to be trusted, and can bite a dog more submissive or smaller than it because it doesnt have the confidence and is trying to establish pack order. Anytime a new dog is introduced to the pack (meeting at the dog park, while on a walk, while friends dogs visit, a new puppy etc.), a trial period of establishing pack order can include attacks, or more dominant dogs attacking more submissive or smaller dogs to establish dominance. ALL dogs think this way. Without a pecking order, dogs are on edge until it is established. Someone has to be the pack leader. In our homes, it should be us.

In the end, nature is nature, and things that happen in the natural laws of a nature, or a pack, or of wild animals, although scary to US, are natural to them. The best we can do is educate ourselves on pack order, enroll in dog training classes and never trust any dog to chose to be domesticated over being wild, including our own, or things like what happened to poor Sophie can, and will, happen. And no one deserves to go through this tragedy.:unlove:

Thank you all for your good thoughts and sharing your stories. When I get up in the morning, i always expect her little tongue to attack me:( I got an overwhelming amount of replies. And I thank every one of you.


But see. These werent bad apples their whole 8 years of life they were just sweet, gentle, well behaved dogs.. I jsut cannot understand what happened? I cant see sophie doing anything to provoke. She knew her boundaries with the dogs. I didnt hear her gorwl. I didnt see anything. Im just confused. And angry.

I have to say, I do feel bad that a friend is going to loose her dogs.

:exclaim:ACTUALLY Goldens are RETRIEVERS and retrieve FOWL with very soft mouths and it is rare for them to kill or even hold anything in their mouth and hurt it. BECAUSE they are such a popular breed, they are being bred by people who dont breed them for correct temperment or confirmation, and we end up with dogs who dont characterize the breed.

:exclaim:ACTUALLY it is Yorkies who have the huge prey drive and were BRED for that tenacity.

THIS was a situation that went horribly wrong, with two Goldens who probably did NOT have a calm mannered alpha owner who trained them at home, they possibly dont have enough exercise and training which is not a good combination.
:scratchheEVEN THEN Goldens do not usually kill or harm other dogs, but with the wrong owner or lack of training...unruly dogs can and will do what we least expect.:cry:

Well said Nancy1999!!

If I saw any breed of dog maul my Thor, I would hate the breed, fair or not. That's HUMAN nature.

k9trainer, had these retrievers been around small dogs before?

Sometimes terrible things happen and we don't know why.

These retrievers have been around MY dogs before. That makes it even more heart breaking:(..Only a few times though.

groomerkiera, Your post makes me kind of Angry.. To say that they didnt have excersize or training when you do not know their owner is wrong. They did. Like somebody posted before.They are wild first, then demestocated. I am glad i am being educated here and I have learned alot from reading everybodies posts. I cant believe that you think goldens attacking is an unusual occurance:confused: Retreivers still have a prey drive even though they are retrieving animals. What makes them get up and go when an animal is shot and they have to go get it. They have to have some sort of drive for that dont they?

while its not fair to discriminate against a certin breed, we all kno we would be a lil nervous of the breed that attacked our babies if that happened.you cant help it,you just would be

:cry: Im just saying that hate or fear doesnt help us. Its healthy for us to be leary but not blame. :angel2: Animals are WILD first, domesticated SECOND, educating oneself about that will help ensure we make all the best choices we can to prevent things from happening, but we CANNOT prevent everything. This was a horrible tragedy. Instead of blaming, she is trying to heal. :love::rbyorkie:

Hating a breed is no different than hating a race of people. Hate is always wrong and in no way conducive to peace or a happy heart:heart to or society:flag42:.

I am sorry. But I hope you do understand where i am coming from. I hate these 2 dogs. And it is wrong for me to hate the breed, But right now, i do. After I deal with this loss. I may feel differently. But right now, I loath this breed. And i hope you can understand that. I know I am not thinking logically right now.

I dont blame you and know I would feel the same way as most people would if they were in your situation