How do you feel about larger dogs around your little one?

[ShowGirlLola]

The only dog I fully trust Lola with is my aunt's westie. I don't trust my cousin's american eskimos, one is neurotic and the other very friendly but I'm afraid he'd hurt her by accident.

With strange dogs I'll let her sniff some big dogs, if the owner says they're friendly, has a good grip on the dog, and the dog is calm.

[gypsyqueen]

My maltese is best friends with our rottie so much so that she us the boss and will take the rot ties bones pig ears and chew toys we have to scold her the poor rottie will whine.

[CouversMom]

Originally Posted by Britster

I am very leery of pit bulls around my little dog. It's not a breed-ist thing. I don't have a hatred of them, or even a fear really, not with humans anyway. But I don't trust most of them around dogs. Pits have a tendency to have DA (dog aggression) and that's not a knock. It's just... in their genes. The highest regarded pit bull rescues and breeders will advise you NOT to bring a Pit into a dog park, and that aggression between dogs may occur once the dog fully matures. Lots of Pit owners are prepared to crate/rotate. I've seen first hand some Pits that people bring into the dog park, and they can seem great, and it can change in an instant. It's something I will not choose to risk anymore. My aunt's Pit is 12 years old and has always been great with other dogs. The odds of him changing at this point in his life is very low. He's the only Pit I allow Jackson to be around, but he's so seldom around him anyway so it's not a big issue.

I completely agree with this. I have seen this happen on the big dog side of the dog park we visit. We are always on the small dog side, but I've seen pits that I've seen for years suddenly change and act aggressive towards dogs that they have known forever. It's just not worth risking my dogs' lives.

I choose to only visit the small dog park and avoid big dogs that I do not know. It only takes a second for things to go wrong, and it is not worth it.

[CouversMom]

Originally Posted by Britster

Jackson is not a fan of dogs, no matter what size, who are not respectful. He does not do well with most bully breeds.

Couver is the same way! He does not enjoy large breed puppies that try to come into the small dog park. They do not have the respect yet, and whenever we see a large puppy come in, we leave or pick Couver up. He does not like it when dogs are in his face and don't get it when he tells them to buzz off

[AngelFae]

For me it totally depends on the other dog. Blazer is 7.6 # and Buddy is 58#. Blazer plays with his mom and "aunt" next door who are 8# and 5#. He also plays with Yoda, a lab mix of a friend, who weighs 60 something. Of course, Blazer has Buddy looking out for him and if Buddy thinks Yoda is getting to tough he puts him down for a while. I have yet to introduce Blazer to my brother in laws two Britany Spaniels, they're both a little hyper so I'm not sure how that will go over. Really though, I just take each situation one at a time.

[alaskayorkie]

I don't want my dogs playing and roughhousing with big dogs, but I do want them to know how to handle interactions with them. I allow them around big dogs at the dog park regularly for that reason.

I'm always right there to supervise and step in between the dogs if I don't like the way either dog is behaving. If I don't like the way a dog looks or approaches, I don't allow any interaction. I either pick mine up or gently let the other dog know they're not allowed to approach.

I've seen changes in how they behave over the years. Jillie was crazy puppy who wanted to pester dogs of any size. She learned not to do that. She'll say hi, but she doesn't want to romp with them. And she knows not to run away. If she's scared, she'll tuck into a little ball until the dog loses interest.

Eddie doesn't like dogs in his face, and he used to snap at them regularly. He would have fought if I'd have allowed it. But he gradually started snapping less. He just lets them sniff and waits until they leave.

Here's a picture of Eddie today. I was very proud he didn't snap at the dog, but I was ready to intervene if he did or the meeting didn't go well.

[gracielove]

Pit Bulls were once known as gentle dogs. They were loyal dogs that would give their lives to protect home and family. But like many breeds that come to the attention of a certain group of people they have fallen into the hands of irresponsible breeders that have chosen to increase their size and to breed for more aggressive temperaments. That is why we hear so much about the breed being so unreliable. It is truly sad that humans are allowed to destroy a breed of any kind.

We have a family member that has two well bred and well trained Pit Bulls. They have 3 grade school age children in the home. I have no problem with the dogs. They are friendly and well behaved, certainly better behaved than many other more acceptable breeds of dogs I have encountered. But I never take Gracie over there just because she is so much smaller and could easily get stepped on accidentally. Besides, she is not comfortable around bigger dogs so I am not going to deliberately subject her to the situation. Maybe my own memory of a previous dog attack causes me to be over protective.

[Oddsock]

Due to their size we haven't allowed big dogs around Caleb (Pippi is too young, and hasn't had all her injections yet, so it's a no no) If we had good friends or family with large dogs, maybe we'd do an intro, and supervise, but we don't.

We have a large border collie ourselves, we supervise their play and interaction. Ishmael (Border collie) is SO clumsy, the clumsiest dog we've ever had. He's friendly but could hurt the smaller dogs, occidentally or thoughtlessly. When he sees a ball, he thinks of nothing else some times. If Ishmael is lying down, we let the smaller dogs go over to him, or if he's outside, he'll play with Caleb.

That pic is so cute.

[JuliannaB]

Bailey is interested in bigger dogs, but as he gets close then he turns 'Kugo'. Big dog mentality I guess. Anyways, I pick him up now as we get closer, as I am familiar with his stance on this. Having said this, I can't really blame him as he has been bitten a couple of times by other bigger dogs (Spaniel included here - really, any dog IS bigger than he, at 7.5 lbs haha) along our walks. When I see big dogs, I see vet bills, and even worse, Bailey being their play toy. I couldn't forgive myself if anything mortal would happen to him. Bailey shys away from dogs as a rule, unless they are not interested in him. In that case, he likes to take a sniff at their back ends as they are walking away. As a pup I never took Bailey to any socializing classes due to the fact that he was so small and I didn't know what germs/viruses the other dogs were carrying and would feel terrible if he got sick. Having said that, right from the start he took a bigger interest in people... and I'm good with that

[jeane]

I always pick Morgan up when there is a bigger dog// it only takes a second for something to go wrong

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

I don't want my dogs playing and roughhousing with big dogs, but I do want them to know how to handle interactions with them. I allow them around big dogs at the dog park regularly for that reason.

I'm always right there to supervise and step in between the dogs if I don't like the way either dog is behaving. If I don't like the way a dog looks or approaches, I don't allow any interaction. I either pick mine up or gently let the other dog know they're not allowed to approach.

I've seen changes in how they behave over the years. Jillie was crazy puppy who wanted to pester dogs of any size. She learned not to do that. She'll say hi, but she doesn't want to romp with them. And she knows not to run away. If she's scared, she'll tuck into a little ball until the dog loses interest.

Eddie doesn't like dogs in his face, and he used to snap at them regularly. He would have fought if I'd have allowed it. But he gradually started snapping less. He just lets them sniff and waits until they leave.

Here's a picture of Eddie today. I was very proud he didn't snap at the dog, but I was ready to intervene if he did or the meeting didn't go well.

Great photo! I think there is something unique about Alaska. We all know you are an amazing dog trainer, and I get the impression from your photos of your meetups that many people in your area are better than average.

Where I am, dogs are generally unreliable and out of control. I trust their humans even less. The lack of opportunity to interact safely means my guys are not adequately socialized. We have to make due with living in protective mode.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by gracielove

Pit Bulls were once known as gentle dogs. They were loyal dogs that would give their lives to protect home and family. But like many breeds that come to the attention of a certain group of people they have fallen into the hands of irresponsible breeders that have chosen to increase their size and to breed for more aggressive temperaments. That is why we hear so much about the breed being so unreliable. It is truly sad that humans are allowed to destroy a breed of any kind.

We have a family member that has two well bred and well trained Pit Bulls. They have 3 grade school age children in the home. I have no problem with the dogs. They are friendly and well behaved, certainly better behaved than many other more acceptable breeds of dogs I have encountered. But I never take Gracie over there just because she is so much smaller and could easily get stepped on accidentally. Besides, she is not comfortable around bigger dogs so I am not going to deliberately subject her to the situation. Maybe my own memory of a previous dog attack causes me to be over protective.

Pit Bulls were actually bred for bull baiting originally.

Here is a good article explaining (from a reputable rescue):
Pit Bull Information | Mid-America Bully Breed Rescue

Pit bulls adore children and make great pets for a family with young kids. Due to the selective breeding of the original pit bull to never lash out at a human, even when in pain or from injury, pit bulls can tolerate rough handling or play from children and their outgoing personality has them ready for whatever adventure comes next.

Because the pit bull was originally bred to be the ultimate canine warrior, some level of dog intolerance is to be expected. Not all pit bulls will become dog aggressive, but it is something that owners need to be prepared for. Often times, intolerance to other dogs will develop in the breed as they reach maturity (between 18 months and 4 years). There are many different levels of dog intolerance. Some pit bulls are best as only pets, while others get along with all other dogs. Most pit bulls fall somewhere in between. It is common for dogs of the same sex to be more prone to aggression towards each other than dogs of the opposite sex. Dog aggression is a genetic trait and while it can’t be trained out of the dogs, it can be managed. Knowing what situations your dog will and won’t do well in is the key to responsible ownership.

It is just scary to me. I have seen some Pit Bulls that "grew up" at the dog park. And then all the sudden, one day they decide to latch on to a dog and not let go. You really need a break steak to get them apart if they are with intent to kill. For a small dog though, that one bite could be the end.

The thing is though, like Yorkies, a lot of BYBs got their hands on pits, so often times they're very waterered downed pits, and will be fine with other animals throughout their life. And then again, human aggression started creeping in because of stupid people who want a dog like that.

But I just feel like a lot of TV shows and people have this "It's ALL the way you raise them!" mentality and that can be JUST as scary as the "All pit bulls are evil monsters" view! Just because you have a Pit with DA doesn't make them a 'bad dog'. They just need to be managed well. I would never release Jackson into a fence full of rabbits with no protection. He would probably kill at least one. Why put him through the stress, as well as allowing other animals to be in danger on purpose?

[Myrnamp]

Hello everyone and thank you so much for letting me join this amazing blog. I have a question I just got a new York ie puppy she is about 3 months old, my daughter has a 2 yr old York ie male. See snuggles (male) is been getting very aggressive I know is due to the non neutered but when we introduced these two he smelled her and then he tried to bite her. What do I do? We are getting snuggles neutered but we wanted him to get daisy pregnant before that, but what do we do in the meantime bc even though snuggles don't live with me I am going to be watching him more due to my daughter's schedule. Please help
I love both of them so much and don't want to be mean to snuggles it breaks my heart but I also don't want daisy to get hurt.
TIA

[JasmineNoelle]

We live on a 1 acre fully fenced piece of land where the girls can get plenty of exercise right here without going outside of our yard. I don't take mine to any dog parks and when I take them out with me somewhere I rather them not socialize with very large dogs just simply because of the size difference which could cause a potential danger. I would just rather be safe than sorry later.

[Sunnydayz]

I take Gizmo to our park on our street right at the beach every day, and during the day they are all leashed, but I have yet to meet a mean dog there. There are dogs of all sizes and they all gt along well. 3 evenings a week we all meetup down there at sunset and let them all off leash, all sizes and they have a blast just running and playing till their pooped. One of Gizmos best friends is a giant schnauzer who is huge, named Charlie, he's a total gentle giant and lays on his side and all the little dogs (majority at the meetup have small breeds, with the exception on a couple large dogs) use Charlie like a jungle gym. I watch and follow Gizmo everywhere he goes though, but he's so much faster zooming around ten all the other dogs that might be bigger. The dogs at our evening romps are all pretty bulletproof when it comes to being friendly :-) Gizmos girlfriend Lilly is actually a German Shepard that lives 3 town homes down from us. I know all the ogs that come to our evening meet ups though and have been around them for a long time as they are all my neighbors. With strangers during our walks during the day, I always ask their dogs temperament and am very cautious when letting him greet them, if I don't like the way a dog is acting I will not let Gizmo near it. I don't judge a dog by its breed, but rather by its personality, and its owners. If I feel the east bit uncomfortable, I keep him away.

One weird thing is, I have never even seen a pit bull down at our beach here, although I have to say I would be Leary, but I'm also Leary of Chihuahua’s :-) I've seen more aggressive smaller dogs then larger dogs in my life though. I actually owned a pit once and it was the biggest baby ever lol.