Looking at getting another dog for company for my lab and also well....because I want one and have the time to offer another one love etc.  Anyway, thinking a toy sized dog so my son doesnt get knocked over by a huge goofy pup.lol! Got one bigger dog, do you think its ok to firstly have a teeny one with my lab (he is great with the cats) also he is castrated and has been fine with other male dogs on walks etc. Now the pup I may be looking at is a boy (I would also get him castrated however)-Do you think they could get on together and what is the best way of introducing dogs of this size difference please? They would not be left alone together to begin with-until I knowfor sure they are fine anyway!

I'd say your main issue all along will be the safety of the toy dog. I would never let my toydogs and my larger dogs (lighter than Labradors -adult weight 20-25 kgs) be off lead together or left alone together or allowed to play together, because all it takes is one big playful paw and a small back can be broken. So although they may get on great, when you have big size differences the dogs aren't really all that much company for each other as they can't safely play. A lot will depend on how boisterous your Labrador is and whether he will want to play or not. My mother in law has a Labrador bitch and her I can trust with my little dogs as she is so slow and sedate and would never even dream of running or playing -she only has one pace and that's slow. Years ago I had mainly Golden Retrievers and then bought a Cavalier KCS, and the Cavalier eventually refused to go out for walks if the Goldens came as they so often knocked him over by accident and it hurt and he didn't like it. In the end I bought a second Cavalier and opted for separate walks based on size, which is much the same as I do these days even though the two breeds now are Malinois and Papillons.

I have two entire males and have had no real problems , they have sorted themselves out  just handbags really , imo as your boy is castrated and the new boy will be  you should be alright , but someone else might come along  and advise differently
the elder of mine was 2 and a half and baby was 5 months , they were supervised  but i had no problems  in them being together  , after a week or so  of supervised play they just got on with it and i havent looked back , even to the point of one being used at stud , i was told oh that will change , it didnt  maybe i have just been lucky with a toy breed i think more supervision might be needed , probably no intention of hurting but could be a bit rough in play
good luck with  you new addition

ok thank you-my lab is quite playful with bigger dogs yet seems to be scared of the cats so hopefully he shouldnt be too boistrous. He is however sedate in the house and is quite happy to sleep for the day! walking could be done seperately no issues there. Are garden is pretty small anyhow(hence wanting small dog rather than 2 big) so he doesnt tend to run round it much anyway-hmmmmmm........ My mum had a mini daschund with retrievers and labs, that went ok, guess they are all different!

I've had chinese cresteds living with borzois. I've never separated them and never caged the little ones and they all got on fine. They went out in the garden together all the time, and walked together occasionally too. The only accident ever for the cresteds was when one broke a leg falling off my bed. The big dogs were always very careful around the cresteds (and respectful of little sharp teeth).

Of course this is just my experience, and borzois and labs are very different. Zois don't charge around the house at all and tend to place their feet very carefully. They did occasionally play with the cresteds, but this always involved a zoi rolling around on the floor with the cresteds biting them ;-)

> He is however sedate in the house and is quite happy to sleep for the day!

This can change very quickly once there is a pup around. Before I got my pup my old adult dog would sleep most of the day, once I brought the pup home he got a lot more energetic and once he got used to the pup (he tried to ignore the fact we had him for a few weeks!) they would play very hard, pup was a giant breed so could cope easily with the adult lab-cross rough play.
Another thing is allthough your dog may be gentle around a cat, it doesn't mean he will be the same with small dogs. My Mastiff has the utmost respect for my tiny moggy and is very carefull with her (he knows she has sharp claws and is not afraid to stick them up his nostrills!), but when he meets small dogs out walking he treats them just like any other dog - not the same way he treats our cat.

a medium sized breed would do well with your wee boy - very often breeders will not sell toy puppies to homes with small children because of the risk of the kids dropping them and hurting them.  Miniature poodle, cocker spaniel, tibetan terrier etc etc.

my son is pretty good-he has always been gentle with our animals and has never been allowed to be any other way!!! He isnt even allowed to pick the cats up and is nerver unsupervised with any of the animals. I really like poms, and pom crosses (I know some who disagree on crosses!).

The german spitz will appeal to you then :-) mittel and klein.

well the pup I want to go and see is a pom x chihuhua (sp??) I also like the pom x spitz klein.

Whether males get on well is very often dependent on breed, and Labradors typically ought to be able to get on with their own sex, and as your boy is castrated is unlikely to have sexual aggression.

What you must be careful of is that many small breeds are quite dominant and you wouldn't want your boy bullied by a little napoleon.

As for castration, generally it is not necessary and there are more negatives than positives to having it done for males, so unless there is an overriding reason for having it done (regular unavoidable contact with entire bitches), and certainly not until maturity.

So I woudl find out what the males in yoru potential new breed are like with their own sex.

Most males except for dog dominant breeds

I do not let the spanish and Pom's really mix together at home.  They go out on a lead together because I've got full control, but just one playful glance of a paw could cause injury or even death to such a small dog.  One of my Spanish is awful with the Pom's don't know why because she was brought up with them and never bothered but I cannot trust her anymore.

If you go for a crossbreed puppy you will be less able to predict size or behavioural/temperament characteristics.

I would also be suspicious of anyone deliberately crossing these dogs as they either have no interest or knowledge of the breeds involved, the parents are poor or untypical specimens (else why not breed nice purebred puppies) so your taking a huge gamble on how the pups will turn out, ether the parent stock is healthy and that the breeder is at best misguided and at worst a complete jump on the bandwagon irresponsible money grabber, pandering to a fashion in small crosses.

Most toy breeds have issues such as slipping patellas, bad mouths, etc that may not have official health testing schemes but will be something knowledgeable breeders will try to avoid by mating dogs whose pedigrees they have researched to avoid problems.

I have a pomxchi and a gsd. I was worried to begin with and she would not have been my chosen type but they get on beautifully. The gsd lays down to play with Mia and she accompanies us on all our walkes off lead. I do supervise them and now they regulaly go about their business ignoring each other and play
at other times. Mia pom/chi is in charge the gsd is seen off if he tries to take her food or toys.I never leave them alone and when we go out she is crated he is the other side of the baby gate.
we have been lucky with our pom/chi no health problems showing and has been thoroughly check by our vet when little. Neither in this case did her parents at least visably and she has a great temperament however I do appreciate the comments from people about not deliberately crossing breeds etc. it also depends on where this dog is coming from are your sure its not a puppy farm or similar
This being said I would seriously look at the spitz klien And mittel as suggested saw them at discover dogs and they are lovely

I know many a person that will put min pins with dobes, and not have a problem.  There is a huge size difference there (min pin - 7lbs, dobe 80-90 lbs)  When my springer was around, Casie and Joy would play together, and never have a problem. 

I think people are too afraid of damage that can be done to a toy breed dog.  Im not saying it wouldnt happen, but it doesnt mean that toys should only play with toys, and big dogs with big dogs.  Min pins couldnt care less about dogs their size (unless its another min pin) but would gladly play with a larger dog. 

We used to keep a Bichon Frise with our Afghans, he was the boss dog and was never injured by them.  It depends on the larger dog breed and the toy dog breed.  Certain toys are more fragile than others and certain large dog breeds are more boisterous than others.

We have 2 boys , a smooth collie and a sheltie thats castrated , theyre fine , normally when they argue its over food or girls but IMO its our 2 girls that fight worse than the boys hahaha  bless them, this is just recent though so not sure whats gotten in to them. I know our sheltie is very protective over our rough collie girl , but its the girl sheltie and the girl smooth colllie that are always disagreeing  .

> They did occasionally play with the cresteds, but this always involved a zoi rolling around on the floor with the cresteds biting them ;-) <

That sounds just like my GSD and chihuahua! she rolls on the floor and he jumps all over her, biting her! :-)
My two get walked together both on lead and off and sleep together (in the eve when im in the house with them) but the chihuahua is always crated when they are left alone, it wouldnt take much at all to brake one of his tiny bones, he isnt a small chihuahua by any means, he is quite big for his breed. Being brought up with my GSD the chihuahua suffers from small dog sydrome! he thinks hes the same size as my GSD :-)

yep Kiger, Mia does too! Its amazing how she dodges around the bigger dogs when they are playing and tells them off if they are too bouncy for her.

We have chihuahuas with a great dane puppy our chihuahuas are great at dodging the dane LOL they soon learn but there has to be rules as the dane is a young puppy and has to know not to rough house with the chihuahuas so if there is play going on we will bring the dane out in the garden otherwise she has to not jump around and behave goofy in the house around the chihuahuas we have times allocated for play for both of our breeds so when one is done playing the others have there play time

but the chihuahuas rule the dane and yes they tell her off too!!!!

Im not saying it wouldnt happen, but it doesnt mean that toys should only play with toys, and big dogs with big dogs.  Min pins couldnt care less about dogs their size (unless its another min pin) but would gladly play with a larger dog.

I think it would be very foolish to mix extremes as long as the dogs DID want to play. A couple of years ago there was a person here who had her Chihuahua killed when her larger breed accidentally FELL on it during play. Another one had a smaller dog killed by a boisterous Labrador paw -I could go on, and not just with examples from here. Whether the dogs WANT to play or not isn't really the issue. Of course most want to. It's whether it's safe or not that is the issue. Would you let your child play with an elephant? The size difference can be as big as that.

Marrianne.  Sensible as always.  Also what is being talked about is a toy breed PUPPY.  Far more delicate than a full grown, experienced toy.  A small child and a larger dog could very easily kill it or seriously injure the poor wee thing.  A German Spitz Mittel would be a better size for the domestic situation as far as I can tell from this thread - and still have the cute and fluffy look.  Or what about a rescue chi or pom cross?  There must be a few in rescue.