I was just wondering if anyone could give any advice on wether a toy breed dog could live along side a larger breed of dog?Does it all depend on the larger dogs temprement or would it be a dissaster waiting to happen?
Any advice would be welcome,thanks.

We have Cavaliers & a very big GSD girl & she's fantastic with them

My friend had a Cavalier with her Great Danes with no problem. There are a lot of GSD people who have Cavaliers as well

Thing is, i was looking to get another dog though not too sure which breed.My hubby has always had GSDs as he is ex RAF but i wanted a smaller breed.I did consider another GSD for a while but now im deciding to be a lil selfish and get a breed that i want.My hubbys relatives have always had Yorkies and the  kids get along great with them.Our big GSD is better with smaller dogs than any other breed,there fore i could even adopt an older puppy/dog.Just a thought.

I have known very many GSd owners who have |Yorkies too. 

A very good freind always had both so sometimes it woudl be a middle aged Yorkie joined by a GSD pup(this situation needs the msot care) and sometimes it was a middle aged GSD when the Yorkie arrived.

LOL get a cavalier they are excellent at training macho big dog only blokes into having cuddles & kisses ;) :D

or A mini wire Dachshund Davy Hall(one of the top GSD handler/breeders)& his wife, Joan, have Minis

I'd say it is a case of just HOW big the size difference is. I've had Cavaliers and Goldens no problem, my friend always had Cavaliers and GSD (and got both breeds made up to obedience champions!) but currently I have a small sized Papillon and there is no way on earth I'd risk him being alone with one of the bigger dogs as he could so easily get hurt by accident. He loves playing with one of my Goldens and one of the Malinois but all it takes is one big paw raised in play and he's hurt so I've had to stop it, even under supervision. Even at dog training club he's been stepped on by accident by bigger dogs. There was a poster here a while ago who had a Chihuahua die when a bigger dog fell on him.

That was one of the things i was thinking about when i was contemplating getting a smaller breed of dog.I am a bit worried about accidents.I know our dogs are quiet and spend more time asleep than awake but you never know.
I have been offered a pommeranian,they are a bit bigger than a yorkie but i know nothing about the breed so i would have to do a bit of research first.Chi's are lovely dogs but no way in a house a busy as ours.hahahaha.Maybe one day when the kids are older and the GSDs have passed over rainbow bridge though i can see us always having a GSD in our lives somewhere.

Well what about a cavalier? It is hard to find pups these days from good breeders with good healthy parents, but they are fanatstic dogs and that size difference should be just fine. :)

I have cockers and a goldie and had a GSD and they all got along great.  I also know someone with a St.Bernard and a cocker, he always has the two breeds together. (not that they can play together - but he always has those two breeds) And whilst out walking I often see dogs of different sizes. The only danger is if they were all young dogs together at the playfighting stage.  But if your other dog/dogs are older it would be ok. They all find their place in the family unit.

I believe there was someone on here, not sure if she is still here but she had a Great dane and a Yorkie, think the Yorkies name was peanut. They looked so cute she e-mailed me a pick...

I had a hybrid (wolf/rott) with boston terriers and he was great with them, sure miss him....

i have a male rottie with a chinese crested bitch,  they are brilliant together, when we first got her, we where very careful about introductions and watched them very carefully for the first few months, just incase my rottie stood or sat on her, but she learnt very quickly how to move out of his way or run under him to keep out of his clumsy feet, my rottie does not realise that he has a body from the neck down, so he can be clumsy, but two years on they are still the best of friends , she is the boss, but it is lovely to see them play, he will lie down to her and she jumps all over him and they both make loads of noise when they are playing , we where camping at a show and they where both mauling each other outside the caravan, and they had gathered quite an audiance watching them playing,and people did coment on how well they got on and how my rottie was gentle with her.
it can be done .
carol

One person I know has 2 Tibetan Mastiffs and a Tibetan Spaniel and they are great together. They all love each other's company. Needless to say, Tibby is the boss :) . They are really my favorite small breed (not counting my Chihuahua) and get along with everybody. They are small enough to go everywhere and not fragile at all.......

Oh i do love Chi's,they are so cute,but i think that would be a bit too much.I want to know i do the right thing before i make the final step,id hate to be in the possition of having to return a dog.I have plenty of time yet and im in no rush.As long as i can be sure that no harm will be done anywhere.Thank you all for your advice,its been an eye opener to say the least.lol

Guiness,

I've had a (large) Yorkie, a Cairn and two GSDs living happily together with no problems.   It all depends on how fragile the little dog is with respect to the larger dogs.  Papillions are fragile dogs from what I've read and the other poster said previously. I love the breed and was considering one to add as my second dog, but decided I'd be too worried about the Pap with my boisterous Cairn.  A small Chihauhau is fragile too - but the ones that I've seen that are of standard size seem pretty robust to me.   Cairns are small dogs - but they are a tough and hardy breed that can easily cope with big dogs.  I am sure it would be the same for most small terriers - after all they were bred to be working dogs.  Cavs are wonderful and I think could easily cope with a large dog.

Years ago I had a friend that bred GSDs and had a large show kennel.  Their totally spoiled house dog was a small Yorkie.    The Yorkie was the "boss" and if he felt that any of the GSDs were out of line he let them know it.  They listened.   Obviously, the GSDs knew that this Yorkie was king of the house - otherwise in "real life" he would have made for a tastey between meal snack.  :-) 

Stacey

guiness, i'd never suggest a Chihuahua anyway. They are too small for big dogs. Two different people i know have a Dogo Argentino and a small Chihuahua (strange combination I know), but I myself would never have the courage for that. That is why I decided that after I lost my Staffy mix (just a couple of months ago :( ), I'll find a companion for my Chi that will not be too big for him. I'm certain now that the other dog is going to be a Tibetan Spaniel and somehere in the future (that has been my dream for a long time now) a Whippet....... but that will happen when I have a house in the country side ;) .
As already suggested, a Cairn Terrier isn't a bad idea either. Perhaps an Australian Terrier, Tibby, slighty larger Boston Terrier, Norwich terrier and so on........

I have an elderly border collie, a whippet under a year old and an 8-month old papillon.  At first the two pups were never left together unsupervised but now they have calmed down a bit I can leave them together whilst I am in the house 'going about my business'.  They are all fine with my cats too.  When we walk them we meet up with other dogs such as weimaraners, labradors, a GSD, golden retriever to name but a few.  My pap is always there in the thick of it and loves it.  I used to watch him like a hawk and scoop him up if the 'biggies' got too close but now he knows how to watch out for them all and avoid getting trampled on.  (I still watch him though and always will!).  Not sure how I would feel about leaving him unsupervised with a GSD though - they are sooooo much bigger.  But my pap really is a big dog in a little dog's body whereas the whippet is a little dog in a bigger dog's body.

I used to have a newfoundland and a really tiny yorkie.  The yorkie was the boss!

I know of several Pappilons that live with elkhounds and Buhunds, and they seem plenty robust enough to cope with them, even with the larger dogs as puppies.

I have a little 10 month old JRT and a 5 month old Rottie x GSD who is enourmous and weighs approx 26k.
Having two boistrous pups of such vast size difference i find does cause its problems.   Its ok when the JRT plays rough with her but if she tries to run and leap on him he does end up hurt.  So I do have to supervise all play indoors, they go in the garden seperatly and although when I go out or to work they are in the same room one is in a crate so they can see and touch each other just not go wild and injure each other.
They do love each other to bits though and hopefully in a year or two they will calm and life will get easier.
I have had in the past a JRT bitch who was 3 when I got the GSD pup but the JRT bitch was very dominant and kept the GSD firmly in his place so I never had these probs.  Think at the moment my current two are both too young and silly to work out a dominant leader.

Bev

After reading all these helpful posts i think i will hold off for a while on getting a smaller dog.It does seem to work if you can dedicate all your time to it which unfortunately i really cant at the minute.Not for a couple of years anyway.I have 2 young children at home as well as older ones and although one is at nursery i have a toddler still at home.All my children have been raised amongst all kinds of animals and do have the uppermost respect for them.We have a time out area for the dogs to go if they dont want to be played with or touched that ALL the children know they are not to go into and it works really well.That way the dogs do get a bit a peace and quiet when they have had enough of lively kids.
Thank you all for all your help and advice,its made me take a step back and rethink.It just wouldnt be fair on a little dog right now but maybe one day in the future.