I was wondering if people that own large breeds and small breeds together would be able to give me some advice...My husband and I have recently changed our plan of getting a second golden retriever and are looking into getting a smaller breed. I have always liked the idea of having a breed like a Bichon or Maltese...but would they be too small to have with a two year old gr? she is very playful, and the most dog friendly dog I have ever had the pleasure to own...I know she would get on with any dog we brought home, but in terms of just sheer size difference...would it be wise? I would always be there to supervise play, but obviously no matter how much you are watching them accidents can happen. Do dogs just 'know' that they have to adjust their play for different sized dogs? would they even be able to play together properly? I must admit, when out on walks she tends to have most fun with dogs her size and just says hello to the smaller breeds...I really want my gr to have a great companion in a future dog so would love to hear from anyone that owns small dogs and large dogs together.  I am still very much new to this idea of getting a smaller dog and am still looking at different breeds so any advice on breeds would be appreciated aswell.

many thanks

Shannon

Hi Shannon
This has been discussed a few times in the past and you may get more views if you do a search as well.

I have Goldens, Malinois, two large crossbreeds, and also a Cavalier and a Papillon. I keep my little dogs totally separate from my big ones.  They're usually okay to mix under strict supervision, if the big dog is calm -for instance when my Malinois bitch is in season she does stay in the same part of the house as the Cavalier and the Papillon, but she does NOT play with them and we NEVER leave them unsupervised. I'd never consider leaving them unsupervised or taking them for a walk together. The Papillon gets stepped on by accident sometimes even under supervision. In fact it even happens at training club, other people's big dogs don't notice him and step on him. Bit easier with the Cavalier who is bigger, but again it's far better with a calm dog who doesn't want to actually play. My youngest Golden and my youngest Mali both want to PLAY with the little dogs and therefore they cannot meet unless the big dog is on a lead. Even just a big paw raised in play causes problems.

I used to keep my Cavaliers and my Goldens together and basically it was fine, but I did crate the Cavaliers when upsupervised. However the Cavaliers stopped wanting to go for walks with the Goldens as the young ones would so easily knock them over in play.

My oldest Golden took against my present  Cavalier many years ago and has actually picked him up by the neck and shook him, he was lucky to survive -but that is an exception.

So if your Golden is anything like mine in how lively/playful they are, I'd say go for a slightly bigger breed -or keep them apart when not supervised and don't walk them together. I even have my garden divided into 2 totally separate secure sections.

I don't know anything about Bichons or Maltese I'm afraid but thought I'd share my personal experiences. I've always had borzois and border collies, some years ago my mother passed away and left me her chinese cresteds - 2 hairless and a powderpuff. They got on great with the borzois, they were undeniably in charge and would often stand on the arms of the chairs to take a nip at the borzois if they thought they deserved it. They would also play with them and the borzois seemed to know they had to be gentle and never ever stood on them. My borzois hunt and will catch and eat rabbits and the occasional hare outside but never viewed the cresteds as prey. When I got my current two borzois as 6 week old pups (5 years ago now) one of the cresteds was still alive, even in her advanced age and with a heart condition the pups never harrassed her, they went near her bed once and were nipped and that was pretty much that. Of course I always watched them and was ready to intervene but never had to. The only problem I would say is the exercise requirements of big and small breeds. When the cresteds got older they really had to be carried a lot of the way on our walks, I made a dog holdall for the last one and she seemed quite happy in that. HTH Jane

I have a 13month JRT and an enormous 8 month old Rottie x GSD.  The size difference is a problem and does cause extra work but I love them to bits.
I can never leave them unsupervised, I never let them out in the garden together, I never walk them together and I supervise all play.
A big one jumping playfully on a littly can cause very serious damage.  I had a cavalier King Charles that suffered permanent spine damage because out on a walk a friendly lab come up to say hello and put its paw and weight accross her back.
Do think carefully.  It can work but while they are young and playful it is as i say very hard work.

I grew up with two Afghans and a bichon, there was never any problems, I think the sturdy toy breeds such as the bichon would be fine :)

this is something I have thought about too, my gsd wants to play with most dogs but small ones get trapped between his toes.small ones tend to keep him in his place and he is respectful but it would only take one misplaced paw with the full weight of him on it and medium sized and large dogs playing would completely wreck everything in the house and garden so I have decided to keep him as an "only" dog for now, but if your dog is calmer and gentler than mine you wont have these concerns.

Hi there

I have a female siberian husky, a male rotty and a shitzu.

What a combination lol

My husky and shitzu are females and the rotty a male, they all get on great.

The rotty is of old age, he was my boyfriends dog and i have had the pleasure

of knowing him for 7 yrs

My shitzu is boss of the other two big dogs, and often i find her asleep in there beds

and them on floor next to her .

Goodluck!

Alley x

I think it also depends on the personality of the dog.  :)  I have 1 Boxer that (supervised) would roam the house with my pet rabbit, turtle and has taken my lizard for rides on his back...he's extremely gentle with every animal he meets.  My others are a bit boisterous so we only do this when they're outside.  I have a Basset, while a larger breed technically, who's a bit short.  ;)  He runs under their bellies, etc. when playing and, knock wood, has never been stepped on.

I'd go with the others and if you think you're dog will get along...go for it...just make sure to supervise.  :)

I only have one dog so i wont be of much help :rolleyes:
But i would of thought it depends entirely on the dog!

My dog would never tolerate anything smaller than him (He is a golden retriever - a big one)

Exept any kind of spaniel. Cocker, ckc, springer, clumber, all of them... He loves spaniels.

I've got small, medium & large(Cavaliers, BC & a very big GSD girl)never had any problems & my GSD bitch is really gentle with the Cavaliers-lots of show GSD people I know also have Cavaliers as pets & one has Mini dachshunds

Bichons & Maltese both have a very high maintenance coats if they are to look right so I doubt they would fit in with my dogs as they they would never have much coat(lol the cavaliers are fervent gardeners  & diggers & like nothing better than to shase my BC around the garden)

I have pugs and a bullmastiff,all have free unsupervised roam of the house.My big guy is a gentle lamb with the little guys and yet when he gets to play with the big dogs he seems to let loose and is alot rougher

Have you seen your GR play with little dogs before?How was he? My BM was here first and if i didnt think i could trust him with the little guys i would never have got them,they are companions for eachother,having dogs and then splitting them up defies the purpose of having more than one dog IMHO Mine would be shattered if i split them up :(

Thank you all for your experiences, it is very helpful. I know for sure that my GR would get along with another dog of any kind, and she IS very playful with other dogs but I feel this is mainly as she only see's them whilst on walks, if she is lucky (we live in the middle of nowhere) so she doesnt get as much playtime as I (and she) would like, so she is so excited when we do meet up with other dogs that she bounds around them like a puppy. BUT saying that she is extremely mellow around the house, even as a puppy she was never very boistrous, we never had the hyper puppy thing with her, so Im sure as an adult she wont be jumping around the place all of a sudden. And the excitement that she gets around other dogs at the moment wouldnt really be the same if there is another dog around her constantly. If it is necessary to seperate small breeds and large breeds then it wont really work for us, it will kind of defeat the object!

Thank you again for all your replies on this!

sara - When she does see dogs on walks, she plays the most with dogs her size, but I think that is because the smaller dogs dont tend to want to play with her...so she will approach and seems to quickly sense if the dog wants to play or not, and quickly moves on if they dont. She has a couple of times played with smaller dogs if they are playful and all has seemed well...

I know a few people with big and little dog combinations that work out just fine without seperation.  My own big dogs are very gentle with my elderly cat :D

shannon,if my dog was the way you describe yours I would happily get another dog, but mine sounds a bit friskier than yours, what do you fancy getting?

Hi Shannon,

I've had GSDs, Cairns and a (large) Yorkie all at the same time.   I never separated them, they were free in the house and garden, and there were never any problems. 

If you GR is very boisterous then I would not get another dog that was fragile or light-boned, for example, a Papillion.   There are lots of tough little dogs, like my Cairns, that happily mix with dogs of any size.  

When you have a puppy, even of the same breed, you need to watch them around adults.