small dog/big dog

[Jamieejo85]

Well I just joined tonight and have a question already..hehe. I have had Bella,my five week old chihuahua, for only two days now. We have had Omar, our mastiff rott mix, since he was a puppy. He is very energetic and mostly an outdoor dog although he does sleep inside and stays inside when it is really cold. Well, my question....we have introduced Bella to Omar only through his crate because we didn't want him jumping all over her but we also didn't want to not introduce them because after all they have to share the same house. He just seemed to sniff her and he licked her but when I let him back in tonight he was just running around, acting crazy like he was looking for her. (she was safe upstairs in "her room" which she shares with me .) But I am now worried about them being together. Should I wait until she is better acquainted (sp?hehe) with our house and is bigger or what? We love both of them. She is small, quiet, and gentle, he is huge and energetic. I just don't want him to hurt her. Sorry for rambling, haha. Please, any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Logan]

Gradual, supervised introductions sound especially important in this case! There is such a "huge" (no pun intended) size difference that Omar could injure Bella, even fatally, in just playing with her. I would be very cautious and careful if I were you. Maybe, in time, they will be good friends.

Welcome to Pet Talk!!!

Logan

[Jamieejo85]

Thanks Logan, for your response. I hope it all works out. And I will be getting some pics on here hopefully within a couple weeks. By the way, your animals are soooo adorable!!

[pitc9]

Welcome to Pet Talk!

In time Ormar will learn to "play nice" with Bella.
When I lived at home, we had a Pom/Poodle then we got a GSD mix, and after a lot of supervision during play time the GSD mix learned quickly to play nice with our little one.

Good Luck! I can't wait to see pictures!!

[Pam]

It's nice to meet another person who is mom to a Bella! There is about a 30 lb. difference between my two, and there have been times when they were playing in the back yard that I worried about Ripley just because of Bella's larger size and feared that she might hurt him accidentally. I would keep a careful eye when your two are together and I know you will. I know some shelters won't adopt small dogs out if they are going to homes with a big dog so there is always concern. It's nice to 'meet' you and of course we'd all love to meet them through some pictures!

[Christiansmommy]

My mom (Pam), just posted about her 2 dogs playing...but i wanted to mention..her little mini poodle, Ripley and my Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, are quite a difference in size, Dale (my Swissie), probably outweighs Ripley (her mini poodle), by close to 90 lbs. Ripley tends to be the alpha male with Dale when they play...so i really have no concern that Dale would injure him, but he could, accidentally..so they should always be watched. In time, the little dog could become boss, those little ones can be gutsy , but since she is female, she may remain more submissive, hard to say...but i would watch them very carefully as they adapt to each other...

[anna_66]

You have gotten some great advice so I have nothing to add, just wanted to Welcome you to PT!

[Pam]

I just re-read this thread and am wondering a little about your Bella's age. She is 5 weeks old? I have never heard of getting a dog that young. What is her story?

[Tonya]

I have a pomeranian and two big dogs...If you would have asked me a few months ago, I would have said go for it. I used to let my dogs interact quite a bit.

But just recently, my friend's German Shephard who is very well behaved and sweet kind of tripped over her pomeranian. It wasn't a big deal (she thought), Cozy just yelped and ran off. She was kind of limpy after that, but resumed playing. Well, two days later, she died of internal injuries.

Now, I am very careful. My dogs aren't allowed to even play when Sarah is around. I make them lay down when they visit her. She is 7 months old and 2 lbs. I am hoping that she'll get bigger so that I can let her play with them.

Sarah and Roxy (and alot of spilled dog food!)

[Jamieejo85]

Originally posted by Pam
I just re-read this thread and am wondering a little about your Bella's age. She is 5 weeks old? I have never heard of getting a dog that young. What is her story?

well pam, I have known the lady I bought her from for quite some time. And I have also seen past puppies she has had. Before I got her, she made sure Bella could eat and drink on her own. And she kept her in a bed seperate from her mom to make sure she wasn't scared to sleep alone, so from all of that, she was ready. And she is not shy at all, she plays all the time, she eats and drinks fine. August 1st we are going to the vet to get her shots (she will be 6 weeks) and in the mean time we are using puppy pads. Then I want to teach her to go outside..wish me luck!

[Pam]

Bella sounds like a little sweetheart. We need pictures!!!!!

Tonya that picture is priceless! What a cute pair. That little pom is sooooo tiny!

[stacwase]

Max is close to 100 lbs and the chihuahuas are 2.5 and 3.5 lbs.

Max is surprisingly careful around them. He was actually terrified of them at first! But - I won't let them run around together. If Max saw a squirrel and started chasing after it, he might step on one of the chis. Indoors, if somebody knocked on the door, all 3 dogs would go nuts and somebody would probably end up getting stepped on.