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Post by littleweasels on Sept 23, 2010 21:48:55 GMT -5
I want to adopt a dog but it needs to be quiet, small, not need too much exercise and good around small animals and cats (I have rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and ferrets). Does anyone know of a breed that is like that?
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Post by Heather on Sept 23, 2010 22:44:22 GMT -5
If you want to adopt, start looking in the shelters. Small dogs are usually snapped up quickly and many shelters have waiting lists. The easiest thing to do is to start checking out the shelters. Any dog can be a good citizen, with training and care. There are certain breeds that one might avoid because they don't fit your list. Talk to the people at the shelter, be entirely honest with them. Tell them what you've told us. Then listen to them. If you don't go in with a preconceived idea then you will be open to suggestions. I have a wolfhound, a high prey dog but he lives comfortably with my furkids, but I trained him from a pup. I have a friend who hunts with her ferrets and a pair of Jack Russels (most JR's are so small animal aggressive that one wouldn't dream of allowing them to hunt with ferrets, but hers do) Personally, I wouldn't go in with a breed in mind, go in with an idea of what you want, the breed isn't necessarily important. There are a number of toy breeds that might fit your bill but many of the toy breeds have terrier in them....remember these are vermin hunters. ciao
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Post by littleweasels on Sept 23, 2010 23:15:30 GMT -5
How easy is it to train a terrier not to want to kill small animals? My mom knows someone who has a puppy, its some kind of terrier, that she needs to get rid of but my mom does not want to get it because its a terrier. It mostly needs to get along with ferrets. My rabbits and guinea pigs are in my room and it would not be able to get in my hamsters or rats cage. It will only be able to reach the ferrets cage and the ferrets need to be able to get out of their cage for 3 or more hours a day.
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Post by Heather on Sept 23, 2010 23:28:36 GMT -5
You have to remember what they were bred to do, hunt vermin. A lot of terriers are aggressive barkers (my complaint with them). It depends how much work you want to put into them and what their background is. I've seen some who are just crazy...hunters to absolute mania. I've heard of people who've managed to train them to not hunt what lives in the house, what is yours. I've also heard of absolute disasters too. Do you know how to test a puppy for compliance? There are things that you look for when picking a puppy, it's very difficult to turn your back and go, no this dog isn't for me. My parents couldn't do it despite me telling them that this puppy was going to be problems. They did win with her in the end but only after taking her to a trainer and learning what they needed to do. She wasn't really aggressive....she was dominant and needed to always know her place. My parents are a bit of a push over....she wasn't the dog that I would have chosen for them but they weren't ready to give up on her after they discovered that cute, snarky attitude that this little girl had as a puppy didn't make for a good dog. They never did stop her from hunting everything that moved, she killed so fast....mice, rats, squirrels, kittens. A quick shake of her head, lightning fast and it was all over . She never ate what she killed, she would just toss it aside. I certainly wouldn't want to tell you one way or another. ciao
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Post by littleweasels on Sept 24, 2010 11:58:36 GMT -5
I have no idea how to test a puppy for compliance. I will probably just go to a shelter. I dont have the time or the patience to train a puppy and I dont want to risk the puppy killing any of my pets.
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Post by Heather on Sept 24, 2010 13:27:54 GMT -5
If you don't have time to train a puppy, do you honestly have time to train an older dog?? It's just a thought. ciao
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Post by littleweasels on Sept 24, 2010 15:12:37 GMT -5
I have time for some training just not a ton of training.
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Post by Heather on Sept 24, 2010 15:27:22 GMT -5
Ahhh There may be considerable training to teach any dog not to chase the ferrets and your other small critters. It has to be one of the most difficult things to teach dogs. It's something that comes completely natural to them...unfortunately for us that have small critters ciao
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Post by sherrylynne on Sept 24, 2010 15:45:08 GMT -5
Personally, now that I have ferrets, as much as I loved my dogs- I'd never have another. I'll simply not take that chance, since I know how easy it is to turn your back for a few moments. And that's all thats needed sometimes.
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Post by Heather on Sept 24, 2010 16:00:43 GMT -5
There was someone on board that lost their ferret to their pet dog in the spring I think it was. It happens so fast, and truthfully the dog doesn't understand why his toy doesn't get up and play again. I rescued a ferret last year at a pet fair that we were at. I never allow my furbabies to wander around at a mixed pet fair on the ground on their leashes but there were a lot of ferrants there who were allowing their furbabies to wander around. I had an empty space next to my booth and there were several ferrets investigating each other and playing in the grass on their leashes. Dogs would dash up to them and sniff and for the most part everything was really friendly. One lady was allowing her ferret to dash up and sniff noses with a lot of the small dogs, a couple of us warned her. There was a 4 month old JRT who was being cute and adorable, doing all the things that cute puppies do. So both owners, ferret and dog decided to let the whole sniff noses thing. I, threw Napoleon (who was in my arms at the time) to a lady who I was discussing doing a commission for and just grabbed. The pup had gone from sniff to shake in a fraction of a second. I saved the little one from getting it's back snapped but not from the gash along her ribs. If I hadn't been watching, it would have been over in the length of time it takes to draw a breath. If that pup had been a bit older, there would have been nothing but the tears to deal with. If I hadn't been that close. The people on the ends of the leashes didn't react fast enough. I only reacted because I had watched a dog kill squirrels in the exact same manner. I only caught it because that little tail stopped wagging and suddenly went totally still and I had seen that same intense hunt look come over my own ferrets. ciao
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Post by littleweasels on Sept 24, 2010 16:05:05 GMT -5
I found a rescue and I will ask if they have any dogs that will be good with other animals but maybe I should just get another cat.
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Post by goingpostal on Sept 26, 2010 17:45:16 GMT -5
I want to adopt a dog but it needs to be quiet, small, not need too much exercise and good around small animals and cats (I have rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and ferrets). Does anyone know of a breed that is like that? Yeah, the stuffed kind. Most little dogs are very vocal, many are terrier or hunting breeds which are animal aggressive and high energy. I have a cat, ferrets, lizards, mice and dogs, very few of the animals interact, the ferrets have a room to run around and the dogs are put up if they are out, there is no safe way to watch a dog with multiple ferrets running about and dogs are predators, small running critters are prey and you can't train out prey drive in a dog.
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Post by katt on Sept 27, 2010 23:05:16 GMT -5
Our miniature schnauzer is an awesome dog (lives with my parents and siblings) and not super vocal. VERY intelligent, easy to train, and has hair instead of fur so she sheds very little if at all. However, they are bred to hunt rats and hunt rats she does. She has a superman strength nose and sniffs out all of the vermin in the yard...and then trys to dig her way to get them out of their burrows. I would never trust her with a ferret.
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Post by rarnold18 on Sept 27, 2010 23:34:02 GMT -5
Dogs require a lot more attention and training than any other pet IMO... I have three pit mixes and have fostered many great danes for our local rescue and if they are not trained properly and given enough time they can do a huge amount of damamge not just to your property but to other animals and people too. All dogs need exercise for their sanity and health...I say sanity because some of the terrier breeds will go crazy and become VERY destructive without enough exercise and enrichment. I am extremely carefull with my ferrets and dogs, the dogs are outside playing when the ferrets are out of cage, and crappy Kitty is put up in my room (yes, that's his real name, and he's 8 months old and attacks anything that moves, paper, feet, dustballs, matchbox cars...even the dogs when the mood strikes him!) On the rare chance that the dogs are inside and the fuzz are free there is a solid 4 ft barrier so one can't get to another... 2 of my three are 8 years old, and one runs away at warp speed from the ferrets and jumps on the tallest peice of furniture he can get ontop of and the other just doesn't care and walks away. The other is 2 years old and still is very much a puppy, don't trust her at all... All three of my dogs have a very high prey drive and will kill and eat anything that comes into their fenced portion of the yard... not somthing that I would chance...
maybe a really old fat basset hound that only gets up to eat and poo?
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Post by bluecoyote on Sept 28, 2010 20:22:30 GMT -5
i know people in the UK that hunt with ferrets and dogs at the same time (lurchers and terriers) but these dogs and ferrets are raised in this life, not rescued into it. if i had to guess.... i'd say go for one of the small lap dog breeds like a shih tzu type... my half sisters had two.. brother and sister pair they got as pups when we were kids. these two little dogs put up with all kinds of critters. everything from hamsters to horses and i never heard of one bad situation. they're a mellow breed. i would avoid any and all hunting/working breeds due to their high level of activity and natural prey drive. i own a jack russell terrier and as good as she is .... she is convinced the ferret is evil. i can just see by the look on her face that she is waiting for a "moment".. i know my dog and how her mind works and as a result she doesnt come anywhere near small fuzzies. as long as i'm there i know she wont pounce but if the fert pounced first it would be over because the terrier is FAST to retaliate. even if you find a medium sized friendly easy going dog you still have to worry about the size difference and how easy it will be for a ferret to get smooshed. but also consider the damage a ferret can do to a smallish dog. Sookie and Tori(my youngest dog) were playing nicely when Sook managed to give a good playful nip. Hurt Tori's feelings and she didnt want to play anymore. but with a smaller dog a playful nip could easily put out an eye... and most lap dogs have bug eyes lol IF, and i'm speaking hypothetically, you really want a dog, i recommend the lap dog variety, i love tzus personally... ugly little buggers but i love them lol they're smart, not TOO active, fairly easy to train.... and i dont know about barkiness.... with my sisters one barked and one didnt. the female was very vocal and i dont think the male ever made a peep louder than a pathetic whimper when he wanted a treat. still, all dogs are different.... and they are apt to change at any moment. The pup had gone from sniff to shake in a fraction of a second. I only caught it because that little tail stopped wagging and suddenly went totally still and I had seen that same intense hunt look come over my own ferrets. thats exactly what you have to look for. a sudden change in posture and activity. when introducing a dog to anything always do it at their level JUST incase this happens. some might say that close contact/leash reactivity might set the dog off even more.... well if thats the case then you already know the answer to the question and why bother risking it? its a shame that little ferret got hurt in that situation
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