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Should I give up on letting my GSD play with small dogs?

3K views 56 replies 13 participants last post by  Jax08 
#1 · (Edited)
My GSD grew up with another puppy. A chi/pit mix that is about 30 pounds. They always got along well but lately, my GSD has been vocalizing more and playing too rough with the small dog. Never a puncture wound. But the other owner doesn’t like it and wants me to correct my dog when she vocalizes and gets physical but I’m not going to do that.

She plays with big dogs SO well. She’s happy and never gets too physical. Maybe she just doesn’t mesh well with the dog anymore? It’s a chihuahua/pit so it’s REALLY energetic and gets in your face and my dog is calm and polite.

She is even gentle with our cats. Never ever has hurt them even though or even gotten close to hurting them. But we’ve trained her to stay away just in case.

Should I just stick with her playing with big dogs? And tell the other owner they can’t play anymore? I feel so bad!

Edit: I should clarify that by “too rough” I meant that my GSD is vocalizing and throwing her body around like a normal big dog would.
The little dog has never been hurt or even come close to being hurt by my dog. It’s just a friends dog that lives nearby.
 
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#2 ·
Its not worth the headache, if the other owners are concerned and your dog is getting a little bit to rough, just stop allowing them to interact.
Let your dog play with dogs that do get along with him, whose owners don't complain.

Most likely its a normal behavior your GSD is doing and nothing wrong with it but you don't want to take the chance or deal with the drama
My female is VERY vocal when she plays, sounds like she is in full battle mode. She only does this with our male but we have had other people hear and get concerned and I have to explain that is her playful side.
 
#3 ·
My dog is a complete MUTE when playing with other dogs her size. She’s never ever made a dog her own size even yelp. But yes, full on battle sounds with this one dog. The dog has never been hurt luckily. You’re right. I don’t want to take chances or deal with the drama.
 
#4 ·
Wait, I’m slightly confused. Do you live with the owner of the chi/pit? Or do you do play dates with them?

I don’t know why you wouldn’t correct your dog when it’s being too rough. Not sure what you’re reasoning is behind that.

GSD’s can be friendly with small breeds, but it’s never worth the risk. A play bite from a GSD can be a death sentence for a small breed.

There are always exceptions out there, where a GSD bonds with a small breed, but it’s not as common as people want you to think it is. Kinda like lion trainers. It’s great for years, and then the lion realizes it can overpower the trainer, and bye bye trainer. If it was a house cat, different end results.

Listen to the owner of the mix, and correct your dog. And then stop letting them play together.
 
#6 ·
You would correct your dog even if its just acting playful? I mean my dogs are crazy together, they look like they hate each other but that is how they play. Very rough, most owners would not want that happening with there dog. I would tell my dog to stay away from another dog if it was obvious there was an issue but I wouldn't tell me dog to stop acting normal.
 
#9 ·
I mean bottom line you need to be in control of your dog. Weather its to keep it away from another dog because the owner is nervous with its playfulness or if there was an actual problem. If either of my dogs are doing something to bother someone else, or another dog, I would call them and tell them to leave it and it would be over but both my dogs are vocal, playful, strong and rough. They love to play, chase and tackle each other. Sometimes it looks bad... you just have to know your dogs and be in control.

I think the OP felt bad because now his dog cant play with his friend because their owners are nervous. That does suck... but Jax is right to, your dog doesn't need dog "friends", your dog needs you.
 
#10 ·
germanshepowner;9177591 Should I just stick with her playing with big dogs? And tell the other owner they can’t play anymore? I feel so bad! [/QUOTE said:
Forget about feeling bad. You already know the answer. Imagine how you and the owner feel if the other dog is injured by yours. Even if a GSD is friendly (what is friendly anyways?) a small dog can easily get injured by just a paw or being shouldered.
 
#13 ·
germanshepowner;9177591 Should I just stick with her playing with big dogs? And tell the other owner they can’t play anymore? I feel so bad! [/QUOTE said:
Forget about feeling bad. You already know the answer. Imagine how you and the owner feel if the other dog is injured by yours. Even if a GSD is friendly (what is friendly anyways?) a small dog can easily get injured by just a paw or being shouldered.
I do. ? The other owner just keeps pressuring me repeatedly about play dates and I keep declining so I feel guilty. As she is a friend. I know my dog is gentle as well. But the accident part scares me. She is a clumsy puppy and she may very well injure a smaller dog. And the pressure of it annoys me as well. I don’t really think a small dog and large dog should need to play. The big dog doesn’t know it’s huge. The dog is mostly Pitt so it was supposed to be much bigger but it never got big

But I know it’s for the best deep down. I needed permission from the forum! Haha.
 
#12 ·
Why would you feel the need to have your dog play with strange dogs especially when your dog gets ramped up and plays to rough with a small dog he does not know well. I don’t understand why you would not correct that either. If Max and Luna are playing rough I say knock it off and they do.
Why would you not want to do this? Keep you dog away from little dogs.
 
#15 ·
Not a strange dog at all. It’s our close friend dog and we see them all the time. They grew up together basically. And she’s only vocalizing. She’s never ever hurt the other dog. Edited my original post as I know it was confusing. 100% she doesn’t play with any strange dogs at all.
 
#14 ·
Your dog only vocalizes with this dog? And does this dog live in the same home as you?

My two older dogs play roughly and vocalize with each other also. And yes, when it gets too intense, I tell them “enough,” and the play stops. If my dogs cannot or will not respond to me while playing, they don’t need to be playing. Period. And rough play can turn into real fights quickly. Two large breeds have the power to do some serious damage to each other, even if it started as play.

I don’t allow my two older dogs to be alone together unless I’m with them, exactly for the reasons above. Not worth it to me for a few minutes of loud rough playing.
 
#17 ·
My dog won’t play with dogs she doesn’t know very well. She just doesn’t want to. She has her “pack” of 3 very close dog friends and that’s it. One we live next door to so they go in the same yard. She’s never vocalized with any other dog and she plays very gentle with dogs her own size.

I don’t have any concerns about my dog of attacking her to clarify! My original post was confusing. By rough, I meant rough in the other owners opinion.
 
#16 ·
I think people are getting off track with your original concern - the dogs grew up together, this was not a strange dog, his dog is just getting vocal now during playtime and the owners are getting nervous. No dog was hurt...

You just feel bad for your dog for losing his playmate. This is life, your dog is getting bigger and will continue to grow. You will have to make decision that are best for your dog that she may not always understand.
 
#20 ·
Let me break it down for you.

A 5yr old child is playing with a 2yr old child. The 5yr old is bossy, yelling at the 2yr old and treating her like a 5yr old instead of a two year old. Would you correct the 5yr old? Because I would, in a heartbeat. Your dog is the 5yr old, and the mix is the two year old. Stop letting it happen. Tell your friend that while you love her and her dog, your dog is just getting too big and bossy to play with her dog.
 
#24 ·
So that’s another thing. The small dog is the bossy one. 100%. It gets really crazy and won’t back down. And my dog gets vocal but ALWAYS gentle to the dog. But the small dog started repeatedly jumping on my dog and biting her face. And just going crazy. She’s a VERY hyper dog. The owner is great and they’ve been working on it but THAT’s the reason my dog gets vocal. When this happened, we gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried again. The second time was the last play date. We haven’t seen them at all since. I think I just needed a tactful way to explain to the owner and permission ? She’s a good friend and we’re also now neighbors so I don’t want it to be weird. But have not let my dog play with the dog since
 
#23 ·
I’m just responding to the part where you said TOO ROUGH and VOCALIZING. You got responses based on your post, which states both vocalizing and being too rough with a small breed. Now you’re changing it to just being vocal, and your friend wanting them to play silently together. Doesn’t seem like it’s a beneficial relationship either way.
 
#25 ·
My GSD grew up with another puppy. A chi/pit mix that is about 30 pounds. They always got along well but lately, my GSD has been vocalizing more and playing too rough with the small dog. Never a puncture wound. But the other owner doesn’t like it and wants me to correct my dog when she vocalizes and gets physical but I’m not going to do that.

She plays with big dogs SO well. She’s happy and never gets too physical. Maybe she just doesn’t mesh well with the dog anymore? It’s a chihuahua/pit so it’s REALLY energetic and gets in your face and my dog is calm and polite.

She is even gentle with our cats. Never ever has hurt them even though or even gotten close to hurting them. But we’ve trained her to stay away just in case.

Should I just stick with her playing with big dogs? And tell the other owner they can’t play anymore? I feel so bad!

Edit: I should clarify that by “too rough” I meant that my GSD is vocalizing and throwing her body around like a normal big dog would.
The little dog has never been hurt or even come close to being hurt by my dog. It’s just a friends dog that lives nearby.
I’m just responding to the part where you said TOO ROUGH and VOCALIZING. You got responses based on your post, which states both vocalizing and being too rough with a small breed. Now you’re changing it to just being vocal, and your friend wanting them to play silently together. Doesn’t seem like it’s a beneficial relationship either way.
By rough, did not mean any biting at ALL that was out of line. I meant throwing her body around with the smaller dog (which makes me nervous because it is a 30 pound dog but still, half my dog. And that to me, is too rough to play with a small dog. And that’s why they haven’t played together since.

My friend does just want them to play silently together. I think I’m just hurt and said too rough in my original post because my friend said it and said I needed a new dog trainer and complete methodology. (I hate my friends trainer and vehemently disagree with their methodology).

But it made me doubt my dog and see her as too “rough.” I’ve felt awful about it. I even talked to a second GSD trainer about my dog and she met my dog and watched her interact with my close friends other big dog and said my dog was fantastic and everything was normal. (Although of course my dog was completely silent at that time! Lol)
 
#30 ·
By rough, did not mean any biting at ALL that was out of line. I meant throwing her body around with the smaller dog (which makes me nervous because it is a 30 pound dog but still, half my dog. And that to me, is too rough to play with a small dog. And that’s why they haven’t played together since.

My friend does just want them to play silently together. I think I’m just hurt and said too rough in my original post because my friend said it and said I needed a new dog trainer and complete methodology. (I hate my friends trainer and vehemently disagree with their methodology).

But it made me doubt my dog and see her as too “rough.” I’ve felt awful about it. I even talked to a second GSD trainer about my dog and she met my dog and watched her interact with my close friends other big dog and said my dog was fantastic and everything was normal. (Although of course my dog was completely silent at that time! Lol)

Your friend obviously isn't that knowledgeable about GSDs, because they are often just vocal. But I can guarantee from the whole "new trainer and methodology" stuff, you need to STOP playing with that small dog, and maybe get a new friend to boot. Because I can guarantee you if any biting is involved, she'll become your ex-friend PDQ. Even if it's her Chi/pit (what a freaking nightmare cross that would be!) that ends up doing the biting. Just stop them playing together, period. Either she'll understand why or you need to expand your friend circle.
 
#26 · (Edited)
? I’ll also choose my wording much better next time I create a post. Did not mean to create so much controversy! My dog is not aggressive at all. I work from home and took months off to train her myself (but we also have a trainer too but just for advice and video training sessions). Her recall is 100% even when chasing birds on a hike. She’s my baby!

My dogs response when another dog has been aggressive with her is to let me fix it. She was attacked twice (still furious about this) by dogs that were off leash in my neighborhood and my parents neighborhood. We live in good neighborhoods too. My dog was on leash. She didn’t even bite the dog back at ALL but lifted her head up higher and ran to my other side while I got between her and the other dog until the owner freaking got there. Ugh. The first time it had happened, I picked my dog up as fast as possible. Which was quite a feat since I don’t weigh much more than our dog. My SO wanted a large dog.. haha. But at least she knows I’ll protect her no matter what!

Still makes me furious to think about it. I’m shaking even writing this. My dog had antibiotics and puncture wounds and a long vet visit. So mad. I didn’t want to let my dog know it was a big deal and that she should be upset by it so I acted very calm and just kept myself between the other dog and my dog until the other owner came outside. It upset me more than my dog. Lol She’s been completely fine ever since and shook it off within a few minutes. Meanwhile, I went home and cried where she couldn’t see or hear me. ?

I just feel guilty because it is a close friend and I’ve been repeatedly saying NO our dogs can’t play anymore. I needed help from the GSD forum to not feel bad about it and also, something tactful to say to my friend. And justification as to why
 
#27 ·
My too “rough” girl. ? Broke my heart to train her to completely ignore the cats. These photos were before she got good at completely leaving them alone.
 

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#29 ·
���� Thank you! I’m so obsessed with her.. She treats her toys as her “babies.” She’s never destroyed a single toy. She just carries them around and cuddles or gives them to people for safekeeping. And puts them in delicately standing positions which is super creepy when you wake up and a bunch of toys are staring at you ???
 
#35 ·
I'm on my 3rd GSD and have fostered, evaluated, transported many. GSD's do NOT play silently. EVER. She's asking for something that is not genetically possible and she's asking for your dog to NOT correct her dog for biting him which is not fair to your dog.

Sooo....Yes. It's time to give up on your dog playing with that particular small dog. And tell her to worry about training her dog and you'll worry about training yours.
 
#37 ·
THANK YOU. This is exactly what I was looking for. This is my first pure bred GSD (all GSD half mixes before or border collies), so I’m used to dogs that play silently. I just didn’t know if I was in the wrong here/how to tactfully tell my friend we won’t do anymore play dates.

I am getting more angry thinking about it because her dog is the one roughly biting repeatedly but it’s small, so it doesn’t get in trouble. Yet my dog somehow is the bully for just vocalizing and being bigger and playing “tougher” (aka APPROPRIATE to her size!)

Being a small dog must be a dream life. ? I feel totally justified now in my decision. We won’t do anymore play dates with them. Ever.

Thanks everyone!
 
#36 ·
Her dog is aggressing on yours. Your dog will eventually defend herself and the other dog could be hurt. I have two dogs and they bark when they are excited and playing. It’s a form of herding behavior. My older one has a strong herding instinct and when she runs she barks to tell my other dog what she wants him to do.

A friend has a Maltese that is highly aggressive and attacked a larger dog in her yard. My friend got a bad bite rescuing her dog. The other dog is very friendly but was scared and snapped at the little dog to stop her. I would tell my friend to train her dog to walk nicely on a leash without attacking your dog and then walk with them out of reach so her dog can’t bite yours and yours can’t snap back. If that doesn’t work, find a different dog to play with or skip playing. Even my dogs who adore each other sometimes get worked up while playing and air snap or growl at each other. I don’t stop their barking but if they growl, they are separated to cool off.

There are reasons why daycares separate small, medium and large dogs.
 
#41 ·
Thank you. I think I was making allowances because it’s a small dog. You are 100% right. It IS aggressing on my dog. So sorry to hear that about your friend!

I think I’m more paranoid of her play partners too because my dog is only 10 months but she has... literally never defended herself or reacted aggressively. Is that normal? She either comes to me for protection or just leaves the situation. The cat will eat out of my dogs food bowl and the dog happily eats with her (I freaked out big time when I first saw this and separated them during meals for ages until I realized the dog was completely fine. I’ve now had to train the cats to not eat her food) Maybe I just have a weird GSD. ?

Her other dog friends are most gentle and endearing dogs ever. All large and calm breeds. This was our only trouble friend. ?
 
#42 ·
It’s driving me nuts. We live in a city FULL of them as well. Sure, don’t train them manners just because you can pick them up.. The more I think about it, the more I realize I was going along with that mentality that my dog was in the wrong. This has made me realize HER dog plays too rough and doesn’t back down EVER.
 
#44 ·
I'd stop playing with that dog. Just say yours is too big now and you don't feel comfortable letting them play if you need to do it gently. If she's not comfortable with how your dog plays and you aren't having any problems it's just not a good match up.

Although I am going to mention it 100% depends on how she is being vocal. Like growly I'm having fun noises are fine. Just normal playing noises. However if she's barking at the other or doing it in a not playing way I would correct it. I can't explain it how I want to but there's a difference between I'm having fun play noises and getting after other dogs which german shepherds seem to do on occasion. I've heard others refer to them as the 'fun police' and that seems accurate. If my dog Codi is ignoring Shelby or playing with Conan, Shelby will sometimes bark or harass them to try to get Codi to play with her. I put an instant stop to that but don't mind when she's making happy play noises.
 
#46 ·
It’s a chihuahua/pit so it’s REALLY energetic and gets in your face and my dog is calm and polite.
"And gets in your face".. this I find disturbing. While these two dogs are young right now, IME, this is a warning about what most likely will materialize at maturity. On one hand, you have a breed of a mix notorious for displaying seemingly playful behavior to an untrained eye but "in your face" behavior IS a challenge, one that most likely won't go unheeded down the road. German Shepherds are notorious for reacting to "in your face" behaviors from other dogs. At maturity, things can go south for you very quickly. And don't ever underestimate a thirty pounder, they can do some damage. Your dog may not fair as well as you are thinking based on size alone.

There are reasons that it is suggested for when people are adding a second dog to get a breed from the same group types. One of those reasons is compatibility in play style. It might be to your advantage and your dog's to stop the playdates on a happy note. Just cite size disparity and stick with it.
 
#50 ·
It’s a chihuahua/pit so it’s REALLY energetic and gets in your face and my dog is calm and polite.
"And gets in your face".. this I find disturbing. While these two dogs are young right now, IME, this is a warning about what most likely will materialize at maturity. On one hand, you have a breed of a mix notorious for displaying seemingly playful behavior to an untrained eye but "in your face" behavior IS a challenge, one that most likely won't go unheeded down the road. German Shepherds are notorious for reacting to "in your face" behaviors from other dogs. At maturity, things can go south for you very quickly. And don't ever underestimate a thirty pounder, they can do some damage. Your dog may not fair as well as you are thinking based on size alone.

There are reasons that it is suggested for when people are adding a second dog to get a breed from the same group types. One of those reasons is compatibility in play style. It might be to your advantage and your dog's to stop the playdates on a happy note. Just cite size disparity and stick with it.
Yes, I’m going to just end play dates and say exactly that. My dog has very few friends as well because I love her temperament and didn’t want her to be influenced by another dog. We had already been seeing this dog VERY rarely and now we won’t at all.

Thank you. I think I was making allowances because it’s a small dog. You are 100% right. It IS aggressing on my dog. So sorry to hear that about your friend!

I think I’m more paranoid of her play partners too because my dog is only 10 months but she has... literally never defended herself or reacted aggressively. Is that normal? She either comes to me for protection or just leaves the situation. The cat will eat out of my dogs food bowl and the dog happily eats with her (I freaked out big time when I first saw this and separated them during meals for ages until I realized the dog was completely fine. I’ve now had to train the cats to not eat her food) Maybe I just have a weird GSD. ?

Her other dog friends are most gentle and endearing dogs ever. All large and calm breeds. This was our only trouble friend. ?
Your dog is young. She may become small dog aggressive if she starts to feel she needs to protect herself.
Makes sense. I definitely don’t want this to happen either.

I think I’ve already seen a little of that from her... The play dates ended about a month ago, as I had noticed she was a little anxious after a play date. She did have fun but something was just off? Another reason why I stopped to take a break and see what happened. As soon as we went out with her GSD friend later on that month after a break, she was completely calm again. ZERO issues with other dogs. Completely silent happy play. My parents friends have a small French bulldog she knows well and the dog was crawling on top of her during a BBQ and she was thrilled and exceptionally gentle. She knows she’s not allowed to play with small dogs (besides the one pit/chi exception) so she just chilled with it and chased the ball next to him.

She had just recovered from pneumonia so I chalked it up to that at the time... I thought maybe she was just overwhelmed after a long quarantine.. But now I’m thinking the dog just generally upsets her and it’s overwhelming. Wow. Just realized this. 100% will never take her around that dog again.

We aren’t allowed to discuss one breed in your friend’s mix on this forum, but based on what I know, that particular mix would worry me. Find a new friend with a different dog.
Both aspects of its mix worry me. We have other calmer dog breeds and GSD’s to schedule play dates with so we will do exactly that. Thanks!
 
#51 ·
Just wanted to jump in and say that certain dog-dog combos just aren't good. I have dogs that play just beautifully with certain dogs and other dogs it's just bad chemistry and it just isn't good. The bad chemistry dogs don't get put back together.

Sounds like these two just aren't a good match. Your dog gets along very nicely with other dogs and no issues.
 
#54 ·
That makes sense.. The small dog is sweet but it’s bitten me in the face many times and I sure didn’t find it endearing.

The small/big dog double standard pushes my buttons ...

Recently my dog got bitten on the nose by a small offleash dog.
It's yappy and aggressive, and they let it out to potty offleash. That day, it was out in the street.

So whenever we walk by, I feel like they watch MY dog to check his behavior to make sure he's not aggressive and not going to do anything.
Yet their dog is the one that's growling, barking and chasing at our heels...they never say a thing to their dog. Probably they think she is brave and sassy...

If MY dog was growling, barking and lunging at their dog, you can bet I'd hear about it. grrrr!
You absolutely would hear about it. Ugh. We have this happen all the time to us. It’s infuriating. We were at a secluded off leash beach the other day. Near our own home. Usually 1-2 dogs there in a huge stretch of ocean. And this woman screamed at me because my dog sniffed her dog.. I swear to god. My dog sniffed her dog. I yelled back that if her dog wasn’t friendly, she needed to take it on the path with the rest of the untrained small dogs. (I’ve lost all sense of propriety when it comes to protecting my dog). Five minutes later, a woman down the street comes over to me and says she saw the whole thing and the small dog lady is a wack job and had screamed at her five minutes before for the same thing.

If her chihuahua had been a GSD.. snarling and biting any dog that got close, animal control would have been called. Ugh
 
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