[DavisDelzotto]

Hi everyone! Just joined. I have an 8 year old GSD that I just moved to New Orleans from Orlando Florida. Been wanting to join this group forum for a while. But now that I’m living with a new girlfriend who has a small Chihuahua and I need my GSD to behave properly for the first time around a smaller dog. My GSD is very very well behaved he just has this stomping issue on the small dog that could cause harm to the little guy. Not to mention this action really really upsets my girlfriend, she may ask us to leave the house. Can someone help me? Please? I don’t wanna be in the streets with my pup haha.

 

[tim_s_adams]

Welcome to the forum! I have a large GSD and a small Chihuahua who have been living together in "nearly" complete harmony for the past 10 or 12 months. What exactly do you mean by a stomping issue? Is your GSD pawing the little dog? With mine, I watch and tell them to calm down occasionally, but for the most part the GSD seems very cognizant of the smaller dog's size and seems to be pretty careful with him. They play though, and surprisingly play like you'd expect 2 dogs of the same size to, showing teeth and comparing bite sizes, it's really quite comical to see LOL!

The other day though, the GSD was seeking a squirrel and jumped up on a tree trunk trying to get at the squirrel. When she landed one of her feet came right down on the Chi's back and I was very worried he'd be severely injured!

So the size difference can be a problem! Fortunately my Chi wasn't injured, but it could have been, so caution is needed! I guess how you handle it depends a lot on the dogs involved though. And it's certainly worth noting that it may or may not work out well...some big dogs just plain don't like or respect small dogs, while other seem to do it naturally without much guidance.

 

[Jenny720]

Hi welcome. I would always supervise when together use a long lead to correct your dog. If it is a frequent thing keep them separated using crates. My dogs get along but I always crate my chihuahua when going out just to be safe. Your dog can really injure the small dog so if you are not supervising and unable to prevent this then separate them with crates and rotate.