Big Dogs and corgis

[stumpy]

my roommate recently got a very large mutt dog, approx 70 pounds, and very hyper. i am extremely worried that he is going to hurt bella. bella is very small and wants to play with him, as he her, but i'm affraid that he is going to hurt her little hips or shoulders or something if he plays too rough...does anyone have a large breed dog and a corgi that could give me some advice to aleviate my stress.

[Michael Romanos]

Obviously your mate's dog is not a pup which might make it even more difficult to be able to contain / restrain a big, heavy dog. There is a danger that a little Corgi who doesn't take some control over events (eg tell the bigger dog to bug off), could bear the brunt of overbearing boisterousness.
Your Bella has territory rights both in canine terms and human terms ie she became part of the establishment well before your mate's dog did. So therefore, your flatmate (or room mate) has to control his dog and quickly train the dog to treat Bella much more gently or otherwise stay away, on more than one count.
My Taylor would simply not put up with a newcomer taking charge and throwing his/her weight around, and would have very quickly made known his feelings.

[Jespah]

Hi Stumpy,

When my other Corgi Riley as a little pup she had a Siberian Husky for a best friend. The Husky seemed to adapt her play to Riley's size and it wasn't long before Riley could flip the Husky over and pin her. Also, my 11 month old Jemma was in the "big" dog group at puppy school recently and the huge yellow lab that was there would scrunch down to play with her.

The best thing to do is make sure that any play time the dogs have together is supervised. That way if things get a little silly or overly exuberant either you or your roommate can step in.

[Cheetah]

My corgi, Shippo, lives with my 55lb Border Collie mix, Eevee. They have been playing since Shippo was 12 weeks old. Eevee has always been aware of his size and has been gentle with him in play.

Some dogs don't know how to be gentle and have to learn. Shippo, for example, is used to playing with big dogs, so he's still learning how to be gentle with dogs his size and smaller. When he's playing with little dogs, I usually have him on a leash, so if he gets too rough I can end the play for a minute. This teaches him that if he's not gentle with the other dog, playtime is over. Perhaps you and your roommate can work something out similar. >^^;<

[milles2]

When Tucker was small he would play with the Doberman across the road. The Doberman was amazingly gentle with Tuck and VERY patient with him. The Dobie would "playbow" to Tuck then the two would run all over like crazy.

In Puppy Obedience class Tuck's best buddy was a hyper lab named Waylon. Old waylon would get Tuck's head in his mouth but the second Tuck made a sound release him. Tuck would let the other dog know when he was feeling uncomfortable.

Lulu on the other hand is very submissive. Most dogs see her roll on her back or curl up to them and they just relent to her "cuteness". EXCEPT for a wonderful but out of control Border Collie in Tucker's agility class. Poor Maeve just doesn't get to play much w/ other dogs so she doesn't realize she is so rough. Tucker puts her in her place but Lulu is so submissive. Poor Lules came home with a scratch on her nose from playing w/ Maeve last week. With much drama, she showed me the scratch and she got the appropriate amount of coddling to ease the pain!

[Fluffypants]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

Some dogs don't know how to be gentle and have to learn. Shippo, for example, is used to playing with big dogs, so he's still learning how to be gentle with dogs his size and smaller. When he's playing with little dogs, I usually have him on a leash, so if he gets too rough I can end the play for a minute. This teaches him that if he's not gentle with the other dog, playtime is over. Perhaps you and your roommate can work something out similar. >^^;<

Jackie is the same. She loves playing with the big dogs, and is used to them, so I have to keep her on leash & watch her carefully when she is playing with smaller dogs. She can be too rough with them.

[stumpy]

thank you so much....i'm starting to feel a little better about this situation...its just hard because i'm so protective of my little corgi pants

[Jespah]

That's good and natural Stumpy. It's always best to err on the side of protecting your pup or dog. People make fun of me because my dogs wear life jackets on the boat - too bad they're mine and I'd like to keep them!!!

[Jhemphill]

Maxi lives with a 66 lbs American Bull dog and a 100+ Timber wolf and a 12.5 lbs Chihuahua. The American Bulldog taught Maxi how to play appropriately with bigger and smaller dogs. He holds his own with the wolf and plays gently with the Chihuahua. You need to observe how Stumpy and the other dog play together and you and your room mate make adjustments as needed to the dogs behavior to make play time safe and fun.

[Bayoucorgi]

Liam's "brother" was a 85 pound Golden named Marshal. Sadly, Marsh passed away last Saturday at age 14. Old Marshy would lay down so Liam could wrassle him and he would open his mouth very wide and look like a grizzly, but they were best friends.

[Fluffypants]

Originally Posted by Bayoucorgi

Sadly, Marsh passed away last Saturday at age 14.

How sad. RIP Marshal.

[ZdogZ]

So sorry to hear about Marshal.

[corgimom]

So sorry to hear of the passing of Marshal at this time of the year - hope your good memories with him will help you to feel better, but I know it is hard.