Multiple Dogs and Their Sizes

[Phoebe's Mom]

The other night I was trolling PetFinder and I saw the most adorable yorki-poo puppies and, while not in a position at this time to get one, I have always wanted two dogs and I hope to have another one day.  That said, I would love a small(er) dog but I worry about how Phoebe might handle a small one (would she think it was another toy for her???).  I know there are people on DK who own doodles and smaller dogs and I was just hoping for some insight and advice as to how they make it work.  I do not have my heart set on such a tiny dog but I have to admit, I do wonder how people make it work!  Thanks for your input.

[Lindsey]

I was worried about this very same thing.
We have a 7 pound, brussels griffon, who is our BABY. We simply adore him, however, he is more "baby" than dog...and I've always wanted a DOG- a big dog too.
We took Ali (our brussels) with us when we went to meet our doodle, Molly. Although Molly was/is a pup she was already bigger than him at that time.
We brought Molly home a few days later. To make things easier (maybe not fair, but it helps with the safety of our little man) we don't allow our doodle on the furniture and he's not allowed upstairs. Ali is allowed wherever he pleases, that way, when Molly starts to get a little rough, Ali can just run to a safe spot and get away from her.
When we're all outside together we do keep an eye on them, b/c our doodle has been known to try and be a bit rough with Ali.
For the most part, they get along though...Ali is small, but he is the alpha. He put Molly in her place very quickly and although she now towers over him...she's a bit afraid of him and lets him rule the house.

That was a good question and some good thinking on your part though! It isn't always easy mixing small breeds and large breeds.
We have friends that have two great danes and two chihuahuas though and they somehow make it work too, it's funny to see the dogs all laying around together when we go and visit our friends.

[Phoebe's Mom]

Thanks so much!  I suppose there is a variety of ways to handle it as with anything. I appreciate your sharing what you do. I suppose, like you, the most important thing would be for us to be vigilant about watching their interactions and removing the little guy if Phoebe got over-exhuberant in her play.  Wow, two Great Danes and two Chihuahas!  That must be something to see.

[Lindsey]

Oh this crazy thing wont let me edit...that was suppose to read, our Doodle is not allowed on furniture or upstairs...but our Brussels is allowed anywhere.

[Frannie & Callie]

I truly think it depends on the personality of the dogs. Callie is 50-ish lbs and her very best friend in the universe is Louie - a 20-ish lb shih-tzu mix. Gus, one of my largest fosters ever (a very tall and lean 70lb boy) was adopted by a family with a 25lb mini poodle (Rerun). Gus did HORRIBLY with Louie and they couldn't be together for even 5 minutes. However, Rerun had Gus cowed, gentle, and compliant within seconds (a lesson to me to always do my due diligence, because I almost discarded the application because they had a small dog).

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I only have 1 dog, but i have 3 cats. We already had 2 cats (Merry and Pippin) when we got Cooper (Cooper was a little bigger at the time). We made sure the cats got fed first, and if we were petting Cooper and the cats came up to us, we would stop petting Cooper and start petting the cats. One cat swiped at Cooper and hissed a her to stay away. Cooper is very respectful of the cats - if one (the one who swiped and hissed) is sat in a doorway, Cooper will wait til she moves to go through. Cooper will growl at the cats if shes chewing a bone and they get close, but if a cat goes to her bone and Cooper wants it, she will just stand there staring til they walk away.

 

Cooper loves the cats, and really wanted to play with them, but they are older and dont really play, so we got a kitten (plus I wanted another one). I made sure the kittens breed was suitable for playing with a dog (though there are always some that dont conform to the breed stereotype). In comes Legolas the siamese lynx, who instantly adores Cooper (he cries when we take her potty). Sometimes it looks like they play rough, but Cooper is extremely gentle with him (60lb vs 9lb) There are some videos of them playing on my profile.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Well Peri is 25 pounds to Taquito's 6.6. They do great - Peri plays more gently with T. than any other dog.  Taquito also is fine around my in-law's standard doodle (smaller though - 55ish pounds I would say). Tarabelle is so gentle and wonderful with him.  I think doodles are probably better than other big dogs with little ones...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I also think it depends on the dogs.  Guinness is 21 or 22 lbs now and Murph is about 55.  Murph is much taller and stronger than Guinness.  Murphy also plays very rough.  Because Guinness happens to be extremely feisty, there really isn't a problem.  When the little Dood has had enough he'll "correct" his brother and Murph backs right off.  Because Guinness is so used to "hangin" with Murphy he actually does much better with the larger dogs.  At Daycare he's with the big dogs....he tends to be pushy with the smaller ones.

[Jennifer Tramell]

My mom & dad have a 55 lb goldendoodle, Lindy, and a 20 lb? mini goldendoodle, Penny.  I have a 45 lb goldendoodle teenager and an 80 lb big boy.  My sister has a 73 lb goldendoodle.  They all play together regularly.  Lindy is the "queen" and Penny is the tyrant :-)  When Penny wants to play, she plays; when she is done playing - she makes it clear and they all leave her alone. 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I totally think it depends on the dogs, but they get used to eachother if you let them figure it out on their own. Yorkipoos are great! Stop looking at that site!!!!!!

[Phoebe's Mom]

That is exactly what my DH told me!  :(

[Ginny Nightingale]

It is interesting that some dogs can instantly adjust to the size of the other dog. My 4 1/2 month old puppy, who weighs about 24 pounds, plays with my adult dogs who are 38 pounds and 46 pounds ( that one is his mom) and they do fine--he can hold his own now but used to hide if it got too rough--today, I let him play briefly with the two 6 week old pups I am raising--they weigh about 7 pounds--I watched them VERY closely, but my pup was so good--he danced around them and let them chase him--I was amazed that he never stepped on them once. Not all dogs would do that, but if you find the right combination, it is great.

Maybe you could find a friend with a small dog who would let Phoebe play and see how she does!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack and I lived with another person that had three doodles. Jack was the smallest by far, the other person had to minis that were about 30 pounds and a standard that weighed about 70 pounds, Jack was 10 pounds, When we mixed him in with the rest, he had no idea that he was the smallest. He took over his normally bossy self, He played well with the other male dog that was 20 or so pounds more then him, though I think Jack still was alpha to them all.

 

It depends on the dogs personality as opposed to size in my opinion, I love Jack's size, I think big dogs are awesome and less likely to be as rude as some little dogs can be, I am not saying are, but I know I had to work hard to not let Jack know he is my baby, I had to let him know he is a dog, so he did not get small dog syndrome.

 

Hope that makes sense I am a little sleep deprived