Chinchillas and dogs

[Stormcrow]

My girlfriend and I finally moved to our own home with garden, so finally we can start looking for a dog. We both wanted one for years now, but due to the lack of a garden we never got one.

We don't plan on buying one right away, as with our chins we wanna take the time to research, learn and prepare before making any decision at all.
At the moment our main concern is if the dog and the chins can co-exist in our living room

Last week we had the retriever from my parents in law at our place (baby... or no wait! Dogsitting!) and allthough my chins never saw a dog and the dog never saw them, they got along perfectly!
It took the dog till nighttime to notice the little buggers (they CAN be quiet if they want to ), and once he did he was extremely focussed. this scared the crap out of me, cause allthough the chins were safely in their ferret nation, i was afraid the dog would try to bite or lick em through the bars.

When the dog went up to their cage he started squeaking, my chins reacted by running to top level, inspect the dog, run back down and observe the dog. After about 20 mins the dog and chins were standing nose to nose at the bars sniffing eachother, and the behaviour of all 3 animals showed friendly interaction. This continujed for 3 days, great succes!

Allthough I have no intention what so ever, as shown in youtube videos, to let my chins and dogs roam free in the same room however, I just want to avoid one of my chins getting chased the moment they escape their cage while cleaning for example.
The situation/behavior/curiosity from last week show me that such a thing is possible.

Long story short: do you own a dog? How does he interact with the chins?
Are there breeds you would or wouldn't advise?

 

[Jenn]

I think, in general, it is always safest to keep dogs and chins apart. And, unless you are getting a puppy, you don't know the true temperament of an adult dog until some time has passed. That being said, I have two dogs that coexist peacefully with my chin. My chin is and will never be out with the dogs, but the dogs can come up to her cage or to her playpen, but most of the time, show no interest in her. I have a doberman and a chihuahua. My doberman is as sweet as they come, but I would be afraid that he would accidentally step on my chin if they were out together, as he zips around the house carelessly. Even an unaggressive dog could unintentionally cause injury to your chin. My chihuahua has raced around the perimeter of the playpen alongside the chin, probably excited to have an animal near her that is smaller than she is! What also makes this work is that my chin isn't anxious around my dogs. I live in a chaotic household and my chin isn't bothered by any of this at all. So in the end, I think it comes down to the personality of the dog, as well as the personality of your chin(s). It can definitely work, but you just have to take the steps necessary to make sure your chin stays safe.

 

[hownowbrowncow]

What kind of cage do you have? How high is it (if at all) elevated off the floor?
I think there isn't really a way to know if a dog is going to get all over the cage or not until you have said dog. I think the important thing (aside from not letting them play together which you already said you have no intention of doing), is having lots of things for your dog to play with and focus on and be prepared to keep the chins in a separate 'chin room' if the dog is showing too much interest in the cage.

In my house I have two cats and a big ferret nations cage for chins. The cats completely ignore the chins when they are in their cage (but definitely do not get to be in the room when the chins are having their play time!) but if that situation ever changed they would not be allowed to share a room in any manner.

 

[becky12883]

We used to dog sit for my sister's pit bull on occasion and one of our friends pit bulls. My sister's tried to attack the cages the first time he saw them and would try to escape into the room the chins were in as much as he could. Our friend's couldn't have cared less about the chins and would sleep on the floor in front of their cages. Same breed with very different reactions. I think it definitely has to do with the temperament of the dog and their training, not so much the breed.

 

[nikkimariec]

my pits don't even know I have chins lol
one knows I always go into a room alone and tries to follow me but he knows he can't come in here. I have a cat who is scared of the chins lol
either way none of my other pets are allowed in the chin room

 

[tcraighenry]

Just don't get a ratter....

 

[paula1101]

I have two big dogs and many chinchillas. My dogs are fine and totally trustworthy with small animals (I also have rabbits and guinea pigs, and a cat) but there is no reason that they should ever need to "get along" or be aware of each other's presence, really, and as much as you may love your dog and want them to interact, doing so will usually result in unnecessary stress for the chinchillas(s) and confusion for the dog(s). Furthermore, because you can't ever predict animal behavior, it would be a bad idea to try and get them into a situation where they are interacting, especially in your absence. Dogs are generally much larger and much stronger than chins and a tragic accident would only take a split second. It's just not worth the risk.

What I'd suggest, in looking for a dog, is to find one who doesn't have a high prey drive, for the safety of the chins and for your peace of mind - you don't want a dog that is constantly wanting to get to your chins, that's going to drive you crazy and make the aspects of pet ownership seem more like a burden than a pleasure.

 

[Shooper]

My dogs get along fine with the chins...actually I think they see the chins as Pez dispensers (they try to eat all the chin poo). :yuck:

 

[xcoronaangel]

My German Shepherds have access to the room where our chin cages are. They will walk up to the cages sniff sometimes try and lick the cages but that's the extent. None of them jump on the cages or try and bite the chins. But then again our animals have grown up around all kinds of animals as puppies so they don't know any different. We have a Parrot etc and they all co-exist.
Having said that our dogs are not allowed to 'play' with the chins etc. there is always a cage, play pen etc between them

 

[Stormcrow]

Thanks all for the numerous replies.
As i thought, it seems to be more a question of training and breed then...
I have a double ferret nation cage, so chins can go up and out of reach.

My prob is that, since we don't own a mansion with a gigantic garden, we are looking for a smaller dog that still qualifies as a dog,so no pure companion/old lady dog
But lots of smaller dogs were bred for hunting rodents etc, wich makes em less good for my situation.

 

[xcoronaangel]

like they said each dog is different. I would DEF ask if you are getting your dog from a rescue is it good with cats. If they don't know make them cat test it Prior to bringing it into your home and seeing how it reacts to the chins... Normally you can get a good idea how a dog is on how it behaves with cats.