dogs and chinchillas

[xcoronaangel]

So I bought my two new boys home umm 2 weeks ago I believe. My two youngest GS's have taken to them great (1 yrs old and 1 1.2 years old).

BUT my oldest GS who originally was trying to lick them through the cage has now turned into mr. pain-in-the-butt-meany. If he is in my room he will be on my bed watching them nonstop or with his nose on their cage watching them. And this past week he's started barking.

I of course remove him from the room when this happens.

Wondering how you were able to get your dogs use to chinchillas. My two other GS's will watch them sometimes if they are making a lot of noise but besides that basically ignore them!

Thxs

(to be noted my youngest GS has been in the room during play time on the other side of the baby gate and has even allowed the chins to nibble on his nose and never moved a muscle! He's been amazing! BUT I dont let him in... bc at the end of the day he is still a GS)

Oh and this is the one I am talking about my 130lbs 2yr old GS (I chose these pics so you can see he isn't such a mean boy all the time lol. here he is with a homeless kitten I was fostering James Dean):

(Valley and his older sister on the right she passed away due to cancer we miss her everyday!)

 

[tristanichole]

First of all...gorgeous dogs! I have a GSD as well and she likes to have her nose to the cage to see the girls. She is usually pretty good about things, but if she gets too excited, she just gets removed from the area. Really, that's all you can do. Eventually your dog will probably become used to them and not care.

 

[TillyChinchilla]

Our GSD/Rotty is fine with the chins. He pretty much ignores them, but will walk over occasionally and wag his tail, then sit and watch them.

When we had our English Setter (who now lives back with her breeder, we had taken her from the shelter) she would have a serious intense stare. They had to be moved upstairs partly because one of my boys, Max, was starting to get stressed from her around. He now has no issue.

The only thing I can recommend is to give them time. Eventually it won't be so "new" to them, and they'll likely ignore them.

 

[Whimsy]

We have three small dogs and two cats that have been trained to leave the chins alone. When we let the chins out for playtime, the dogs and cats are right there with them sniffing noses and following each other around. We don't allow the dogs to chase the chins and of course, no snapping allowed. It's funny to see the chins scamper between the dogs' legs and sometimes they'll hop ONTO the dogs' backs!

The important thing to do when training other pets to get along with the chins is to introduce safely (a temporary muzzle may help with a larger dog) and keep the dog/cat from getting too excited. A firm warning helps keep the excitment under control.

 

[xcoronaangel]

Thanks everyone

Hopefully with time Valentino will learn to ignore them like the other two have. He gets along with small dogs, kittens, and small puppies so I'm sure with time I will be able to put the water bottle away lol

I was thinking in a couple months about buying a muzzle for milo (my youngest) and letting him in the kitchen with them (while I am there of course). He ignores them the most.

Anyways thxs :thumbsup:

 

[alli713]

My dogs are not allowed anywhere near the chins.

Sorry, but chins are prey animals and dogs do have a prey drive no matter the dog. But I do know that in our dogs, the prey drive is higher than some, so I don't risk it.

And, even with a muzzle, I don't see the point of allowing your dog near the chins while they're out. What would be the point? A chin isn't going to know that the dog has a muzzle. So it could still get stressed out.

The other day I was letting Chibi play in the bathroom with the door shut, and I could hear one of our dogs outside the bathroom sniffing underneath the door. Well Chibi was over by the door and she immediately ran away and sat on top of the counter just shaking. So I do know that being near dogs can stress a chin out.

And, there have been stories about dogs killing chins. Even when they are in the cage. So if you ever aren't around I would not let the dogs be able to reach the chin cage.

 

[mishellyshel]

i have a collie sheppard and she is infactuated with the chins. she will go right up to their cage and my one chin is very curious about her too! richie puts his little nose thru the cage and my doggie puts her nose to his. it is very cute. sometimes when i am transporting my one chin to the bathroom, i will hold him in front of my dog so she can see what he is all about.
i dont suggest putting a large dog & small pet together in the same room. even with a muzzle. it isnt just about the biting, a large dog could easy crush or trample or swat to death a small rodent.
when my golden was alive, he caught a rabbit in my back yard, swatted it with his paw cause he wanted to play and it died right in front of me. it was very tramatizing!

 

[Sandi]

I'm sorry but a GS bark has got to stress your chins out, especially if they're new. Chinchillas are prey animals and if they can see and hear your GS staring and barking at them even when they are inside of their cage is stressful. I think you need to keep your GS out of the chin room so as to not stress them out, stress can be a bad bad thing in chins.

 

[mishellyshel]

my dog is a PITA and barks all the time............the chins are very used to it and dont even flinch. although i only have the one. if they are not acclimated to that environment it may take time, but i am sure they will be fine with the noise and as long as they are in a safe cage that there is no chance of escape.

 

[alli713]

I will never agree with allowing dogs or cats or any other animal to intermingle with chins. It's just not worth the risk. In the blink of an eye your dog or cat can decide it wants to play and chomp on the chin. And before you know it your chin could have a broken back or neck or whatever. Even a small dog can inflict injuries on a chin.

Not worth it in my opinion.

It's just as easy to keep the animals separate so why allow them to sniff each other or touch?

 

[ticklechin]

I would also worry about the close contact between dogs, cats and chins-Dogs and cats can carry pasteurella silently, a infectious disease fatal in most cases in chins.

 

[Marie5656]

I do not have any dogs or other animals, but I see how stressed Trixie gets when the neighbor dog is outside and starts barking.
What about cats though? A friend has an 8 month old cat, and had asked i I would cat-sit while she was on vacation, I'd be off the same week too, that is why she asked. My husband was totally against it because he was afraid the cat would go after Trixie, scare her too much. I ended up saying no to the friend, but I wonder what your experiences have been.

 

[xcoronaangel]

Thanks everyone for the advice. My chins live in my bedroom bc I only have a/c in the bedrooms in my home. My chins actually come UP to the cage when the dogs come around and my oldest will nibble on my youngest GS's nose.

I cant not have them see each other since it's my bedroom. My GS's sleep in the same room as I do and the chins. The dogs dont have access to my room while I am not in my room. They have the rest of the home to roam so no worries about have an accident when I am not around I will just have to work with my Oldest GS with the spray bottle and teach him his boundries.

I will of course take all the advice everyone gave me into consideration. I know we all love our chins and only want whats best for them.

Thxs once again

I'm sorry but a GS bark has got to stress your chins out, especially if they're new. Chinchillas are prey animals and if they can see and hear your GS staring and barking at them even when they are inside of their cage is stressful. I think you need to keep your GS out of the chin room so as to not stress them out, stress can be a bad bad thing in chins.

 

[xcoronaangel]

Good to hear. I have a FN 142. The chins hear my dogs "play fighting" in the house all the time.
My GS has only barked twice in my room. But I want to stop the behavior where it is now. He is actually in the room with me at the momment sleeping on my bed ignoring the chins. So maybe he was all freaked out bc of the fireworks and decided to act like a butthead :impatient:

my dog is a PITA and barks all the time............the chins are very used to it and dont even flinch. although i only have the one. if they are not acclimated to that environment it may take time, but i am sure they will be fine with the noise and as long as they are in a safe cage that there is no chance of escape.

 

[xcoronaangel]

I acutally dont have James Dean anymore he was my foster and I was able to find him a new home I have a litter of 1 week old kittens I am bottle feeding right now but they of course dont have contact with my chins.

Sorry I cant help you there. I know when I had my hamster my old cat would sit on top of his cage so... I guess it's a 50/50. I think some cats would be ok and others not so much. I wouldnt allow a cat to be in a room with my chin though if I wasnt present. They have those thin arms... seem like it would be easy for them to reach into the cage?

anyone else?

I do not have any dogs or other animals, but I see how stressed Trixie gets when the neighbor dog is outside and starts barking.
What about cats though? A friend has an 8 month old cat, and had asked i I would cat-sit while she was on vacation, I'd be off the same week too, that is why she asked. My husband was totally against it because he was afraid the cat would go after Trixie, scare her too much. I ended up saying no to the friend, but I wonder what your experiences have been.

 

[alli713]

I do not have any dogs or other animals, but I see how stressed Trixie gets when the neighbor dog is outside and starts barking.
What about cats though? A friend has an 8 month old cat, and had asked i I would cat-sit while she was on vacation, I'd be off the same week too, that is why she asked. My husband was totally against it because he was afraid the cat would go after Trixie, scare her too much. I ended up saying no to the friend, but I wonder what your experiences have been.

I think if you could block the cat off from the chin area you'd be okay. But I'd worry if you couldn't do this especially if the cat has claws. Because they would want to bat at the chins and try to play with them.

There was a story on CnQ about someone who's cat scratched their chin through under the door, so it is possible and something I'd worry about if the cat has claws.

I understand not being able to block the chins off completely from the dogs. I just wanted to point out that it's probably a good idea to not allow the dogs near the chin cage if you can't supervise them )

 

[Brittney]

My dogs are hounds, so anything that moves is fair game. I would never allow them to play together, but my Dachshund seems to get along fine with Bryson through the cage, even giving him kisses. My Rhodesian Ridgeback/Beagle mix, however, tries to test her limits with him. We have moved Bryson into the living room because he was just simply bored in my room. Nola had never seen him before, so she ran over like the was going to eat him. She stopped and acted like she wanted to play with him, but Bryson was having none of it. Nola's nose got too close to him through the bars, resulting in Bryson lunging and getting a hold of her nose and wouldn't let go. About 4 seconds later he let go and the end result was 3 stitches for Nola, and permanent loss of pigmentation on her nose. I guess Bryson means business. Needless to say, Nola keeps her distance from the cage now.

 

[Sandi]

Before I got my 2 current boys, I had Whiskers (my chin that passed last year) for a long time before we got our pug. Whiskers was a huge chin and very different than the chins that I have now. They were the same size, Whiskers and the new pug puppy, and Whiskers cage was at floor level. Both got along well and our pug rarely barks. My current cage is about 2 feet off the ground with poo guards that stick out (a bird cage) so my pug can't get to my boys. But I think that there is a huge difference between a small dog that doesn't stare and bark at them as if the chins were going to be their next meal.

 

[Jenn]

I have two cats and one doberman who are intrigued with my chin, but at a distance. I have two playpens attached together to make one big play area, that is attached to her cage, so she can come and go as she pleases between cage and pen. My cats don't get close to the pen, I think my chin's quick movements startle them, and they have never gotten close. I have actually had my hamster, who has since passed away, get loose on 3 different occasions, and my cats found him and just sat nearby on each of these ocassions. They never attacked him. My dog wouldn't hurt my chin either, he's too much of a big baby, but I would be worried about him accidently stepping on her! He will put his nose up to the cage, and my chin (Tinkerbell) will go check him out. But he only bothers on checking her out if I'm with her. Otherwise he completely ignores her. But I make a big point of being with my chin and giving my dog attention, so he doesn't become jealous of her. I think time could really help you, but some dogs may never like or tolerate certain animals.

 

[Sherry Elaine]

I would never allow a dog near a chin. Here is why: My husband George's mom came over to stay with our kids while we went to Maryland, and while we were gone, her dog (which we begged her not to bring) constantly barked at the cage and he even peed inside the cage and in their food. When we got home, Cadence died shortly thereafter. She was healthy and active before.

George still sobs when he thinks of her. She was his absolute favorite. George refused to have an autopsy done. He didn't want to have anyone defiling her body even though she was gone. I don't know if it was the stress or the urine in her food. Either way, I would not risk it. I have a friend who also lost a chin after her dog urninated in the feed bag.