anyone have a dog and small furries

[bogspavin]

if so how does this work

we have a dog (unfortunately very prey driven)

but dd want some guinea pigs

it won't work will it?

[bogspavin]

anyone?

[kate7590]

I have 3 dogs and we have 2 rabbits, 4 guinea pigs, 20 chickens & 16ducks. The birds are free range and come down to the house, in the house, everywhere! LOL

Luckily our dogs have no interest in the birds whatsoever, the rabbits and g.pigs are in a big aviary and garden of their own and if we are in with them 2 of the dogs are interested, but when they are invited to 'come say hello' they loose interest.
I think they are only interested because they're shut in, if you know what I mean.
Are you thinking of having g.pigs in a hutch and run outside or indoors?

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

I think my spaniel would eat small furries. My collie is a vole killer and can catch rats without problem but she completely ignores the birds of prey my son brings home and tethers out on the lawn in the back garden but she has been used to them since she was a puppy.

[tabulahrasa]

I have had, but not one with a high prey drive...

Honestly? I think it would be pretty hard to manage them with a dog who would want to catch them. Sorry.

[OohMrDarcy]

I think it completely depends on the type of dog personally... the lady who runs the rescue I got our piggies from had dogs and they weren't even remotely interested, however I'd guess if you have a breed of dog who's history is in hunting rabbits etc then you might have a problem?

[lougle]

Our current dog isn't interested in the slightest in the chickens. Our previous dog would have shaken them to death.

[bogspavin]

Thanks everyone. I was expecting lots of negative answers tbh as I don't hold out much hope this is going to work (unfair on gps if permanently terrified) but promised I would do some research on dd's behalf.

Kate - your situation sounds ideal but suspect you might have a bit more land than us (surburban garden). If we had gps, I think they would live inside in winter and in bad weather and outside in run/small outdoor hutch type arrangement during the day.

I'm a bit confused because my dog (jrt) completely ignores rabbits when we are out on a walk but came in to near contact with some at a friend's house the other week and went wild. (Rabbits were caged and fortunately dog was on strong lead.)

[bogspavin]

Yes, I suspect it does very much depend on individual dog.

Trouble is, it's not the sort of thing you can experiment with very safely is it?

[kate7590]

Could you section a bit of the garden off so the g.pigs had their space that your dog couldn't get into?
This is where my buns and pigs are, obviously its bigger than necessary, but how about the fencing? It would keep them safe inside so doggy can't get to them. And if the dog gets used to seeing them and knows he/she can't get to them he/she may loose interest.

[bogspavin]

Thanks Kate. That sounds possible and we do have a bit of ground that it would make sense to section off. Dog generally has run of garden though and for various reasons, I don't really want that to change, do you think gps would be stressed if ddog was constantly trying to get at them through caging? This would worry me. I work from home but I can't supervise every minute of every day. And I don't want small furries to be constantly stressed.

[bogspavin]

Wow your picture has just uploaded!!

Do you happen to live in a zoo??

That is seriously professionally caging!!

[kate7590]

Lol not a zoo, but it does feel like it at times haha!
To be honest, I think GPs would find it quite stressful if there was a dog trying to get into their hutch/ peering in on them all the time :(
If you could section off a bit of the garden where they would have plenty of outdoor space they wouldn't have to be close to the dog unless they felt safe, but I know many homes couldn't accommodate that, and the costs involved in making a suitable, safe home would put many off. But I could imagine a dog peering into a confined hutch at the guineas wouldn't be a good idea, and piggies are very susceptible to heart attacks because of stress/ shock :(

By the way we actually made this cage ourselves which worked out far far cheaper than anything we could of bought for the same size :)

[bogspavin]

Yes, the gps potential stress levels are definitely the highest priority here and we won't go ahead unless we can sort something out that really works.

you have certainly given me some ideas about this though, especially the double fencing idea ie secure area within a secure area. That might actually work! And our garden is on two levels so could possibly adapt something there.

Going to see (once term starts) if it is a passing phase or if dd is really determined about this. And then go from there!

Thanks again!

[kelda]

We have two elderly guinea pigs (6 & 8 years) and a puppy cocker spaniel. She is very interested in them, and given the chance, I am sure she would kill them. They are in a different part of the garden and she is never allowed alone near them, and we will probably be giving the guinea pigs away to a family member who is keen to have them (they gave them to us in the first place).

[bogspavin]

I think it is very difficult for dogs with a hunting background in their breeding to resist a mpbile bundle of fluff which is on their territory as they see it

Hope your gps have a lovely retirement kelda!

[kelda]

Because of the way the garden is organised it is easy to keep them apart but the family member seems keen to have them back, so that is probably for the best.