Do dogs and pigs make good compainions?

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baby girls

baby girls

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hello, I was just wondering if anyone has a dog and a guinea pig and if you would advice against it? We would love to get a dog at some point but I'm just worried how they would be around piggies, and if there barking would scare them or do they get used to it?...obviously the breed of dog would influence our decision...what kind of breeds of dogs would go well with guinea pigs? this may be way out there, but has anyone had problems with husky's and piggy's? or Newfys or mountain dogs? we would like a big teddy bear dog...if anyone has any pictures to share with puppy and guinea pig love, that would be greatly appreciated
 
Sorry but why would you get a dog when you cannot even take your guinea pig to a vet? Dogs can get many illnesses and problems.
 
Dogs with guinea pigs will always depend on the individual animals. My sisters dog is a mix with some staffie in her. She loves the little animals and thinks they are puppies but I would never leave her unattended with them. Dogs and cats should never be alone with piggies and should not be able to get into their home. Barking may disturb piggies at first but they should be ok if they are used to general household noise.
 
Woah - Piggyfan, do you not believe that your reply is inappropriate, tactless, and unwarranted?!

Baby Girls, will this be your first dog?!
 
I understand that the OP has previously pointed out that there is no small animal vet near by but that is the case in much of the States and Canada where small animals are not well catered for. This doesn't mean that there is not a dog vet closer and also it would not be easy for me to take a day off work and drive 2.5 hours to a vet as the OP had said in the other thread that she would be willing to do.
 
Guinea-pigGaga said:
Woah - Piggyfan, do you not believe that your reply is inappropriate, tactless, and unwarranted?!

Baby Girls, will this be your first dog?!
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No I do not. I am concerned for the animals welfare and was just reminding the person that dogs can get ill.
 
Unforunatly we are very lucky in the UK, vet treatment for animals in general is more widely available than in the US. However obviously small animal vets (in a country full of large animals) are somewhat more rare.

As the OP has come here for advice, and answered all the questions us nosey lot ask I'm sure they would rather not be judged so harshly.

As others have said, they are willing to take the day of work to have their guinea pig seen by the right people, I'm sure they would be a loving owner to any dog they may have in future. :)

I hope the OP will not think badly of us as a forum, because I'm sure i would be very upset if my post (which was completly innocent research) was met with such a reply.

I would also like to add, My guinea pigs live perfectly happily with my dog around(infact she once saved on of them!), however as said i would never leave them alone with her. I feel it depends on the dog, rather than the breed. As my dog is a terrior, renouned for catching and killing small furries. She has also been carefully taught that they are part of the family too, and should be protected.
 
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piggyfan said:
No I do not. I am concerned for the animals welfare and was just reminding the person that dogs can get ill.
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Even if that is your opinion you could have worded it better.
 
Guinea-pigGaga said:
Woah - Piggyfan, do you not believe that your reply is inappropriate, tactless, and unwarranted?!

Baby Girls, will this be your first dog?!
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Thank you for your reply.. this will be our first dog...my husband had one growing up and we have talked about it for a while now but I have being debating whether or not it would be a good idea.
 
My main worry with "big teddy bear" dogs is wet guinea pigs from all the loving slobber :)) Need lots of grooming too.
 
Thank you everyone for your kind words. That just broke my heart. I LOVE my little girls like you have no idea, which is why spent my morning at work very unproductively for business and found you guys to look for advice .
I went home at lunch to check on her and my boss gave me the afternoon off so i could take her he vet. on my way there now will let all of you who are concerned know how she goes:(
Thank you for the advice on getting a puppy too...its something my husband has always wanted and I feel as though I am taking that away from him because I wanted Guinea pigs so much... although he LOVES the girls as well...will post some awesome pictures later on off the 3 level c&c cage he built for them for christmas. Thanks again and sorry if I made an impression that I dont care deeply for my animals...they have saved me in more ways than one and when they are in pain, so am I. xx
 
piggyfan said:
Sorry but why would you get a dog when you cannot even take your guinea pig to a vet? Dogs can get many illnesses and problems.
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I would appreciate your bitter comments left to yourself. I do not want to hear them ever again.
 
I apologise for causing you any offence. I did not mean it the way it sounded. I will respect your wishes and no longer reply to your threads.
 
Depends on the type of dogs really and their prey drive.

I have 2 lurchers and a jack russell terrier - my guinea pigs are inside and twice "gated" from the dogs, believe me I wouldn't leave them for a minute unattended, even with the gated system I have, in place - however that is because I have high prey drive dogs and I know what they are like.

My last lurcher wouldn't harm any living thing at all - he brought back live and unharmed and was happy for our pet rabbit to sit on his side to sleep!

Very different circumstances and different dogs but I would never leave a dog or cat unattended with a small furry of any kind with any dog or cat.

My piggies don't give a jot about the barking or any of the squeaky toys - they get used to all noises if they are regular enough, even the hoover, so I wouldn't worry about stressing them out.

Jo x
 
Personally, I would not recommend a Siberian Husky for a first time owner, and be concerned about a Siberian Husky, and other pets in the household - Precautionary measures would have to be taken to ensure the two never came into contact (Obviously, dogs should not be able to have unlimited, and unsupervised contact with other animals in the household, regardless of their breed)!

However, if you feel able to cope with a Newfoundland, I would encourage you to research the breed.

I would avoid most 'Terrier' breeds, and be cautious of breeds belonging to the 'Hound', and 'Gundog' groups! However, other breeds would have to be considered in relation to your lifestlye!
 
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I'm gonna keep this short and sweet because twice I've almost been finished writing a long message for my I-pod to close the window and lose what i've wrote pow-pow.

I have a Shar-pei that is great with the piggies to the point where they can have floor time whilst she is in the room, she is pretty indifferent when it comes to them and is happy to carry on with what she was doing or let Miss Piggy snuggle up to her. However, I would never leave them alone together. She was pretty young when we had rabbits so I put in down in part to that.

It's pretty much down to the individual dog, some are fine with them whilst others are little nightmares. I'd say generally avoid the terrier breeds as although there are people who have terriers who love their guinea pigs they were originally bred to catch rodents/ small animals so it can be a game of chance whether they still have that desire. I'd say make a list of say 10 breeds that suite you and your circumstances then look at which would be best with Guinea pigs. Talking to people with these breeds would be a good idea to ask about how they are with small animals.

The only thing I'd say if you want to get one of the giant, softie breeds drool probably best not to have them out together at any point as although the big softies don't normally mean any harm they aren't always the most careful when it comes to their feet and then they're not exactly the smallest dogs either :)).

Don't discount dogs just because you have Guinea pigs. As long as they have a safe cage and preferably are in a room the dog can't get to when your out you can have the best of both worlds.
 
Agreed with Guinea-pigGaga that generally Huskys aren't the best first time dogs and can be quite demanding from what i've heard and seen.

Also wanted to point out that I'm a bit of a liar and don't seem to understand the meaning of the words short and sweet :(|).


Add: in terms of barking, Coco doesn't really bark much so I don't know about barking specifically but I find generally Guinea pigs are fine with a variety of sounds once they realize it isn't anything bad so I'd assume the same would apply here. A breed that doesn't bark as much might be an idea if you are worried though.
 
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*sigh* Sometimes, i find myself very frutrated. All dogs have a prey drive, my dog has a perfectly active prey drive. She once escaped, into a farming field and bought us back two dead rabbits. 2 months later, my guinea pig made an awfull bid for freedom. She cased after it, i thought *oh no, i know how this is going to end* She swiftly slid a paw either side of the piggy, rested her chin on his back. Once piggy was to scared to move, she licked it till he was soggy.

She is not "part terrior" or specially trained. She is just a terrior.

My neighbour on the other hand got a bure bred very well trained lab, who promptly ripped the front of 3 hutches, and killed all the inhabitants. They were devestated as they were making a "safe choice"

I'm not trying to scare you, most terriers would happily chase a piggy, what I'm saying is the emphasis should be on the temprament of the dog, and the way its handled by you and your family, rather than the breed of the dog. Choosing a breed not renouned for killing small animals is definatly the right idea, (I'm not saying go out a get a terrier) just dont assume that because its a "safer breed" it will live in beautiful harmony with your piggies.

I would say, choose a breed you like, and feel comfortable with, make sure your piggies are safe from said dog (for example, mine live in my bedroom. The dog is never aloud in there without me. She knows the rules and she sticks to them, however she also doesnt have acess to it at all when we are out, she stays in the kitchen/dining/utility room bit out our house.) Then try to find one with a gentle temprement to give you the best shot. :)
 
I have a Dobermann and three terrier crosses and I can leave them all out on the grass in the summer (free range) with no worries. I had my Dobe when he was about 3 years old and he would lick his lips when he saw my guineas, but with lots of patience and training he will now let them run over his legs and snuggle up to him. It took about 12 months of training to get him like this. He will also lick the bums clean:(|). My Yorkie cross will grovel and smile at the guineas. I trust my dogs implicitly that they will not harm my guineas.
It is all down to commitment in training. All dogs in my opinion need training of some sort, as they say 'A trained dog is a Happy Dog' as they look to the owner for leadership, no leadership and they make their own rules which conflicts with what we want them to do, hence lots of dogs in rescue. The dogs look on the guineas as part of the family pack. Good luck:)
 
Much as I love dogs too, I personally would never completely trust them to be alone with a piggy. I have read of 2 instances on this & other forums where a piggy met a horrible death when a dog killed them.

Basically it can happen, doesn't mean to say it will, but all dog owners have to weigh up the risks & allow as much or little contact between their pets as they feel comfortable with :)
 
would say its more down to the individual dog and their background. I have seen rescues state that dogs should not be housed where there are other pets and this is mostly because of the dogs temperament or curiousity (I believe thats what it is with Labradors more than anything). As for the barking I think the piggies would get fairly used to it, for example I've got a terrible chesty cough, just now my piggies dived away in terror but they have got a bit more used to it and barely flinch most of the time
 
piggyfan said:
Sorry but why would you get a dog when you cannot even take your guinea pig to a vet? Dogs can get many illnesses and problems.
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I dont think this comment should be getting hate. Yes they could have worded it better but when it comes to the welfare of animals sometimes it has to be put bluntly to get the point across that its important.

I'm not judging anyone and you may well be a very good caring owner but you have to be well prepared and know that you can afford the costs of any potential vet bills.
 
I have 2 dogs, one of them barks alot. Your pigs will get used to barking just like they get used to household noises like the washing machine.
I think it depends entirely on the temprament of the dog, as to how they will get on.
 
I have a Patterdale Terrier and she pretty much does everything with me in regards to the Guinea pigs. She is there during feeding, cleaning out and any other necessary parts of their care. She has been around them all her life, I have only ever encouraged her to be calm and friendly around them. This seems to have paid off and I have had no nasty incidents with her. All that being said, I would never trust her around them completely alone because I do not trust any dog around prey animals left to their own devices. It's just for my peace of mind because animals can be unpredictable.
 
I have a dog that would quite happily eat my guinea pigs without thinking twice about it!

dogs and guinea's will always depend on the personality, if you have a puppy however, they can be trained.

If my guinea's are having floor time, my dog is placed in the kitchen with all his belongings and he has "special time" with his bone that he is only allowed during this time, that way the guinea's get to run about and the dog is too busy with his bone to try and get in the living room. Just because they don't get along doesn't mean you can't have both :)

As for the breed of dog - research, research and research, people who buy dogs for the way they look are often disappointed, if the dog doesn't get the amount of exercise or mental stimulation that the particular breed requires they can and will develop behavioural problems.

For a first time dog i wouldn't recommend a working breed, they are hard work and need alot more stimulation than some of the low/medium energy breeds.
 
kay_xx said:
I dont think this comment should be getting hate. Yes they could have worded it better but when it comes to the welfare of animals sometimes it has to be put bluntly to get the point across that its important.

I'm not judging anyone and you may well be a very good caring owner but you have to be well prepared and know that you can afford the costs of any potential vet bills.
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Kay, Baby Girls' veterinarian is located 2.5 hours from her home - I have travelled similar distances to ensure that my animals receive the care they require! However, these journeys are not ideal - They are exhausting, stressful, and time consuming, and in some cases they are dangerous, and harmful. Baby Girls, is very much willing to take a day of work to travel to her veterinarian to ensure that her animal receives the care it requires, and pay the veterinary fees - If only there were more owners so caring!
 
As I did say I was not judging anyone just making a point that the comment should not get hate as they were just concerned for the welfare of animals and making it clear that you cant just suddenly get an animal you have to be prepared on the money side as well as the knowledge.
 
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