/an/ - Animals & Nature » Thread #1982686

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666KiB, 1280x1600, GSD.jpg

German Shepherds Fri 23 Oct 2015 04:45:37 No.1982686 View Reply Report Delete

Quoted By: >>1982701 >>1982803 >>1982942

My girlfriend wants to bring her German Shepherd puppy when she moves in. I've never lived dog before but I have a male ferret.

What do I need to now about German Shepherds and dogs in general? Do dogs get along well with ferrets?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 05:48:25 No.1982701 Report Delete

Quoted By:

>>1982686
GSD are fully trainable (by non-idiots willing to read basic dog training guides), as they're a working breed that's expected to be fully obedient when trained (hence used in police, rescue, military, etc. where no animal out of control can be used)

If you properly teach the shepherd anything violent against the ferret is forbidden, then just like millions of dogs live in houses with annoying cats just fine without hurting them, the GSD will be just fine with the ferret.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 07:59:38 No.1982725 Report Delete

Quoted By:

Assuming your ferret and the dog get along as personalities, they will be great friends. We housed a ferret for some friends for 2 months, the ferret and our dog loved playing together.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 11:07:54 No.1982778 Report Delete

Quoted By:

A German Shepherd would probably be fine as long as its personality doesn't imply that it would flip out or start anything. Different dogs have different reactions to little beasts like ferrets.

Cavalier King Charles
>ferrets jump at swishy tail
>dog runs away
>two ferrets chase dog
>smart ferret runs head-on
>dog jumps over chase ferrets and seeks safety with nearest human

Yorkshire Terrier
>dog locked in crate
>smart ferret stares at dog
>stand off
>dog starts frenzied barking
>ferret flies in crazy war dance
>chaos

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 12:02:03 No.1982803 Report Delete

Quoted By: >>1982831

>>1982686
GSDs tends to have a strong prey drive towards smaller animals, so you'll need to keep a close watch whenever you let the Ferrets run lose and the dog is around.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 13:15:55 No.1982831 Report Delete

Quoted By: >>1982834

>>1982803
It depends on the GSD, most GSDs don't have a prey drive so strong that it can't be trained away.

Though keep in mind, that the ferret is at greatest risk running in large open areas.
GSDs aren't known to run away like Huskies are Greyhounds so I'm assuming their prey drive isn't uncontrollable, good recall should stop any kind of action.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 13:20:13 No.1982834 Report Delete

Quoted By: >>1982845 >>1983501 >>1983517

>>1982831
How do you teach proper recall to dogs?
My puppy looks at me when I call her name, and comes when I add "come", but outside, she barely ever looks at me, and even on a calm day in the garden, it's barely better. She just way prefers sniffing/toying with/listening to whatever's around rather than come to me and get a treat. I ever tried a bunch of different stuff, including meat, but even when I put it in front of her nose, she'd completely ignore it and just keep on having fun her way.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 13:41:19 No.1982845 Report Delete

Quoted By: >>1983501 >>1983511

>>1982834
If you call her so she's looking and run the other direction, she'll panic/get excited and run after you. That or you need a more interesting call like a whistle to catch her attention.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 23 Oct 2015 16:55:04 No.1982942 Report Delete

Quoted By:

>>1982686
Can we get a picture of your snakecat OP? Perhaps wearing a small hat?
Just kinda like snakecats.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 24 Oct 2015 07:53:08 No.1983501 Report Delete

Quoted By: >>1983511

>>1982834
Try making it so that your dog believes you're the best thing about being outside.

My dog loves tug-o-war, so whenever we go out she'll play that for hours over anything else. Just do something with your dog that you know your dog loves, get into that habit so when you call her, you also initiate play. Over time it should sink.

Also what I noticed about shepherds (perhaps other dogs as well) is that they don't want to be left alone. So as >>1982845 wrote, try moving away from the dog as well to have her chase you.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 24 Oct 2015 08:18:28 No.1983511 Report Delete

Quoted By:

>>1982845
I tried that, she didn't care much.
Wouldn't the whistle also attract the other dogs?

>>1983501
I'll have to check if she prefers food or her toys, then that, yeah, I guess.
Also it's a golden retriever.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 24 Oct 2015 08:42:17 No.1983517 Report Delete

Quoted By:

>>1982834

Long training lead.

Stand with the dog and have them sit, then down. Keep them on the lead. Walk slowly away and keep the dog in down, when you reach the end of the lead give the recall command.

If the dog won't come use the lead. Don't drag and strangle them, if dog is really digging their paws in start again.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 24 Oct 2015 10:38:18 No.1983556 Report Delete

Quoted By:

It really depends on the dog, but most dogs can be trained to be just fine around a ferret. Close supervision and training should be enough to keep things under control.

My dog and my ferrets get along just fine. She is very gentle with them and they enjoy playing with each other. That said, I never let them interact unsupervised, because even a friendly/gentle dog of decent size could accidentally seriously harm a ferret if things get too rough/the dog gets too excited and ends up stepping or landing on a ferret. So even if you trust them to get along ok, you should still supervise to make sure things don't get too rambunctious.

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