Hello people..

Hi, :flwr:

I would love to get a female Cav puppy, but first I need some advice!!
I already have a 14mth old GSDX,(neutered) who has been with us since he was 10 wks. He is well trained, and well socialised with other dogs of all sizes.

However I am wondering would his size (avrage GSD) be too big for an 8 wk cav. Obviously they wouldn't be left on their own until puppy was more robust (I'm a stay at home mum so thats not a problem.)

I would crate the puppy in my bedroom at night, till she was older, and then hope she could join older doggy, and sleep in the kitchen...

Words of wisdom gratefully received....

icon_welcome
I know one or two other members have a German Shepherd dog and a cavalier. I hope they read your post and can give you an informed answer.

I have gone to 2 different breeders to get my 4 dogs. And both breeders had one GSD female that they had prior to the cavaliers. They both said the GSD thought that she was the mother and protector of all the cavaliers. :lol:

Hi and welcome to the site.

You'll need to carefully supervise play etc -- a large dog can seriously hurt or even fatally injure a smaller breed dog just in the process of playing, with no aggressive intent. I'd recommend waiting to take a puppy til it is older if you can -- for many reputable breeders, this is the norm anyway for when they home their puppies (10-16 weeks -- but few in Ireland bother, sadly, to even do basic health testing on their breeding animals and they often rehome at 7 weeks, way too young). For the same reason above many dog trainers would advise never to leave two dogs of such different sizes alone together -- so perhaps keep that in mind as you make decisions about getting a cavalier, and how to manage the dogs. I know of a couple of incidents in both the UK and Ireland in which smaller dogs -- in one case, a cavalier -- was killed by a larger dog accidentally, so this is a factor to consider. The chances are small but it would be considered a possible risk factor. A lot depends on the dogs involved and how they interact, but also on if the larger dog gets easily overexcited in playing and chasing a smaller dog and so forth. My trainer friends on this board are very cautious about play interactions and chasing between small and larger dogs at their Dublin classes for this reason. You can see how some larger dogs just go into prey drive mode if they get too overexcited when chasing and playing and this is what can be dangerous especially when the breeds are very uneven in size. Basically I would view it as a management issue and personally would be reluctant to leave a cavalier and a GSD unsupervised alone even if they are the best of friends. At night is a different issue perhaps, as they would just be sleeping but I'd probably wait til the dogs were adults. I may just be extra cautious.

Nodding my head to the advice Kalin has offered.

We have 2 Boxers, one weighing in at around 40 kilograms (about 90 lbs) and now an adult & a puppy CKCS. Though these guys are gentle & loving, even accidentally stepping on a puppy could be fatal. We have organised separate areas for the Boxers & the Cavaliers and they only come together when we can be with them. Outside play time is never with the 2 different breeds together.

Here is an example of how quickly things can go wrong. Yesterday we had a severe electrical storm & I bought all the dogs inside with me, as the Boxers are absolutely terrified of thunder. The adult Cavalier was up on the lounge next to me & the puppy was on my lap. All of a sudden the sky seemingly split open with lighting and my Scarlett in her blind panic jumped up on the loung. Her terror was such that she had absolutely no idea of who or what she was trampling on. With one arm I curled up the puppy for protection, with the other I shielded the adult Cavalier, and with my two feet & had to boot poor Scarlett off the lounge. I felt mean doing that, but the situation had the potential to seriously injure the smaller dogs. It was a learning experience for me, I can tell you that.

Food for thought.

Hi Tippi,

Welcome to the site. WARNING: It's very addictive....LOL.

I kind of chuckled when I read your post. I too have a very large dog. She is a Newfoundland and weighs approximatley 150 lbs. She is very large for a female. It was a concern when I first brought Scout home and you will have to keep a very close eye on the both of them.

For maybe the first day or so your new pup will just be curious around the older dog, but after a week or so look out!!! Scout would jump up on Breeze biting her ears and neck trying to play. Thankfully, Breeze is very, very gentle and simply moved away from her.

When Breeze was a puppy I had a Golden Retriever. She was also very, very gentle, but when Breeze tried to play with her she would growl and snap at her, I couldn't believe that was my docile, loving dog...

I thought Breeze would learn, but she never did. I had to keep them seperated becasue she was relentless and making the other dog a little nuts. She never did get the message. The Golden has since passed away.

Anyway, after about a month, just out of the clear blue sky, Breeze decided to play with Scout. Ok talk about scary, Scout was about 8 lbs. I was very nervous, but wanted them to get along nicely. I just monitored very carefully when they played, and to this day, about 7 months later, Breeze has never hurt or injured Scout in any way. You just have to watch very carefully. The older dog might not take to the puppy right away and a lot of supervision will be needed. The puppy will want to play with the other dog all the time!!

Keep us updated...

Thank you very much for your replies

I actually went to see some cav puppies, (too cute by far :flwr: ). After spending 20 mins with them, I am heartbroken - cos I dont think it would work They were 8 wks old - and one of them fell in love with my 5 yr old)

My dogs' prey drive would actually worry me less than his 'play drive'!! seeing those ikle puppies...and taking onboard the excellent advice received- I am not going to take the chance...

So the decision in this house, is to enjoy our Max, (and regularly drool over all your lovely doggies. )

My next dog will be a cav...(or two) :flwr:

This is a great site, and the information available on CKCS is second to none. Hope you don't mind if I continue to check in

Thanks again..

Good for you in allowing your brain to make your decision rather than your heart. When the time is right...you'll know exactly where to go and what you want. Definitely continue to check in on the board though.