Dogs and Torts do not mix. Period.

Stuart S.

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Not a good day for us...

I have my dog pen separated from Spur’s part of the yard by a heavy duty dog kennel gate with a 4x4 along the bottom (not buried) just up against the kennel to keep him from getting in there. The dog pen is his favorite part of the yard (I never let him in with the dogs but occasionally I’ll put the dogs in his side of the yard and let him roam their side, there is much more weeds and afternoon sunlight) Its completely my fault because I put the 4x4 there when he was much smaller and i haven’t reinforced it as he’s grown like I should have... but he persisted today and moved the 4x4 by climbing on stop, shoving it away and got under the kennel. I came home to check on him, couldn’t find him anywhere and went to the dog pen (just knowing he wasn’t there, because of the 4x4) and my oldest chocolate lab, who wouldn’t hurt a fly walked right up and proudly dropped him at my feet as if he knew that’s what I was looking for...My heart stopped and I wanted to be mad at my dog but it was my fault, 100%. Spur has teeth marks on either side of his shell, I haven’t seen any blood but I’m sick. He’s been soaking in warm water for about 30 minutes and he’s just starting to poke his head out.

I didn’t even want to post this but I needed to for myself but also for anyone who has dogs. I hope you’re overly diligent to make sure your animals are separated at all times, even if your dog is harmless like my Browning. His favorite thing to do is fetch and a 2 and a half pound Sulcata is the perfect “ball”

I’m going to clean to teeth marks with peroxide and put Neosporin on them to be safe. Does anyone else have any wisdom they could share? Besides reinforce where Spur broke through?
 

Bambam1989

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My sympathy goes out to you! Must have been very frightening.
My dogs would have chewed him up and eaten him. It's good that your dog didn't want to really hurt him..
Your tort will probably be skittish for a few days.
 

wellington

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Sorry this happened. He doesn't look bad at all. Probably more scared then anything. I guess the lesson in this one for everyone to learn is too reinforce accordingly as your tort grows.
It wasn't done on purpose, so don't be so hard on yourself. At least your not one that thinks dogs and tortoises can be together and are besties. Now those people are 100% at fault.
 

Stuart S.

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Sorry this happened. He doesn't look bad at all. Probably more scared then anything. I guess the lesson in this one for everyone to learn is too reinforce accordingly as your tort grows.
It wasn't done on purpose, so don't be so hard on yourself. At least your not one that thinks dogs and tortoises can be together and are besties. Now those people are 100% at fault.

Thank you but the thing is I know better than to let something like that go unattended. I am upset with myself but I know he’ll be okay. And you’re exactly right, thank you and everyone else!
 

wellington

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Thank you but the thing is I know better than to let something like that go unattended. I am upset with myself but I know he’ll be okay. And you’re exactly right, thank you and everyone else!
Hey, your not perfect, sorry:p:D. Life gets busy, things get forgotten or put off.
 

Tom

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I work with all sorts of animals every day. It is a constant mental challenge to figure out how to keep them from hurting themselves.

I think your message is a good one: Keep the tortoises away from the dogs, and pay attention to how secure your enclosures are. We can all be more diligent at times.

Thank you for sharing this message and reminding us all to think about the security of our tortoise enclosures.
 

Stuart S.

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I work with all sorts of animals every day. It is a constant mental challenge to figure out how to keep them from hurting themselves.

I think your message is a good one: Keep the tortoises away from the dogs, and pay attention to how secure your enclosures are. We can all be more diligent at times.

Thank you for sharing this message and reminding us all to think about the security of our tortoise enclosures.

Thank you @Tom!
 

Bee62

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Hello Stuart,

I am sorry for what happend but please don`t punish yourself with your thoughts.
We are all not perfect and we are not able to see what the next day or future will bring. Things happen that are out of our control.
Luckily Spur wasn`t hurt so bad. I wish him a speedy recovery.
My best wishes and greetings.

Sabine
 

RumWeatherReptiles

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Not a good day for us...

I have my dog pen separated from Spur’s part of the yard by a heavy duty dog kennel gate with a 4x4 along the bottom (not buried) just up against the kennel to keep him from getting in there. The dog pen is his favorite part of the yard (I never let him in with the dogs but occasionally I’ll put the dogs in his side of the yard and let him roam their side, there is much more weeds and afternoon sunlight) Its completely my fault because I put the 4x4 there when he was much smaller and i haven’t reinforced it as he’s grown like I should have... but he persisted today and moved the 4x4 by climbing on stop, shoving it away and got under the kennel. I came home to check on him, couldn’t find him anywhere and went to the dog pen (just knowing he wasn’t there, because of the 4x4) and my oldest chocolate lab, who wouldn’t hurt a fly walked right up and proudly dropped him at my feet as if he knew that’s what I was looking for...My heart stopped and I wanted to be mad at my dog but it was my fault, 100%. Spur has teeth marks on either side of his shell, I haven’t seen any blood but I’m sick. He’s been soaking in warm water for about 30 minutes and he’s just starting to poke his head out.

I didn’t even want to post this but I needed to for myself but also for anyone who has dogs. I hope you’re overly diligent to make sure your animals are separated at all times, even if your dog is harmless like my Browning. His favorite thing to do is fetch and a 2 and a half pound Sulcata is the perfect “ball”

I’m going to clean to teeth marks with peroxide and put Neosporin on them to be safe. Does anyone else have any wisdom they could share? Besides reinforce where Spur broke through?

Sorry to hear that happened. Glad he is ok. Labs are great dogs but are, well, retrievers. When i was a kid i had my musk turtle in a plastic tote on the garage floor while i was cleaning his tank. He somehow disappeared. I spent hours searching for him. A few days later my yellow lab threw up a piece of his shell. Glad your Sulcata just got some battle scars.
 

TammyJ

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It's OK just to put them close together (tortoises and dogs) just to snap a quick picture or video, though, right???o_O
 

madbad

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It's OK just to put them close together (tortoises and dogs) just to snap a quick picture or video, though, right???o_O

Dogs are quick, sneaky, and intelligent. If something triggers their predator response, they are going to try and eat it.

The risk:reward ratio on a pic seems high...
 
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