Best dog breed with torts

[Shelly]

My old dog Lucy is very, very old, and probably doesn't have too long to live. She is a Springer Spaniel, as was always very good with my torts and turtles. If anything, my torts would harass HER, more than she ever bothered them.
After Lucy passes, we will be looking for a new dog. I don't want another Springer, because they have very bad eyes, and in fact Lucy has been totally blind for about 3-4 years now.
So please feel free to offer your opinions about good dog breeds to keep with my 3 adult Desert Torts.
I understand that I need to be careful with a dog under any circumstance. Luckily I work from home, so I am almost always here to supervise.... Thanks in advance...

 

[DeanS]

I got my wife a pug at the shelter 2 years ago...and he loves hanging out with the torts...he's NEVER been aggressive with them and they have NEVER rammed him or anything...

 

[SunsetHypo]

I am really glad this post came up, as I have been thinking of getting a dog. i am just worried that it will think its got a moving chew toy. Maybe the smaller the dog maybe less to worry about. I really hope Ed posts on here since he has aldabs

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I have seen too many dog chewed tortoises. I don't think dogs and tortoises mix... I don't intend to be mean, and I won't lecture but putting a new dog with your tortoises could be dangerous. I am sorry you are losing your Lucy, also to be considered is the torts hurting a small dog. I'm not too sure DT's would hurt a dog, but I know Sulcata would...

 

[jazzywoo]

personally i would never trust an dog 100% with a tortoise or a childcome to think about it ive heard so many horror stories its not worth the risk
always have them supervised together
ann x

 

[Shelly]

OK. Let's just assume that I am %100 determined to get a dog. It's not whether or not to get one, but which one to get. Already made up my mind that I wll definitely get one when the time comes.
What are you thoughts and experiences with dogs and torts? Which have you personally had good luck with, and which specific breeds have you had bad luck with?

 

[dmmj]

Even though you are determined to get a dog, I think what they are trying to say is that any dog does not go well with torts, but get one at your own risk I guess. My dog does not go around my torts unsupervised, even for a minute, if he is out there I am out there.

 

[GBtortoises]

"I have seen too many dog chewed tortoises. I don't think dogs and tortoises mix..."

I absolutely have to agree with Maggie. I would not trust a new dog, puppy or any dog left unsupervised with a tortoise ot turtle. My dogs grew up with tortoises already here and they show zero interest in the tortoises. They do come with me out to the tortoise enclosures and hang out while I'm working, still showing no interest in the tortoises. But every time I leave the fenced area they come with me and I shut and secure the gate behind me. My kids are all teens and older now so I'm not concerned about them. But neices and nephews aren't allowed unescorted near the tortoises either.

I've had two tortoises and one turtle here over the years that were mauled by dogs that were family pets of the tortoise owners. Their dogs "never hurt a flea" according to the owners. Maybe not a flea, but they apparently liked to chew on tortoises and turtles!

 

[dmmj]

Dogs don't chew on turtles and torts to be mean they chew on them because they are dogs

 

[Candy]

I was afraid of this very thing when I got Dale, but when Walter offered me Fernando I said lets see now that Emma (our Chocolate Labrador) is 2 years old. When they were introduced Emma was curious for about as long as someone didn't have a ball to throw. She is so obsessed with balls that she doesn't really care about Fernando. I also have a pug and when I went to pick Fernando up to bring him in one night the pug went for him (because I think he was trying to protect me), but I slapped Spencer and told him NO and he's never bothered him since. Spencer is 7 years old now. Fernando is bigger (12 inches) then Dale I think that has a lot to do with it. I would never trust Emma or Spencer with Dale he's only 7 3/4 inches long and they would definitely hurt him. I am hoping when Dale is as big as some of the Redfoots on here that he will be safe with Emma and Spencer. Fernando seems perfectly comfortable around the dogs though they don't seem to bother him in the least. I figure he must have been around dogs at some point in his lifetime.

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

I think a breed with a very low 'play drive' would be best. This is a question for a 'DOG TRAINER" like Tom. Where is he when we need him????
((((((((((((((((TOM!??))))))))))))))))))

 

[Kristina]

I am thinking that whether or not a dog is good around torts is in the end going to have diddley squat with the breed. All dogs are carnivores, and saying to get a little dog isn't even accurate because a lot of small breeds are bred to hunt. Daschunds were bred to hunt BADGERS, to follow them right down in their burrows, and a badger is a MEAN critter!!! A badger would take on a full grown grizzly if it needed to.

My dog Lily is a Shar Pei, and she doesn't pay a lick of attention to the tortoises. It is like they don't exist. But she doesn't have unsupervised access to them either. Her brother, whom I used to have, on the other hand, would eat one of the tortoises in a heartbeat. Litter mates, same breed.

In my opinion it is going to be hit or miss, based on individual personality, regardless of breed.

 

[Yvonne G]

Personally, I just love the Doberman breed. I have a doberman and a small boston terrier mixed breed. The dogs are in the back yard and never have access to the tortoises.

John...I know you've said that you work from home, but in the interest of tortoise safety, I think it would be a good idea to fence off a portion of the yard for the new dog. After he's lived there for a while and realizes that the tortoises belong there too, then maybe you could reconsider the fencing.

 

[Itort]

I've had several types of dogs while having torts (a siberian husky, a sheltie, and now a dachie and two chinese crested) who have never touched a tort because all enclosures are well covered and dogs never near torts unsupervised. I've observed an old dog doesn't pay much attention to them but a pup or young dog is another story. Keep them apart.

 

[Shelly]

I do have a place that is fenced off where I put the torts when the gardener comes, or they need to put out of the way for some reason. When I get the dog, I plan on using that area to separate them whenever I leave the house for an extended period. But I don't want to do that forever.... too much hassle
Ironically, part of the reason I want a dog is to keep the yard free of raccoons, which I feel probably are a greater threat to my turtles and torts than a well mannered dog would be.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

John, I volunteered at Yvonne's rescue for a few years before I moved here to Oregon. In that time I can't count the number of people who brought their dog chewed turtle or tortoise to her and they all said "Our dog is very well trained so I never thought he would hurt our tortoise.... until he did". It is their instinct to do that. And even tho I am not a dog person I know they didn't chew on that turtle to be mean, they were simply being dogs and playing. And the reason I am posting again is because you will be getting a NEW dog or puppy and you must know you can't trust them.

If *I* were to get a dog I would get a German Shepherd, but as puppies and young dogs they chew on everything. I had one when I was married and that dog chewed his way through a 1986 Chevy truck while we were in the store, and for several years after that I had to sit on a milk crate because the seat was chewed clear thru...

 

[Shelly]

In that time I can't count the number of people who brought their dog chewed turtle or tortoise to her and they all said "Our dog is very well trained so I never thought he would hurt our tortoise.... until he did".

I understand what you are saying, but keep in mind people say A LOT of things that are not true. You can't really expect them to say "yeah, well we really just never pay too much attention to what our dog is up to..... but that's far more likely the truth.
My wife is a fourth grade teacher. Every year she has some parent of some rotten awful kid say "He would NEVER do that! He's ALWAYS so well behaved at home".

It would take a long time for a medium size dog to hurt my torts. My big female gets bitten, and bitten, and bitten, over and over and over by her "boyfriend" almost every day, and she barely notices that he is even there. Unless he tries to bite her face, she just keeps on grazing without a care in the world. I doubt a small/medium dog would have any more success hurting her than he does.

 

[Madortoise]

Did I tell you all that my husband initially brought home our CDT w/out telling me and had her for a couple of weeks secretly? Incidentally, I was just about to give an offer to a puggle at the time and when I confronted my husband for being relentlessly stubborn about not getting a dog, I got to meet the tort. Thus, my plan of having a dog went out the door.
I wish we could have it all but I just couldn't risk it.

 

[Scooter]

My parents have a husky/shepherd mix that will lay down next to the torts and will keep the other dogs from coming near them but has never tried to hurt them but has never has access to them without someone there. I also worked with a guy who had a lab and a catahoula leopard hound that he trained to find his torts. He had very large enclosures and when it was time to put the torts up for the night the dogs would go out find the torts then sit there by them till he came and got them (one would also do this with nest) though again they never has access to the torts without someone there.

 

[terracolson]

I have a lab and he doesnt even care about the torts, cats, lizards, or birds..

Its his personality/training, i dont think its his breed....