Dog's best friend

[Kirin]

Okay, I know that a lot of you think that dogs shouldn’t be around your tortoise (especially a young one) but I have to disagree. My dog Max, has loved Daisy the first moment that I brought her home. When I take her outside, Max will lie down beside her and watch her. If one of my other dogs tries to come near her he will chase them away. If I have her out in the house he will do the same to the cats. I will hold her up to him and he gives her kisses. He is her protector and will not hurt her. I am still very protective of Daisy and I’m right there protecting her, but Daisy is his baby too and loves her very much. Best Friends Forever!

 

[luvpetz27]

It is a cute pick tho!

 

[wellington]

Best friends forever, until the day you get too relaxed and aren't paying close attention and things go wrong. Save yourself the agony. We have a member that have seen some very well trained dogs, that have been around tortoises it's whole life. Never did anything to them. Well, until that one day the owner, for just a few seconds, didn't pay attention and the dog attack the family tortoise. Your a fool if you think it can't or won't happen.

 

[Tom]

Having dogs around tortoises is fine, WHEN SUPERVISED and under control. I do it everyday. Leaving them alone together is literally flirting with disaster.

Dogs are dogs and they will do what dogs do. The nicest most well behaved dog in the world will still obey its instincts on occasion.

Please be careful. So many have had to learn this lesson the hard way at the expense of their tortoise. Please be one of the ones who can learn from the misfortune of others.

 

[Kirin]

If Charlie my ferret can jump on Max and bite him with his big teeth (he love to play with the other animals and he does not bite him hard) and Max does nothing to him, I’m pretty sure I don’t have to worry. I’m not saying that I’m not careful, because I am; I’m just saying that he is a great dog and he is in love with her. They all live under the same roof, so it is my job to maintain a peaceful and happy environment for all of my pets.

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Keeping them all safe is my number one issue.

 

[EKLC]

If Max is good-natured and not particularly interested in chewing on Daisy, then they are probably ok to be together under close supervision.

HOWEVER, do not personify Max and think that he loves Daisy like you do and has her best interests at heart. Max does not know what is good for a tortoise and he may hurt Daisy doing something that he doesn't understand will harm her.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

It's a great pic. I love Max just from looking at it.
I think tortoises are like walking balls to dogs. Maybe your tort is not walking fast enough yet. You just never know. I trust that you will properly supervise them and you seem like a great animal owner and lover. Thanks for sharing

 

[Tortus]

Is Max a terrier or terrier mix?

I had a terrier mix growing up named Pokey. He was also fine around other pets as long as someone was around. But he ended up killing my pet mouse when no one was home and an entire litter of kittens.

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Max could be totally fine but be careful. I would question if he's chasing the other dogs away to protect it or to be possessive over it, saying, "This is my toy now back off!".

 

[immayo]

I personally wouldn't let your dog "kiss" your tortoise. My dogs have tried to lick mine the few times I have been outside with all of them in the yard together. I don't allow it! To you it seems like a kiss but to them it could be them testing out a little taste. In my opinion it kind of sounds like your dog is not protecting the tortoise but is showing dominance over it and that is why it chases others away from it. A way of saying stay away from MY property. Hopefully nothing ever happens and you continue to always be around when they are together.

 

[kathyth]

Great picture.
I also do it everyday and like you supervise 100%.
I think we all know that dogs cannot be trusted, despite what we want to believe.
Cute!

 

[lisa127]

I personally wouldn't let your dog "kiss" your tortoise. My dogs have tried to lick mine the few times I have been outside with all of them in the yard together. I don't allow it! To you it seems like a kiss but to them it could be them testing out a little taste. In my opinion it kind of sounds like your dog is not protecting the tortoise but is showing dominance over it and that is why it chases others away from it. A way of saying stay away from MY property. Hopefully nothing ever happens and you continue to always be around when they are together.

Not everything a dog does is showing "dominance". Dogs are just being dogs.

That being said, I have a Heinz 57 mutt that thinks every living thing is her friend. She is turning 12 this year and has showed zero prey drive towards other animals (not matter how tiny) her entire life. But, the only time she sees/is around my box turtles is when they are securely in my hands only. Not even under supervision with the turtles loose. In my hands only. And this is after almost 12 years of trustworthy behavior. Tom is right, even the most well trained or most gentle dog can act on instinct.

 

[ra94131]

I know I wouldn't trust 99% of dogs near my reptiles at all, and the other 1% only under constant extremely close supervision. They are animals after all.

It is just too easy to anthropomorphize an animal's behavior because we cannot truly understand the thought process behind it, so I try to always err on the side of caution.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Kirin]

He is only and will only be around her under my supervision! He loves babies any kind of babies. When I brought home a box of kittens that were abandoned, he thought he was their mommy. They were only 2 weeks old and barely had their eyes open. The kittens would try to nurse on him and he didn’t mind at all. We still have 2 of the kittens now (which are now 5 yo) and they are best friends. Max only likes to chew on rocks and metal and because of it doesn’t have many teeth left. He is a strange dog but a good dog. Let me assure everyone that he will only be around her under my supervision and still I keep him back away from her. Keeping all my animals safe is very important to me. When an animal comes here to live with me, they are not my pets, they are my family!

 

[Yvonne G]

OK, all...Kirin obviously understands what might happen when leaving dogs and tortoises unattended. We can now all stop lecturing...Please!

 

[Kirin]

Thank you!

 

[ra94131]

OK, all...Kirin obviously understands what might happen when leaving dogs and tortoises unattended. We can now all stop lecturing...Please!

I think people just worry and overdo it (I know I do), because the sad stories are just so sad. I agree though, Kirin seems to be a responsible owner and there's likely no cause for concern.

(Personally, I know my response was more targeted to future "searchers" than Kirin.)