Max and Liz .. can they be friends?

[Doddins]

I have a8 yr old male west highland terrier and as you all know i also have liz my 2 yr old female beardie
does anyone have any experience of having a dog AND a beardie and have they ever gotten on together?

i darent let Liz out at the minute incase Max dunt agree. he can get abit jealous sometimes when im feeding her and insists on getting his head in while my arm is in the viv.

its unfair to not let Liz out again and its unfair to kick Max out for an hour.
Can they ever be friends?

 

[beardie parents]

It depends on the dog and the beardie. I wouldn't chance it if you think the dog would cause problems for your beardie.

 

[Kalec]

I agree it does depend on the dog. I have a three year old American Pit Bull Terrier (Rosie) who is my baby, and I just don't have the heart to shoo her in another room when I take Kalec out for a bit, so I did a bit of clicker training with Rosie.

Keeping Kalec in his viv, I allowed Rosie to investigate the tank. Every time she sat and just looked politely, she got a click and a piece of string cheese. When she lunged toward the tank, she was removed from the room without a word until she calmed down. When she was calm with the tank (took a few sessions), I took Kalec out and repeated the exercise with Rosie. A look and no reaction earned a click and cheese, excitable reaction earned removal.

This worked because she showed no signs of aggression, predatory instinct, or chase drive toward Kalec. She just wanted to check him out! I would be careful with your Westie though, as he (like my Rosie) is a terrier and thus more prone to chase drive with small animals. I never leave Rosie and Kalec unsupervised together, even if Kalec is safe in his viv. If you do try the training with your Max, be sure to be patient, go at his pace, and never use punishment - we don't want him associating Liz with the punishment, we want him associating her with good things!

 

[Doddins]

Thanks Kalec. I really like your approach to the training. i might have to try this and take it slow and steady

 

[Nasubi77]

I just want to point out that your westie is a terrier and a terrier's instincts and genetics tell him to hunt small vermin. That's what they have been bred over centuries to do. So, I don't think there will ever be camaraderie between your beardie and your dog. It only takes a second for a dog to snatch up a small animal if he decides to do so, so I wouldn't even have supervised interactions with these two. Always make sure your dog is locked up in another room when you let your beardie roam. Better safe than sorry, right?