[Coco.in.Panama]

Our friends are coming by tonight for a barbecue, and have asked to bring their dog-- a Yorkie. They have always brought her along (before we had Coco) so she knows the house well and is comfortable here. We normally hang out in the backyard anyways.

I'm a little nervous about Coco (14 weeks, 20 lbs). She is wonderful with other dogs when we walk... to be honest, hardly pays any attention to them at all, even if they are barking like crazy. She came from a home with other dogs and cats, and is very quiet with our cats (haven't had intimate encounters... the cats always have an escape route if their in a room together).

Anything we can do to make the encounter with the Yorkie easier/ better? Given her behavior with other animals is it something I should worry about? Am I better off asking our friends not to bring their dog?

TIA

 

[Loisiana]

I don't see a problem with it as long as you keep an eye on them at all times. At any point they cannot be supervised, they should be seperated. You might need to remind coco a couple of times to play gently. If it seems to get too rough I'd go ahead and seperate them. My dogs play with yorkies all the time since I have a friend with one. And Flip had one in his puppy class that he played with when he was that age.

 

[cubbysan]

Goldens adjust very well to any size dog to play with. I would just be afraid the puppy might be a little rough at first. Now is a great time to introduce them, and they could be life long friends.

I would introduce them on leashes so you have full control of the situation, and don't let them be unsupervise.

 

[Jo Ellen]

Daisy had the best fun with a little Yorkie when she was much younger. Yorkies have great personalities, they're quick and can fit in places our dogs can't -- they can protect themselves. But they're such teases!!

Let them play, they'll make you laugh

 

[Zeppelin]

I agree whole-heartedly...Let them play! One of Zep's best friends is a Boston Terrier...they met when the BT was 8 weeks and Zep was about 15 or 16 weeks. They have been buddies ever since!

 

[LibertyME]

Let them play....I would make an effort to see that the Yorkie has a couple of safe places to hide out if she needs to ...they are so fast and agile...I suspect the Yorkie will be able to run circles around Coco!

If you see either one getting too wound up...you can and should separate them.

 

[Coco.in.Panama]

Update: Coco was wonderful! I'm sure my friends think we're crazy for having been complaining about this "naughty puppy" stage because she made liars out of us. She was completely calm! Actually, the Yorkie was quite loud, barking and whining, and Coco was slightly intimadated-- we were scared it would be the other way around! The maturity level definitely showed through with the Yorkie taking control of the lawn. Eventually they got used to each other and started playing.

All in all, it showed 2 things--- 1) Coco is truly just a baby; and 2) the Yorkie has no idea of her actual size.

 

[Coco.in.Panama]

PS- the 2 have nearly identical names (Cuca vs. Coco) so saying "the Yorkie" avoids some confusion :

 

[Jo Ellen]

Yorkies definitely don't know their size! But they carry their attitude in a good way, they're very smart! I'm not surprised at all to read that the Yorkie took control of the lawn LOL.

Glad to hear everything went well