Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Cage Dog-proofing? How high can small dogs jump?

lissie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
8,190
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
8,190
I am planning to adopt a small dog (less than 15 lbs). Should I add a lid to my top cage? The bottom cage sure needs a lid. The wood frame on the top cage is about 26 inches off the floor.

Edit to add: I will be switching to grids instead of plexiglass. The total height of the cage plus new grids will be 40 inches.

This is my cage. Since the picture, I've reduced the height of the top cage, and remove the legs from the bottom cage, and added casters.

6782348648_e85f421d1d_z.jpg
 
Last edited:

emsillly

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Posts
181
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
181
i would to be safe
i've never had a dog but i've seen friends of mine small dogs get really hyper and jump pretty high
 

CourtArtanis

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Posts
606
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
606
What breed is the dog?
 

CourtArtanis

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Posts
606
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
606
What breed is the dog? Most small dogs could jump onto that bottom section with ease
(Not sure why that double posted, i tried to edit :D)

Just re-read your original post as well, in that case a small dog could jump onto both sections.
A Jack Russell terrier (for example) could jump into someone's arms. They are springy lol
 

LitaRutherford

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 1, 2012
Posts
375
Joined
May 1, 2012
Messages
375
It really depends on the dog. Some are jumpers some aren't. Something I might suggest is look into dog play pens. My cage is a 3ft tall dog playpen, but since you have (very nice looking) cages already built I might suggest you get a 3 or 4ft tall dog playpen and turn it into a sort of fence around your cage area. I can't describe anything worth junk so I'll include a picture. The reason I'm suggesting this is in my experience small dogs are very nosing and if they are able to get right up next to the cage your new dog may become very hyper and could freak you pigs out. My mom owns two small dogs and I cannot let them anywhere near my cage, even with how tall it is, because they will run around and bark and scratch at the cage which scares my pigs. You could even hang blankets or fabric on the fence to keep the dog from being able to see into the cages, so that the sight of them scurrying around doesn't set it off.

Of course your dog may just not care but this is just what my experience has been. And it seems easier then trying to build roofs on your cages. But that's just my suggestion. What kind of dog are you getting? ^^
 

lissie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
8,190
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
8,190
The top section will be at least 40 inches high once I replace the plexiglass with grids. Can they jump that high? I'm looking at either Maltese, Yorkie, or Shih Tzu.

The bottom cage will have a lid.
 

lissie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
8,190
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
8,190
I'm planning to buy this playpen for the dog while I'm not home.
(broken link removed)

Also plan on crate training. I already bought a crate.
 

CourtArtanis

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Posts
606
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
606
Alright, 40 inches is 3.3ft.
As far as i know, Yorkies and Maltese arn't massive jumpers, not sure about the Shih Tzu though...
 

CourtArtanis

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Posts
606
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
606
I'm planning to buy this playpen for the dog while I'm not home.
(broken link removed)

Also plan on crate training. I already bought a crate.

Sounds good. When correctly trained a dog will ignore small animals anyway, so those pens and the higher cages should be more than fine.
I've never seen a dog jump so high unless they really wanna get to what they are jumping for!
 

LitaRutherford

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 1, 2012
Posts
375
Joined
May 1, 2012
Messages
375
Yeah those breeds aren't big jumpers. I'd worry more about them getting close to the cage and barking at the pigs, especially a Yorkie. Maltese and Shih Tzu are a bit more chill from my experience, compared to a Yorkie.
 

CourtArtanis

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Posts
606
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
606
Yeah those breeds aren't big jumpers. I'd worry more about them getting close to the cage and barking at the pigs, especially a Yorkie. Maltese and Shih Tzu are a bit more chill from my experience, compared to a Yorkie.

Yeah it'd frighten the poor pigs. They'd get used to it though and the dog would get bored fairly quickly lol
 

lissie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
8,190
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
8,190
Another non related question. Do I have to quarantine the dog behind closed door, away from the pigs? (Like when you get a new pig and supposed to quarantine for 3 weeks)

The dog would either come from a rescue or shelter. I've been browsing petfinder everyday.
 

CourtArtanis

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Posts
606
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
606
Another non related question. Do I have to quarantine the dog behind closed door, away from the pigs? (Like when you get a new pig and supposed to quarantine for 3 weeks)

The dog would either come from a rescue or shelter. I've been browsing petfinder everyday.

If the dog has had all it's shots (Which it should have done if it's over 3 months old) then that's no issue. Dog fleas are host specific and any viruses or bacteria that pigs could catch would have died if the dog is vaccinated.
Bordetella, which is a bacteria that causes Kennel Cough in dogs and bronchial infections in other mammals (including humans) doesn't live for long outside the body and the dog should be vaccinated against that too if it comes from a reputable shelter.

As far as i know, viruses that dogs are susceptible to or can carry are host specific.
Ticks and mites cause fairly obvious symptoms with dogs, which will also be treated and no issue if it's from a reputable shelter
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

KirbyFan8910
Replies
3
Views
580
ItsaZoo
ItsaZoo
G
Replies
3
Views
610
Anawilliam850
A
Top