# The Hedgie And the Schnauzer.



## Nell (Aug 26, 2010)

I'm pretty sure at least one person here has pets other than hedgies, hopefully there are people with dogs here that can help me. 

My schnauzer seems to get rather anxious when the hog is out. He sticks to me like a tick, climbing possessively ontop of me or leaning on me, sniffs and digs wherever the hedgehog's been, and often stares at the cage if it's open or if there's activity in it and overall doesn't take his eyes off the hog. If I close my room's door to handle the hog, he whines and scratches at it.

I can tell it's jealousy/territoriality. I'm not worried that he'll harm the hedgehog as he would've tried by now, but having a siamese schnauzer bodypart restricting my movements when I'm handling the hedgehog is not my idea of fun. 

I pet him, play with him and pay attention to him whenever I can, even while handling the hog, so it's not like I'm ignoring him, so what can I do?


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## schmelderz (Jul 7, 2010)

I don't have a dog, sorry I can't help. I just wanted to say that this is kinda funny and cute :lol: 

There are several members in this forum with dogs, they'll be able to help.


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## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

I don't have a dog, but I do have a cat that thinks he's a dog and acts the same way when the hedgie is out. My kitty doesn't like anyone paying any attention to anything but him- even if you're in the bathroom with the door shut he'll cry and cry. Have you had your hedgehog for a while? I know my cat was a lot worse when I first got Pepper and eventually he got used to him. He still wants to be right there when Pepper's out, but if I keep petting both of them, he'll just settle down beside me and watch. Is there anything your pup likes enough that would distract him, like a favorite toy or something to chew? The best method with my childhood pup was always distraction.


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

I would recommend some sort of training that could just include stuff you do at home. He can have attention but he needs to know when to stop too. Make sure you show him who's in charge (that would be you) to reward or otherwise reinforce his behaviour (eg. chew toy like jinglesharks said). Discipline can be one way too as the dog needs to get used to the hedgehog. It's the same as children, you can't spoil them all the time and give them all the attention all the time because they'll in turn become spoiled - your dog needs to know acceptable boundaries whether that's positive or negative reinforcement.


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## MoonbeamHH (May 3, 2010)

I have a dog. Rosco is a golden retriever. 3 years old. When I first brought Snowball home, he was very alert when Snowball was around. He actually drooled over the first time he saw her. But after he poke his nose into the quills, he actually backed away and gave me a glare. Now, its been almost 7 months since Snowball came home. He knows when to stay away from Snowball, sometimes she will crawl over to Rosco, Rosco will be very tense. I would say there is jealously going on, I often give Snowball her attention then I move on to Rosco. I kindly give him some treats to tell him that I am there for him, not just Snowball. Rosco is trained to be near me all times, he is a hearing service dog. He got confused a little bit, then got used to the orders I give him, to back away, or go lay down somewhere else. Once in a while, I will find Rosco sleeping next to Snowball's cage. He likes to be protective to everyone that stays overnight in the house. I would suggest, give attention, some love. It will go away after a couple months or so. Like the other posts, you are the boss of the dog, you are in charge. Good Luck!


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## smg323 (Aug 19, 2010)

My mini dachshund LOOOOVES the hedgehogs.
They each have free-run time in our apartment, usually seperately as we don't know that the hedgies won't fight.

But Cereal, the dog, loves them. Zoe (older hedgie) has a lot of fun running around playing "chase" with the dog. The eventually retire to the dog tent & sleep on opposite sides of it. It's sweet.

But Sonia (the younger hog) is a little unsure of the dog. He lingers near her, sniffing & watching her for signs of play, but she puffs up & rejects him. He still watches her every move, and even sits still when we put her on his back (She seems to enjoy that.... oddly enough)

I think it takes time, but if you have a gentle dog with patience, they can enjoy each other.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

You may be able to train him and make it a fun game with a treat if he listens. I trained mine to do a sit stay behind me while I am holding a hedgie on the floor. She knows now that when I go to the cage and sit down that she has to sit behind me, so she just snuggles up to my back while I'm playing with which ever hedgie I have out and when its all over she gets a treat. If your dog has a short attention span you will probably have to reward fairly often with treats so make sure to break them up small, I've got mine now where she only gets one treat after. That way she is happy that she is touching me but it also gives me control of everything in front of me so no accidents or snappiness can occur. I don't think mine would do this but its a precaution because that's almost how every bad story begins....I didn't think my dog/cat would do (insert whatever).


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

I` had a Schnauzer once. She was so sweet. She just liked to be wherever I was.


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## Nell (Aug 26, 2010)

My mini Ralphy is just like that, a socialite to boot. He needs to be near people and even gets separation anxiety when he's left alone at home. (He's gotten better, we're still working on that)
He even sleeps on my mother's bed on his back, like a person. 
And if visitors come over he's the first to say hello most of the time. He only needs to talk and he'd be the toast of all evenings. 
I guess part of his curiosity would be an interest in playing, but Ziggy will have none of that. 
Still working on things. I suppose this will slowly fade as well.


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