Chinchillas and dogs

[kolmeen]

Hello,

My boyfriend and I recently lost our one-year-old chinchilla, Abbey, to a tragic accident with our shih-tzu poodle. The dogs had never been allowed in the room she lived in and has never paid the chinchilla any attention, but she opened up a door that had not been closed properly and jumped up on the cage, opening the cage door. We are very sad about this loss, as we were really excited to be chin parents for a long time. We feel we owe it to Abbey to try again with another chinchilla, and we are adding locks to the door to the room, as well as a lock to the cage that you would have to have opposable thumbs to open. Just wondering if anyone else has any advice for having chinchillas and dogs under the same roof. I do not expect them to play together, but if you have any tips for living harmoniously, I would appreciate them!

Thanks!

 

[area07]

To be honest, I have 5 large dogs (lab mixes or Husky mixes) and I took extra steps to ensure that nothing would ever happen to my chins. I bought tough cages (ferret nations) that even when jumped on wouldn't be knocked over, broken into or damaged. My dogs are all well behaved and have never jumped on, lunged at or tried to get my chinchillas but I didn't want to take the chance that something could possibly happen. I know that you say you will be locking the door to the chin's room and locking the chin cage but if the door was left open and this tragic accident happened then I feel there is a chance that the locks can be left unlocked. I feel you need to take steps to keep your chinchilla safe should your dog get into the room with it, such as purchasing a large, sturdy cage or putting the cage up higher or something. I also would STRONGLY urge you to think of the chinchilla before purchasing one, maybe right now with the dog you have it is not a good time in your life to own a chin, I personally think you should wait. Accidents happen, and I'm sorry this accident happened, but I personally don't feel locks are enough to keep your next chin safe from a dog with a proven small animal aggression.

Ashley

 

[brittanyydevan]

you could always separate them by levels. like your dog on the first floor and your chin on the second. put a baby gate up at the stairs.

 

[starleomach]

Accidents do happen. The best thing you can do is keep the chinchilla in a room the dog has no access to at all. There is always a chance something can happen. cages get left open, chinchillas escape

 

[Sdo9396]

I'm sorry that you had to go through the tragic loss of Abbey. I live in a single-level home so I did not have the option of leaving my chin Emmy on a separate floor but I have her in a FN in a separate room with the door closed at all times. I have two dogs that are mixed with cocker spaniels so I know the prey drive is there. I have let the dogs peek in to see what's in the room but they eye Emmy up as if she's a rotisserie chicken so I know they are not to be trusted. The only advice I have for you is try to get a sturdy cage and to avoid having your dog and chin in the same room. I wish you luck if you decide to get another chin )

 

[Gabby88]

My dog has never been allowed in the same room as my chinchillas. There's a dog gate in front of the doorway to the chin's room. My dog never touches the dog gate (she never has in her entire 6 years of being alive) so I knew she wouldn't try to knock it over. She occasionally will bark in the middle of the night if the chins make too much noise, but only because it startles her while she's sleeping, and she just goes right back to sleep.

But yesterday, I needed to use the dog gate to lock the dog in a different room while a repair man came over so she didn't bother him. When he left, I opened the chin room to give them some hay, and the dog was still locked in the other room. I totally forgot I had left the chinnie room door open, and I let the dog out of the room she was in. My husband called, so I forgot to put the gate back up. Five minutes later, I hear my dog barking.

She had gotten into the chin room and was right up to their cage barking at them. I ran in there and told her to get out. She did right away. She's a super good listener. What's my point? Yes, accidents happen. My dog was accidentally able to get into the chin room due to my forgetfulness. But the reason nothing bad happened is because My cage is taller than I am! There's no way my dog could get anywhere near their highest shelf. So they cuddled up together to get away from her on the highest shelf in the top corner. The latch on the cage is also impossible for my dog to jump on and open. And it's also closed with 2 extra clips that I added. So the cage is completely dog proof!!

I didn't think my dog could ever get in their room, but I was prepared in case she did. And I don't even think my dog would really harm the chins if they did escape or she managed to open the cage. But always expect the unexpected and be prepared!

Personally, if I had lost one chin due to another one of my pets, I would not be in a rush to get another one.

 

[Ash]

I don't think it's fair to tell her not to get another pet when it sounds like it may have been a fluke, so to speak. From the sounds of it, it's not as if the dog is constantly allowed in the room with the chinchillas, but the door was left open and the dog got into the room.

I myself have lost a chinchilla to a dog. My chins are kept in the basement. Well, one night, Shadow (our husky) managed to sneak downstairs and got one of the cages open somehow (my boyfriend believes he hadn't closed it properly). He killed my BV. Now, we take extra precautions to ensure the dog does not go into the basement.

To the OP: It sounds as though you are on the right track with your ideas regarding locks. This was what we did to ensure the cages are closed properly every time. Maybe you could also do as the previous poster has done and also get a dog gate as sort of a second barrier, that way if the door were to somehow get left opened again, there would still be a second precaution to keep him/her out.

 

[Brittany]

The woman who adopted my rescue chins had a babyproofing latch on her cage so her toddler couldn't get in. I thought it was a great idea! It turned out that I couldn't get in either ;-)

I'm so sorry about the loss of Abbey, accidents do happen, and it sounds like you're on the right track!

 

[Gabby88]

The point is that extra precautions should be taken in case the dog does happen to get into the same room as the chinchilla. The dog gate does work really well for me, but for dogs that tend to jump on gates and knock them over, it wouldn't really help too much.

I was just saying I wouldn't rush into it, and I would think about it for a while and know that every possible step was taken to ensure the chin's safety even if the dog does happen to get into the room.

Step 1: Make sure the dog can't get into the room
Step 2: Maybe have a barrier in front of the cage so the dog can't reach the cage
Step 3: If the dog does reach the cage, make sure the dog can't jump on top of the cage.
Step 4. Make sure the dog can't unlatch the cage or open it.

If all of these steps are taken, your chin should be safe.

Also, I'm very sorry for your loss.