Talking about dogs and hamsters getting along, it is quite difficult to put them together but it is not impossible. It depends upon the dog not on the hamster how h will live with the little hamster as the hamster will be in fear all the time when the dog is around the hamster. To keep your pet dog and hamster together you need to train your dog first how to live with small pets without doing any harm to them.
You need to work on the traits and personality of a dog individually before leaving him with the hamster. There are many ways to train the dog and see whether it works or not. But there are many other problems where it is not good to put the dog and little hamster together in the same place.
In this article, we are going to talk about those reasons why it is not a good idea to keep both pets together and also see what measures can be taken and how to train the dog so both the pets live together happily.
Reasons why hamster and dog don’t get along
Dogs are very playful pets and love to play and jump all the time if the dog is kept along with the hamster then the dog will insist the hamster play with him and also try to play with his partner. But due to this, a little hamster may get frightened as the dog seems to be huge for them.
If a dog is small till it seems huge for hamsters because hamsters are very small in size. This may leave the hamster feeling fear all the time and the hamster himself will be left o play on its own. Here are some other reasons you should not keep both pets together.
1. Hyper nature of dog:
Some dogs are very hyper and over-enthusiastic and they could b dangerous for your little hamster. They will roam around the hamster all the time and push them to play with them. This will not leave the hamster to feel fear but it might hurt your pet hamster also. It doesn’t mean a dog will harm the hamster but the size difference is huge and unintentionally harm the little hamster.
2. Dogs aren’t trained to treat small pets:
This could be one of the important reasons that could be harmful to the health and surrounding of little pets. A dog must be trained on how to live with small pets and how to treat them in the right manner. This behavior of dogs could harm the little pets so it is better to keep them away from each other. In the presence of an untrained dog, it becomes difficult to create a safe and peaceful surrounding for your hamster.
3. Little hamster gets frightened of dog:
Hamsters are very small in size and also they have a short lifespan where they do not interact with the dog. Imagine the loud noise of their bark and their hyperactive behavior will how much frighten the little hamster and leave them in fear all the time. Due to this they will not try to come out of their cage and will not be happy to play and enjoy.
4. Dogs have a strong prey drive:
Some dogs have a natural prey drive in them and due to this hamsters could be an easy target for them to catch. Such kinds of dogs require special training before leaving them with some other pets. Therefore it is not a good idea to keep them together.
Different ways to keep dog and hamster together
It is not like a hamster and dog can never live together but it mostly depends upon the behavior of your dog whether it is calm and acceptable or hyperactive who will investigate the new pet coming in their place. The difficulty will come with both kinds of dogs but it is easier to train a calm dog to live with a small hamster but at the same time becomes difficult with the hyperactive dog.
It will move and run around the new guest, bounce on him, and bark at the little hamster which can frighten the hamster in all possible ways. Here are some steps you should follow to avoid all this.
1. Don’t leave them alone:
If you want to keep them at the same time then don’t leave them alone in the home together. You always need to have an eye on them so they don’t get hurt. If you leave both the pets together it could be an opportunity for the dog to do anything with the hamster and due to this hamster may get harmed.
2. Keep the hamster inside the cage when the dog is around:
It is better to keep the hamster inside the cage when the dog is roaming around or near the hamster. It will keep both the pets safe and happy and you tension-free. In this way, they will enjoy themselves and the hamster will also not frighten.
3. Train the dog:
You can also train your dog and bend his aggressive behavior so you can keep both pets together. Introduce both the pets very carefully to each other for the first time and try to train the dog daily on how he should live around a small creature.
4. Keep the hamster’s cage out of reach of the dog:
You can also keep the hamster out of reach of the dog so that dog will not harm the hamster at all. This will drag the attention of the dog from the hamster and the dog will automatically become less interested in the hamster.
5. Proper introduction of pets is important:
When you bring the new pet home, you need to introduce both the pets very carefully and watch their reaction after meeting each other. Keep the hamster in the cage and let the dog roam around, look at the new friend to whether it will accept the new mate or not, and then you will know how is the behavior of your dog whether it is accepting the new pet or not and then it will give you an idea how to manage both the pets together.
Final thoughts:
Dogs and hamsters both have different body sizes, behavior, and diet. So it is difficult to keep both pets together in the same place. There are many possibilities that a dog might harm the little pet and the hamster may also leave in fear all the time. But there are some methods also where you can manage to keep both pets together. So it depends on the pet owners how they introduce their pets and keep them together happy.
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