Would Damien eat my girlfriend's Malti-poo?

I've had my BP for about 2 weeks now and there's one issue that I'm still on edge about. Would Damien take a shot at my malti-poo if given the chance? I usually keep them serparate, actually they've yet to have a close encounter. Still, as long as they live under the same roof there is a possibility(Murphy's Law). So has anyone had an experience where their BP attacked another small pet? The dog is obviously too big for the snake to eat(about 15 lbs), but would he attack him?

BPs will bite anything in defense if provoked.

BPs will bite things they think might smell like food.

The dog can fit into both categories. I'd keep at least a few feet between them just to be safe. The biggest danger is the snake biting the dog and the dog retaliating and killing the snake.

Both animals are under your control so there should be no problem.

My guess is if the BP were to try to attack the dog, it would be a defensive strike and wouldn't cause harm to the dog. I'd be more worried about the dog.

I have 6 cats. As you can imagine, it can be tricky keeping the cats away while I'm letting my BP roam. Originally, the cats were terrified of the snake so it worked out perfectly- but now the cats view my adult BP as a potential toy.

I feel it is best to lock the cats out of my room when its BP play time, this may be your best option when it comes to your doggie as well. I imagine your dog would survive a snake bite, but your BP may not survive a dog bite- it's best to not find out :P

Just don't let the snake and dog canoodle with each other and you should have no problems. I really doubt the snake would try to harm the dog though. Its usually the other way around.

Somewhat irrelevant but I thought this was funny..

I was cleaning my snakes cage yesterday and had the snake in my off hand, and my dog comes in head first to take a big sniff (he's a beagle.) and my ball tagged him on the nose. He bled for like 10 minutes. That's what the 'snoopy' bastard gets =P

My ball pythons havent attacked the dog (they've had PLENTY of chances to do so). My blood python on the other hand has attacked the dog (lab/pit mix) he licked the snakes head and the snake grabbed a hold of his lip and it took 3 people to get her off him the blood python is 4 foot long. Now the dog WILL NOT go around ANY snakes.

I have seen my normal "checking out" one of my 80 lb dogs. Now obviously there is NO Way she could ever think about that. However.....she was hanging down off my foot (as it was up on the chair) and I thought...oh that's cute. Then my hubby goes....uhhhh...you might want to get Elle...she looks like she is ready to bite your dogs ear. :O:O Sure enough....you could tell she was configuring the "how to" in her head.

The dog...totally oblivious...

The only thing I really worry about is the snake getting a hold of the dog and the dog freaking out and shaking her head...the snake goes flying...yada yada. You get the picture.

Now...they are kept apart!

Dogs smell like predators to ball pythons, and never, EVER forget that the family pooch IS a predator who will gladly kill and eat small game (such as a little snake). They are best kept apart! I would recommend carefully training the dog to leave the snakes alone. Training a dog to avoid snakes is always a wise choice, particularly if you live in an area where wild venomous species are found.

Yikes, not to sounds like a jerk, but I don't think this should ever be a concern.

My cats and dogs NEVER mix with my snakes. It just shouldn't happen. To me that's just being irresponsible.

Some of the stories in the thread are frightening.

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Originally Posted by Soterios

Yikes, not to sounds like a jerk, but I don't think this should ever be a concern.

My cats and dogs NEVER mix with my snakes. It just shouldn't happen. To me that's just being irresponsible.

Some of the stories in the thread are frightening.

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+1 my sisters got a chihuahua and a Jack Russel, I shut them out of the room when the snakes are out. I'm sure they'd happily kill any of my snakes

Like some others have already stated, I would be far more concerned with what the dog would to the snake, not the other way around.

Agreed on all counts; don't mix them. I'm fairly certain that my brother's rainbow boas could "take" his cat, but I have no illusions about either side of that fight being ok, and neither does he, so the cat is always locked in another area of the apartment when the snakes come out, and that goes double for his geckos, who would be to the cat what crickets are to them.

I was kind of wondering the same thing, one of my dogs is a 3 year old malti-poo and he is a runt only weighing in at like 5-7 lbs. and is non aggressive, my other doggie is a mutt and constantly nips at him and the malti-poo will run away/hide. I always wondered when my snake gets to be like full sized that she would try to kill my dog 0.o so I always keep them separate lol

I can't grasp why you would ever have them around each other, it's not difficult to keep them apart and then there's no risk whatsoever. My dogs have never even seen the reptile room, they are not allowed upstairs.

A 5 ft ball python could probably kill a dog that size, but it wouldn't hunt the dog for food--the dog would just be too big. The largest girl I have can't even take a super-sized jumbo rat.

On the other hand, do not underestimate your little dog. A timid personality doesn't make the dog any less of a predatory animal. I wouldn't like to see the outcome of that fight, either. One or both animals could be killed.

My BP actually crawls TOWARD my dog when he's laying down and peruses around his legs and such, probably looking for warmth. No hissing or signs of aggression there.

However, to totally cancel out what I just said, I was holding a prospective sub-adult male that I was going to adopt right after petting the owner's pet Ring-Tailed Lemur (I know, crazy, eh? :D) and it latched RIGHT on to my hand. The owner was like, "Hm, apparently he's going to bite you. Never done that before." I was just like, ":rofl:" and "Cool!"

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Originally Posted by Moofins07

petting the owner's pet Ring-Tailed Lemur (I know, crazy, eh? :D)

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Not to change the thread but wow...a pet lemur...how amazing. I use to take care of a black and white lemur at the zoo and totally fell in LOVE with him. Always wanted one....just did not think I could give it a proper home. Plus my hubby would probably divorce me!:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

Not to change the thread but wow...a pet lemur...how amazing. I use to take care of a black and white lemur at the zoo and totally fell in LOVE with him. Always wanted one....just did not think I could give it a proper home. Plus my hubby would probably divorce me!:rolleyes:

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Yeah, it was quite the experience. The little thing was the first thing I saw when he opened the door, just sitting on the stairwell railing. It had a little harness and everything! :P

So I dont think it would ever be a problem as long as the two animals dont seem to mind the other.... I have much larger snakes but no pics of them with the other animals but here is a pic of my red tail and my wifes cat...http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/t...tchell/010.jpg

As long as supervised and they dont seem to mind eachother it should be okay... key word supervised

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Originally Posted by Dianna

I have 6 cats. As you can imagine, it can be tricky keeping the cats away while I'm letting my BP roam.

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Wow, cats just love snakes as toys don't they? My cat tries to attack my snakes if I have them on my bed (like the other day..) but I catch him in time. He even tried TWICE today to attack my Beardie who was just being chill sitting on my couch while I was changing the substrate. Sometimes you wanna kill cats, but you know they can be cool.. some of the time LOL..

As for the OP: None of my snakes have ever attempted to strike at my dogs or hide their heads or even ball up when seeing one of my dogs. Probably because they are big guys, but you never know what can offened a Ball. My normal Candice even reached out to sniff my dog, and slither on him LOL. She is definitely not a shy girl:P