Forever HedgeHugs
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Tallahassee Florida Hedgehog Breeder
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In the photo: Napoleon (gray Hedgehog, 6 months old and Charlie (Pekingese Pup, 12 months old) we own.
Make sure that your other household pets are properly introduced to your pet hedgehog!
Hedgehogs and Other Animals
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Dogs and cats are natural predators of these pets; but if brought up with them, they quickly get on well together. The spines of a hedgehog are ample protection from the over-inquisitive dog or cat you may already own.
Other pets in the household quickly learn to leave the hedgehog alone.
Ultimately, the hedgehog becomes just another animal that your pets see moving around the home. They may even share a dinner plate with this strange spiny resident, depending on the nature of the dog, cat, and hedgehog.
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Other pets will ultimately ignore the hedgehog, become friends with it, or make it quite clear that it is not welcome near them. However, it would be prudent to monitor affairs during the early days of introduction. A medium-to-large dog might pick up the hedgehog and carry it like a ball, dropping it now and then. It may also paw at the hedgehog. We owned such a dog, who would delight in bringing us wild hedgehogs that wandered into our large garden.
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When other pets are introduced to a hedgehog, always monitor their interactions. Never leave medium -to-large dogs alone with your new pet until you are quite sure that the dog is very familiar with the hedgehog and has no malice toward it.
The time to be especially watchful is when the dog is eating and the hedgehog approaches it's dish. Most dogs are rather possessive about their food and their playthings. You cannot force animals to be friends with each other, but you can be on hand to intervene if things start get little aggressive.
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Other pets will ultimately ignore the hedgehog, become friends with it, or make it quite clear that it is not welcome near them.
You must not discipline a dog that clearly does not like the new family resident. Bear in mind that the hedgehog is to the other pets an interloper competing with them for food and your attentions. Do not give them reasons to become jealous of the hedgehog; instead do quite the opposite. Give resident pets extra attention so that they can see that they are not losing out to the newcomer.
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Eventually, the resident pets will probably just ignore the hedgehog. They will come to find out that it is well quipped to defend itself by rolling into a ball of spines.