We've now had our two gliders 3 full days and they are adjusting pretty well. The previous owners had two dogs (outside), two ferrets, and I think he also had two cats (he joked about Noah's ark). He said that his dogs never knew the gliders were there because they slept when the dogs were in the house. I don't believe the gliders were handled a whole lot due to time restrictions and that's why they were looking for new homes for them.

I have a very active, intuitive, competitive, Jack Russell Terrier named Harley(about 3 years old) who is driving us crazy with his behavior since bringing in the gliders. He sits and stares at their cage all day long. We have him blocked from getting directly up to the cage, unless we are there to supervise. The gliders will come out, eat and play, even though he's sitting there staring at them. When I let him get up close to the cage, one of the gliders will usually come up close to him, then chatter and swat at him. He only does it for a second and my dog doesn't seem too affected by it.

We have a rocker/recliner sitting next to the cage and it's suddenly become more popular and it will let Harley up into my lap and sit and watch the gliders. The whole time, he is completely fixated on them. It's like he's in a trance...hard to communicate with him, hard to control him and on a few occasions, when I've tried to get him away from the cage, he HAS nipped at me. He sits there and shakes uncontrollably. I talk to him AND the gliders at the same time, while petting him and trying to calm him down. This does work a bit.

Harley is a rescue dog who was originally for sale in a pet store. When he and his brother got too old for adoption, the pet store was going to euthanize them, and this lady who does rescue work, saved them. He was about 9 months old when we got him 2 years ago. He loves other dogs and animals because he was housed with so many at the shelter. Unfortunately, when he sees other dogs when we're out walking, he starts jumping and carrying on and trying to get to the other dogs. Other dog owners see him as wanting to fight, but I think he just wants to play!

Back to the gliders....I truly believe he just wants to play with them, not eat them. Obviously,I am going to take this process very slowly and carefully. Does anyone have any thoughts on his behaviors and their meaning? Any tips or hints for making the process go more smoothly or quickly? Any help would be appreciated!

I wouldn't introduce them at all. I'm sure this isn't the answer you were looking for. Jack Russell's aren't known to be mellow dogs. Whether it's intentional or not, I think your dog would kill the gliders if given the opportunity. I think it's obvious the dog wants the gliders, and dogs don't have hands, so when your dog interacts with the glider, the interaction will be in the dog's mouth.

Please reconsider introducing your dog to the gliders. It will end in tragedy for the suggies. Terriers are known mousers, ratters, etc. They are the dog worlds best at doing this. It is bred in them and is instinctive. Even if your dogs intentions are only to play - it will result in death for your gliders.

Think of the absolute terror and fear you will put your gliders thru.

Please, Please reconsider.

my dog does this with our chinchilla.
she will eat the hay that koda drops, and like wine at koda.
Funny thing is, koda sticks his nose out at Justice [our dog] and then runs to the top of the cage. I think koda knows it bugs the Crap out of her.
But she only does this when hes in and out of the cage. XD. I will hold koda up to her nose, and justice will turn away from him. Its really cute.
but justice is a Cow. so we have to be carefull, shes huge! XD

Like Eric and Rita said... Trying to let them play will end in

1. Dead Suggie or, 2. Very Very hurt suggie that will take a VERY long time to build any trust with and thats IF you can afford the insane vet bills to keep the suggie alive IF you get to the vet in time and then on top of the basic saving more bills for the extras to keep the suggie comfortable during recovery...

All in all in it's a very dangerous gamble to make... I would ask you to try think of it this way... Would you want to be introduced to a creature 100 times or more your size that you instincts tell you is NOT a creature that will be friends? And all this is not even taking into concideration the fact that the particular breed of dog in this case is also specifically bred to hunt and destroy small animals (or as the original breeders would say, lawn & garden pests).

Also, keep in mind that gliders can freak out and hurt your dog. I had a glider jump on my cats head and bite her ears. And almost anyone who's been bitten by a glider knows how powerful their jaws are.

As for everyone saying not to introduce them, that's what I'd go with, and I haven't tried to introduce my glider to another animal except my cat at that one time. So I can't really give you any advice.

We had a Jack Russell a while ago and wound up giving him away because he just wouldn't leave the other animals alone. Although I truly believe he wanted to play, he was obnoxious. I've never had to give away a pet and have had a lot of animals my entire life. He was just so unpredictable and I couldn't get him to let off my poor cat. I found someone that had another Jack and gave him to them and they say, they couldn't have gotten a more perfect dog so you just never know...BUT I would think the suggies would be much more scared than anything. I know if my cat somehow gets into the room where the suggies are, they scatter for any hiding spot so I'd never have them out while any of my other pets are around. Unfortunately, they are just animals thus have animal instincts. There's never a guarantee...

It is good advice to not allow the dog to get near the gliders. Its not that your dog my want to be mean or hurt them, its always an accident. One snap to get the glider to stop moving will kill them. It would be much easier to keep them apart or you may suffer some sad times with pet loss.

my older chihuahua,sarge, went up to rocket and ended up getting slapped and bitten. rocket was fine but im lucky sarge is a short fat dog and not a more hyper one. 9 times out of ten, its the sugar glider who would be injured or possibly killed.

Our Critter of the C colony was rescued by our friend Heather here from a home where the family dog ate her mate.

WOW! What an eye-opening experience! I now realize I should have asked this BEFORE getting the suggies, but I was excited about Perfect Pocket Pets saying that suggies get along with family pets. I have been keeping the dog in a kennel whenever we are not home and I don't ever plan to take the suggies out of their cage without Harley being in his kennel first. I agree, better safe than sorry. Thanks so much for all of your brutally honest responses. Lesson learned.