Having two female dogs

[Brooklyn_Born]

Hi

I currently have a wonderful 4 year old female rescue mixed breed. I’ve had her since she was 12 weeks old. She is not the most confident girl, but is sweet, well trained, loves playing with her ball (is a bit ball obsessed, actually) and her best dog friend is a female lab/pit bull cross. She actually plays very well with female dogs in general. She tends to get crushes on the bigger male dogs:)

I have had two dogs for many years but they have always been neutered males. I never had any problems with them getting along. Within the next year I would like to add another dog to our household. Common sense and experience tell me it would be better to get a male. I also know that a temperament that complements that of my own dog is highly important.

I have already been searching on rescue sites for possibilities, and have found a few females that tug at my heart. I’m just not sure if I should stick to my better judgement of getting a male I have heard so many different opinions.

I would love to hear any input from you fabulous COTHers on a two female dog family! Thanks

[Brooklyn_Born]

I just noticed there is an older thread about this subject. I apologize for the repeat!

[GoForAGallop]

We have always been a three dog household. I’ve owned 15+ dogs in a 25 year period. We do a lot of rescue (lots of unknowns) and have no problem taking on an older dog.

I’ve had three males, two males and a female, three females (that was a lot of brain power in one room!), and currently have two females and a male. Have even had two brothers who lived together happily for 15 years. Apart from the occasional old dog grumping at a puppy, I have NEVER had an issue with dogs fighting. My house is big, they get lots of exercise, and we’re a dog savvy household. We don’t tolerate food or toy hoarding, everyone eats in the same room but under supervision (and disciplined for trying to steal someone else’s food), etc. I regularly bring both female and male dogs in as house guests, when I dog sit for friends.

I have had all sorts of breeds; terriers, cattle dogs, border collies, newfoundlands, labs, beagles, etc. My mix right now (2f, 1m) is a 6yo cattle dog/husky mix, a 14 year old border collie/whippet, and a 3 year old Belgian Malinois.

I understand the fear when housing siblings together, but otherwise, it’s more important, in my experience, that the dogs just get along. (Ie, you can introduce and evaluate before you commit to adopting.)

[Nezzy]

i have 3 females and 2 males. small dogs. The 2 smallest females do snip at each other, but nobody gets hurt. everyone is spayed and neutered.

[Bluey]

We had mostly females for many years and I guess we were lucky that all got along, never had any fights, ever.

It depends on the dog’s personalities and, while it is really heart breaking when two of your dogs, any kind or sex, hate each other, we have friends that had that situation, one still does right now, that is not that common.

We prefer females because in a farm setting, they are not so apt to keep lifting their leg on everything, like male dogs do when they come around here.
While we have some friends with town male dogs trained not to, even those, once free around here still find plenty of reasons to lift their leg on hay and any and all other.
With your dog always under your control, you can avoid that, but that is hard to do on a farm.

Why not get the kind and sex of dog that appeals to you and see how this goes?

[wendy]

I’d get a male. Dogs really do seem to prefer to live either alone or in male-female pairs. They aren’t really “pack animals” like some people would try to convince you they are. Studies of free-ranging dogs find they like to live alone or in male-female pairs, with lots of visits to friends. Visiting friends is very different from living with another dog on a daily basis.

Lifting their legs on everything is just a training issue. I think many people use it as an excuse for not training- oh he’s male so it’s ok. NOT. They learn quite readily.

[Sweetums_Mom]

I had two females for quite a long time and only once they got into a fight. I considered it my fault as I did not stop some aggressive behaviors previously. Early in their relationship, the younger one (Jasmine) was getting in the face of the older one (Missy) and I just let it go, thinking Missy would “discipline” Jasmine. Well, unfortunately, this one time, they were both sniffing around the stall looking for dropped grain, and Missy snapped at Jasmine and instead of just taking it, Jasmine continued the fight. I broke it off and ever since then, I would not let either dog do anything aggressive against each other. I was the boss! Years went by and all was well. I think that the key is to make sure all dogs know that the human is the leader.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=wendy;7870036]
I’d get a male. Dogs really do seem to prefer to live either alone or in male-female pairs. They aren’t really “pack animals” like some people would try to convince you they are. Studies of free-ranging dogs find they like to live alone or in male-female pairs, with lots of visits to friends. Visiting friends is very different from living with another dog on a daily basis.

Lifting their legs on everything is just a training issue. I think many people use it as an excuse for not training- oh he’s male so it’s ok. NOT. They learn quite readily.[/QUOTE]

Maybe it is easy to train male dogs not to lift their leg outside and in strange places, but seems that hardly anyone does, looking at what male dogs do every place.
I don’t know of any one that, once turned loose around here, doesn’t go do his thing on car tires, hay stacks, fence posts, barn corners and most everywhere.

Yes, it is a male dog thing for most dogs and most owners just don’t seem to be that attentive, all the time.

[wendy]

I think that the key is to make sure all dogs know that the human is the leader.

that’s complete crap. Dogs don’t have any understanding of “leadership.”
Ask anyone who has had a bitch-bitch fight break out in their household- you can lead until you start shitting rainbows and the dogs don’t care, they’ll continue to try to kill each other.

OP, the reason WHY people suggest not getting two bitches is that IF two bitches decide they don’t like living with each other, they will try to kill each other and there is NOTHING you can do about it. You can be the most amazing leader, you can obedience train them until you keel over from exhaustion, but the dogs will still try to kill each other.

Males don’t do that. They might fight, but then they make up and they might actually respond to your training and bizarre misguided leadership efforts. Serious bitch fights don’t end, ever, until one dog is rehomed or dead.

Now, that doesn’t mean that all bitches will start up on bitch fights. In fact, they are kind of rare. It’s just that they are so traumatic to all involved that when they DO start up that people tend to get kind of head-shy about them. Best to avoid them by simply not owning two bitches. However, most two-bitch households do just fine. It’s so unpredictable though, and the consequences are so dire, that people suggest not even trying it- think about that.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=wendy;7870080]
that’s complete crap. Dogs don’t have any understanding of “leadership.”
Ask anyone who has had a bitch-bitch fight break out in their household- you can lead until you start shitting rainbows and the dogs don’t care, they’ll continue to try to kill each other.

OP, the reason WHY people suggest not getting two bitches is that IF two bitches decide they don’t like living with each other, they will try to kill each other and there is NOTHING you can do about it. You can be the most amazing leader, you can obedience train them until you keel over from exhaustion, but the dogs will still try to kill each other.

Males don’t do that. They might fight, but then they make up and they might actually respond to your training and bizarre misguided leadership efforts. Serious bitch fights don’t end, ever, until one dog is rehomed or dead.

Now, that doesn’t mean that all bitches will start up on bitch fights. In fact, they are kind of rare. It’s just that they are so traumatic to all involved that when they DO start up that people tend to get kind of head-shy about them. Best to avoid them by simply not owning two bitches. However, most two-bitch households do just fine. It’s so unpredictable though, and the consequences are so dire, that people suggest not even trying it- think about that.[/QUOTE]

I know of male/female dislikes that were ending in someone dead.
Both were raised together from puppy.

It is not only female on female, there is more to that.

[Foxtrot_s]

Sigh - I’m always at odds - We have purposely gone out of our way to own female dogs, but have had some male dogs because when a vacancy occurs here it pretty soon gets filled with whatever someone finds and unloads onto us.

Never had a problem with male/female, male/male, or female/female.

But that leg lifting makes it hard to go visiting and truly trust our male daschund with someone else’s sofa.

[dkcbr]

[QUOTE=wendy;7870036]
I’d get a male. Dogs really do seem to prefer to live either alone or in male-female pairs. They aren’t really “pack animals” like some people would try to convince you they are. Studies of free-ranging dogs find they like to live alone or in male-female pairs, with lots of visits to friends. Visiting friends is very different from living with another dog on a daily basis.

Lifting their legs on everything is just a training issue. I think many people use it as an excuse for not training- oh he’s male so it’s ok. NOT. They learn quite readily.[/QUOTE]

This is intriguing. I’ve always thought that the majority of dogs preferred to live with others of their own kind. Can you link us to some of those studies? Or provide a bit more background on them, such as where they were free-range (it’s not clear whether these dogs were part of a controlled “free range” situation, or wild packs, or strays, or whatever)?

I mean, I’m not going to pare down my multi-dog household, but I AM interested in learning more about this.

[Brooklyn_Born]

Thanks to all the suggestions and experiences! I know there is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL when it comes to establishing harmony in multi-pet households. It is not just about the gender of the animal, but also includes many other factors such as temperament, age, environment, and the ability of the owner to maintain said harmony.

From my own experience, I would feel totally confident having two male dogs because that has always been a good experience for me. I have never had two females, and hearing your stories is very helpful. I have just heard many stories about the risks of two female dog households. However, I also know situations where that has not been a problem (now I know more, thanks to you)

What I do know is that, unlike any dog I have ever had before (either male or female), my girl can be resource possessive when it comes to her balls. So managing that situation, which I know how to do thanks to great dog trainers, is most important when introducing a new dog into the household. What would probably be best, is a more laid back personality in any dog I choose!

Thanks again for your thoughts. Very helpful!

[2tempe]

OP - Had to post here because I have a female chow/shep mix who has ALWAYS gotten crushes on BIG male dogs. I don’t know why, there have been an assortment over the years, and her “flirting” is quite obvious. She is an alpha female type, somewhat bossy but not in an aggressive way, and in her 13 years w/ me has had three male companions. When she goes, our young dog (male) will get another girlfriend. But that’s just me. I’ve seen females get along and I’ve seen one situation where they didn’t. Good luck w/ the search.

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=Brooklyn Born;7870145]

What I do know is that, unlike any dog I have ever had before (either male or female), my girl can be resource possessive when it comes to her balls. So managing that situation, which I know how to do thanks to great dog trainers, is most important when introducing a new dog into the household. [/QUOTE]

Just get a dog who doesn’t care about balls, problem solved.

My Belgian is almost never without a ball in his mouth, asking to play fetch. My two females will watch one roll by 2" from their nose and not even flick an ear.

[MustangSavvy]

[QUOTE=Bluey;7870110]
I know of male/female dislikes that were ending in someone dead.
Both were raised together from puppy.

It is not only female on female, there is more to that.[/QUOTE]

Littermate Syndrome is well documented and is why two puppies should not be raised together. This isn’t something new and has nothing to do the dogs being male/female.

I personally never would have two females together. It can work, but the risk if way higher then the benefits. When it goes bad - it goes really bad. I have seen it working in a shelter. We recommended male/female or male/male. I have two males and one female. I do not have any issues with my boys marking (both are neutered).

[khall]

I have a female ACD mix that gets along with ANY dog even my obnoxious hard playing pit bull mix female. She also does not like to play with balls usually, but LOVES food. I boarded her out for a few days and they all loved her there, she will be a great addition to someones household. Less than 2 yrs old.

[toady123]

We adopted a pair of females (they came as a pair from the same home). One is 10 months older, and they are not what I would call a ‘bonded’ pair. We have never had an issue, or anything remotely close to an issue with them.

They are both pretty laid back, and neither is overly dominant so I do think a lot of it has to do with personality. They were also introduced to each other young and really don’t know life without the other, and came into our house (new to them) together, so that could also make a difference - they don’t know anything else (e.g. a dog being introduced once they had established their 'turf").

[ASB_Stars]

I have English Springer Spaniel two girls- one is a rescue, and has always had issues, and the other is the only non-rescue I have ever had, who is simply perfect ;). The non-rescue is younger, and has always been the alpha. The girls will occasionally have a spat, but no blood has been shed, for going on 10 years. Their uncle, a neutered male Brittany, died two years ago. They were both great with him.

By the way, if you neuter your males young, they will squat instead of lifting a leg. Problem solved!!

[S1969]

Most of my friends that show/hunt purebred dogs have single gender “families”. Some have mixed genders, but since many keep some of their dogs intact for future breeding, that is a difficult setup.

I know many people that have all bitches, or all males, and I have not heard any horror stories. My field trainer has five GSP bitches that all live in the house, uncrated, and have actually had the grandmother of new puppies take over some of the litter supervision roles without issue.

My own breeder only keeps females as well. While they don’t always have run of the house (e.g. don’t sleep in beds with them), they have always had them “turned out” together, whether in the house or in the yard.

Up until recently I had only males, and didn’t have any problems, although my young stud dog (almost 5) has had a couple of “posturing” demonstrations with my old man (neutered, almost 14) this past year. But I don’t think that was as much about gender as “pack leader” status (Who is most macho?). We shut that down immediately and since then they have maintained a friendly relationship.

The only issue that I see is that you will be introducing an adult female, which is the difference between your example and the ones I’ve mentioned (who have typically – althought not always – added to the pack with a puppy). All things being equal, I think it would easier to ensure pack happiness by getting a male, but I don’t think it would be impossible to add a female and have harmony in the house. Temperament will be important, and also a slow and gradual process of putting them together and supervising carefully.