two female dogs in the same household

[Starhouse]

My husband and I have a 3yo female Ridgeback. She is impeccably behaved and is well-socialized to other dogs. I dog-sit for friends and have had male and female dogs at our house for up to a week at a time, with no issues at all.

We are considering getting a second puppy. I really do not want a male Ridgeback, they are so huge and I have had nothing but bad experiences with friends’ male dogs marking in and around our house when they are visiting. I really hate that.

My husband is adamant that two females will fight. Now, our current dog was spayed at 6 months and we would certainly spay the new dog. I’ve never had more than one dog at a time so I am wondering if they will in fact fight, or if that is bogus. Is it an unfixed female thing only? A training or alpha dog thing? Our 3yo is very gentle with puppies so to me it would seem she would “adopt” a new puppy and help raise it. Is this totally off-base?

[Bluey]

While female on female aggression happens, it is not a given.

Over many decades and dogs, we were lucky never have any that will fight and at times we had up to 6+ dogs of different breeds and sexes living here, all neutered but puppies.

I would advise against raising two puppies together, that is upping your chances of fights after they are mature, have friends that went thru that and some are still there today, heartbreaking.

In your situation, if you want a female puppy to add to an older female, generally that should be fine.

You can never say never, but the new puppy should defer to the older dog, unless the older dog is way extremely submissive and the puppy extremely dominant.

[LauraKY]

I’ve had female pairs over the years and never had a problem. I have more trouble with my two males.

[Simkie]

I’ve had only female dogs, and often at least one intact, with no issues ever. And I have Ridgebacks Get another bitch–you will be fine.

[Canaqua]

We have two females…16 year old ACD mix and 2 year old BC mix. Given the ACD’s territorial and bossy nature, I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly things went. We got the BC mix when she was 12 weeks old and I think that helped old dog accept her presence as merely annoying, rather than a threat.

As the young dog got bigger and occaisionally challenged the ACD mix, there were a few squabbles, but nothing serious, just growling and snarling. It was always the young dog who backed off right away, now it’s a toss up as to who it will be. Most of the time, they are best friends, they like to sleep together and lie around the house and yard together. Some occasional jealousy over human attention or a toy just involves some growling and then some agreement I don’t really understand over who gets to be “boss” this time…they don’t fight or bite each other.

[Starhouse]

Awesome thanks guys, I’m excited. We’ve casually started looking around at breeders so hopefully we will be adding a new family member soon! This is my dog with a friend’s Boston Terrier puppy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bcJilcnJmg she was soo gentle, and she was just about a year old here. I think she will be a great “mommy” to another puppy and if the new dog turns out half as awesome as she is, we will be thrilled.

[wendy]

the reason people advise against having two bitches in the house is because WHEN bitches decide to fight seriously, they generally never stop until one bitch is either dead or leaves. Often everything seems fine until the new pup hits maturity around age 2, and then open warfare breaks out- this is most common when the bitches are very close in age. When males fight, they tend to not do this- they’ll fight, one will win, and all will be fine the next day.
Spaying bitches tends to make them more aggressive.
But bitches don’t always fight, obviously; but when it happens, it’s a big problem.
I see Ridgeback breed reviews sometimes mention they may not get along well with same-sex dogs.
Male marking in the house is just poor training.

[Starhouse]

I guess we can hopefully talk to whatever breeder we choose to go with, too, and see what they say.

[wireweiners]

What Wendy said. And it can happen totally out of the blue. Males will do a lot of posturing, have a scuffle and move on. Bitches will give a look and then the fight is on, until somebody is dead or seriously injured. There is a reason why the word bitch has its other meaning. If you get two females, learn to watch for signs of agression (and they can be very subtle) and never, ever leave them alone unsupervised or you could come home to a dead or seriously injured dog. A male is unlikely to mark in the house if he is the only male in the house and is properly house trained. That said, I do have 3 bitches in my house but they are a lab, a heeler and a hound, all pretty laid back. Ridgebacks do have a reputation of being dog agressive so I wouldn’t want to try it with them. I used to show dachshunds and they were the worst for dog fights, especially bitch fights.

[clint]

I have never had a problem with two female dogs, and have had various pairs of them for years. We currently have a two y.o. female Golden, and in February we brought in a rescued German Shorthair, also about two. We didn’t plan on keeping the Shorthair, but she and the Golden are great buddies, so we did. Prior to that we had a female pitbull and a female lab, who also got along well.

[GraceLikeRain]

[QUOTE=wendy;7084610]
the reason people advise against having two bitches in the house is because WHEN bitches decide to fight seriously, they generally never stop until one bitch is either dead or leaves. Often everything seems fine until the new pup hits maturity around age 2, and then open warfare breaks out- this is most common when the bitches are very close in age. When males fight, they tend to not do this- they’ll fight, one will win, and all will be fine the next day.
Spaying bitches tends to make them more aggressive.
But bitches don’t always fight, obviously; but when it happens, it’s a big problem.
.[/QUOTE]

Well said.

[Starhouse]

Ok, well, they are going to be left unsupervised; we have a 3/4 acre fenced in back yard and a dog door. Cairo is currently loose in the house whenever we’re not home and she goes in and out as she pleases. The new dog will also be managed this way. We will talk to the breeder about that.

[Bluey]

One of our dog club member’s family had RR and trained them in agility, some years one or the other of their RR were high point in the nation in their breed.

They had two females and a male and never had any aggression problems with any of them.
They treated them just like any other pet dog, leaving them, once grown, to the run of the house while the family was at work, etc.

It is always good to ask breeders what their dogs are like and maybe you can find one that breeds some that are good with other dogs.

[Larksmom]

I have a mixed breed female, aka a bitch. although she was never bred. is she still a bitch? Anyway, she has serious female dog issues. She starts trouble with other family members female dogs. It never has the chance to get serious. But I can tell you I would never ever leave her alone with another bitch.

[harnessphoto]

I think it depends on the dogs. I have known many pairs of females that live happily together, and I have known some that despise each other. My recommendation would be to have a ‘trial period’ with the new puppy after your dog meets it to make sure they’ll be able to live in harmony.

[Anne_FS]

With one or both the girls spayed I don’t think you’ll have a problem.

I don’t know about Ridgebacks, but I know a number of German Shepherd people who have to be careful with their unspayed bitches to the point of them never being together either at all for the tough cases or never left unsupervised, and “never unsupervised” means not even for the moment it takes you to leave the room to pick up a book or get a drink.

I’m sure many get along fine, but sometimes a dog simply takes a dislike to another dog, and if it gets personal like that, I’m told it can be lifelong. Training won’t correct it. Oh, they’ll behave alright under Mom’s watchful eye, but the hater will always be looking for an opportunity to give it to the hated and will when it comes.

[Starhouse]

[QUOTE=Anne FS;7084857]
I’m sure many get along fine, but sometimes a dog simply takes a dislike to another dog, and if it gets personal like that, I’m told it can be lifelong. Training won’t correct it. Oh, they’ll behave alright under Mom’s watchful eye, but the hater will always be looking for an opportunity to give it to the hated and will when it comes.[/QUOTE]

We know a dog like that, a very very immature female husky who has no social skills. She has it out for my dog. Her MO is to annoy the sh*t out of her until Cairo plays with her, and Cairo has more patience than I would with her! Even her owner is like, your dog just needs to beat my dog up already. The husky doesn’t do it to any other dog but mine.

I don’t want to push Cairo to her breaking point like that, though, so I usually insist on separating them after they say a quick hello, before things get iffy.

[Anne_FS]

Smart move.

With both your dogs being spayed, I really don’t think you’ll have a problem, and as others have said, make sure your breeder knows exactly their living situation and helps you select temperament appropriately. Good luck!

[IdahoRider]

I generally tell people to look for the opposite gender of their current dog when they consider adding a second. Although there are people who keep two females and never have an issue, there are also many people who can attest to how vicious and unrelenting bitch fights can be.

In my experience, reproductive status of the dogs in question will not change anything if they decide to hate each other. Two spayed females will fight just as hard as two intact females. It won’t make any difference. The saying goes that males fight for breeding rights and females fight for breathing rights.

For what it is worth, I have owned both genders and find that my males don’t mark in my home because I don’t allow it. They can mark to their heart’s content in the dog yard, but never in my home and never on leash.
Sheilah

[yellowbritches]

I think it depends GREATLY on the personality types of the dogs, male or female.

My dog, Stella, is very much an alpha dog. She is pretty damn bossy and can quickly put herself at the top of the pack with even most alpha males. She is not aggressive at all. She’s just BOSSY AS HELL. She gets along great with males of any type, but some of her very best pals are beta type females. If I were to get a second dog (which I won’t do because she and I are very much monogamous ), I would seek out a beta female as my first choice. I prefer female dogs, so would prefer not having a boy (wouldn’t turn the right one down, however).

She has gotten into some gnarly scuffles with a couple of alpha females in the past. Like bitchy, alpha women, alpha female dogs just don’t back the eff off, so, yeah, you can end up with some scuffles and fights if you get too many alpha personalities.