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Can 2 males get along?

Discussion in 'Behavior' started by Crystal1, Feb 19, 2009.

  1. Crystal1

    Crystal1 Forums Enthusiast

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    Jan 24, 2009
    Ft Worth, TX
    Mostly I have had female dogs. Currently we have a male bichon and, of course, now I want to get a sheltie. At first, I thought that I needed to get a female to make sure they get along. But I noticed that some of you have 2or more males. If they are both fixed, are you sure they will get along? I don't want to buy a male and have to get rid of it, if they can't be friends. The bichon we have likes every dog he has ever met, male or female. Also, what about bonding--is it the same regardless of the sex of the dog?
     
  2. Narmowen

    Narmowen Forums Enthusiast

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    They should be able to.

    I have a father and son (father's neutered, son isn't), and they get along just fine. (I wouldn't put them in a pen together, but that's just because the pup is...pushy.)

    I've had neutered males, and they were fine together.

    Bonding is the same, to me. (Dog to dog and dog to person.)
     
  3. myminpins

    myminpins Forums Regular

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    Dartmouth, NS
    Actually, two fixed males often get along better than females as they are less territorial.

    You should be fine long as they're both fixed. If you're bringing the sheltie in as a puppy, even better. I'm sure they'll become buddies. :yes:
     
  4. JessicaR

    JessicaR Forums Enthusiast

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    I currently have 2 males Skyler who has been fixed and Sam a (guide dog) intact and they get along. tomorrow I will be adding a 3rd male to household!

    my parents have 3 male intact great danes and they get along for the most part, they do have an occasional scuffle.
     
  5. GeeRome

    GeeRome Forums Enthusiast

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    There is no hard and fast rule about dogs getting along. In essence, any two dogs, regardless of sex or speuter status should be able to coexist. But it will all depend on the individual dogs and the competency of the owner. My two neutered males get along great, best buddies. I even crate them together in the same crate when traveling or at trials. No possession issues, no vying for "top dog". That isn't a guarantee that it will happen that way in all situations, though. But there is no reason for it not to, given two "average" dogs.
     
  6. tehluhlah

    tehluhlah Forums Enthusiast

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    Louisville, KY
    My two boys get along great. We do feed them apart because Smoke guards his food, but other than that they are very happy "brothers".
     
  7. BarbV

    BarbV Forums Celebrity

    Absolutely!

    I brought Bacca home at 8 weeks and he was my spoiled baby. I brought Indy home when both were around 9.5 months - and both unneuteured for the first 4 weeks. I too was worried about how two males would get along. There were no fights, just alot of uhm, hormone, happening.:rolleyes2:

    Now they are both fixed and do great together. They take turns on "top dog". They are like the turtle and the hare. Indy goes for the quick supremacy, while Bacca tends to be slow and steady, and normally overall wins in the end (this is usually about toys or who gets to sit next to Mom!).

    I've always preferred males, frankly. Males tend to be bigger sucks, and love attention and stroking (I guess there not so different from their human counterparts! :wink2:
     
  8. jodie

    jodie Forums Regular

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    Yup.

    Dante is two and fixed and Jake is 10 months and not fixed and there havent been any 'handbags' between them yet nor no sign of it :yes: I did worry about two intact males but we were getting Dante done anyway.

    I hope to bring a girl in in about 6 months, I just hope it doesnt throw the balance...
     
  9. Noneeds4me

    Noneeds4me Forums Enthusiast

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    We recently had the same question, but I was told it is more of a personality & temperment issue than anything else. This has turned out to be true. Our 2 year old Baron gets along famously with our almost 9 month old Rookie who came to us at 9 weeks. FYI...Rookie was just neutered a few weeks ago. We pretty much let our breeder make the choice for us. She did temperment testings on the litter...really "knew" each pup... and could not have made a better pick for us. With my experience...even a male/female combo can have problems. I'm a firm believer now that it is a question of individuality. Also.., my experience is that males are more affectionate. Anybody else feel that way??
     
  10. myminpins

    myminpins Forums Regular

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    Dartmouth, NS
    Well, I have two female minpins and they get along fabulously but I USED to have two female minpins who did NOT get along - and all were fixed - so it really does seem to be personality. If they are BOTH very dominant, it can be trouble but I've much more often heard about it with two FEMALES than with two males.

    The main reason I have female minpins is they use a litter box inside and a male lifting its leg to pee INSIDE the house is uhm... a HUGE PITA!! Been there, done that, never again! :lol:

    I do find males are more affectionate and cuddly and almost more "needy" but also quicker to bounce back and super happy little fellas but I've only HAD male shelties so I honestly couldn't say.

    I know in minpins, the male we had at one time was MUCH less dominant than the females and MUCH clingier and sweet than the females (not to say the females aren't sweet but you guys know what I mean!!!)

    It's kind of the difference between men and women. Put 10 men in a room and they can often get along talking about sports or something.

    Put 10 women in a room and if a few are VERY different from the other on things like child rearing or whatever, it can get nasty kind of quickly! :rolleyes2::no:

    Have fun!!!
     

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