# Question about keeping 2 females



## Anna Garcia (Dec 3, 2009)

I have a dominate female. She thinks I belong to her. I just had a litter of puppies and would like to keep one from the litter. I planned on a male due to the fact I already have a female but I really like this one female in the litter. I think she is going to be a top female Schutzhund dog. What happens if I keep her? Will the two females get along? The puppy is 5 weeks, already dominating all others in the litter, hoarding the food dish, etc.
What you should know is that my dogs live in my house with me. They sit on my couch, sleep in my bed, and otherwise have run of the house. I do not have a kennel and it would be difficult to separate them. I could put one in the basement, one upatairs while I am gone, but when I am home I would want them both with me.
Will this work? 
Any input, experiences, ect. would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Anna


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## James Lechernich (Oct 20, 2009)

Really depends on many variables. Is the older bitch already reactive to other dogs? Either line known for animal aggression? 

In the house privileges vary from person to person, but how much of a dictator are you towards house manners and obedience with your dogs? Again, there are many variables, like getting control of the pup early on, but I think a lot of times the dogs knowing they'll catch holy hell for misbehaving prevents a lot of fights. You won't really know for sure until the pup starts to mature.

And if all else fails you can crate and rotate or build yourself a nice chain setup.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

I have two dominant working males. They are never alone together and when I travel one of them gets put up at a training friend's facility. When we leave the house, one of them gets crated.

Time for you to get a kennel or a couple of crates and keep them away when you can't manage them.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Maybe, but it's anyone's guess if it will. I think about Daryl's two females when these questions come up which is about the worst case situation from his descriptions of them. In some situations the household order/values simply isn't going to permit it. It can become a lot of work keeping dogs who cannot be housed together especially for someone like yourself who wants to have them both with you at the same time.

In most situations this is something that can be worked through. But in the event that it cannot be, have a plan for that. Know at least what you will be willing to do if it doesn't work out.


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## Anne Jones (Mar 27, 2006)

Just thought that I'd mention....that even if you kept a male there is no guarantee that the dogs will get along. Just because they are male & female that is only part of the equation. You probably have a better chance that not same sex dogs will tolerate one & another...but there is no guarantee of that either. My female has gotten along with 2 of the males that I have had here, but not the third one at all. Even with the one that I have now, I have to be vigilent to head off any behaviors that my lead up to an altercation between them. It would be best to be open to having an alternate plan, just in case. Just my experience.


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

the key to is not allowing it , i have 6 females and 3 males, a few have DA to certain dergrees , I keep order in my house and then some, i dont allow dirty looks or posturing and so on, I make sure my dogs are exercised to the max to relive  thier energy , if not they start looking at each other a bit 
when i am gone everyone is crated, all stay loose in the house with me when i am home and sleeping 
I can keep order really well I know them all and what triggers them , i have had a few fights along the way , to be expected, the worst happend when i went to florida for 2 weeks and left my dogs home with a firend and fellow trainer , after one week 3 of them got into a fight , then the next day same 3 and the following day i had a differnt sitter come in and 2 of them got into it , had t o take a dog out and move it to another location till i got home, 
took a long time to get things back in order after that, so now i know, NO VACATIONS, lol 
i think if you have a expereinced trainer near buy you will be fine, ( if you run into problems) and like they said, there is NO guarntee that a male would get along better, 
I have had fights with my 2 boys, and 2 girls and 2girls and a boy and a boy and a girl , if they are DA they will be DA ,, you can work with it 
I will say from my knowledge the worst thing to do is seperate them it makes things worse, 
that is the reccomendation for most people but i would not do it , My first BIG fight happend with my 2 sheps i had at 6-7 yrs old, first fight
i was told to separate , but instead bought basket muzzles they wore and they worked it out , it took time, but now i have more expereicne it doenst take as long


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

So you want to keep a "top Schutzhund prospect" with it's mother, who is apparently dog aggressive and are now soliciting opinions to hopefully match yours.

Ok, go ahead.

Forget that you have already answered your own question.

Quote: I have a dominate female. She thinks I belong to her.

This is something that just off the top of my head would make me think that you are gonna have some problems. You are picking the exact same type of dog......... to be with THAT kind of dog.

Did you think about this at all before you posted, or do you just really really like this pup, and are being puppified, and therefore not realistic.

Bitch fights are ****ing horrible.


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

Bitch fights are ****ing horrible.

i'll second that ! lol


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

And third. I have two bitches that hate each other, although they're well under control now.

If you can't manage the worst case scenario, I wouldn't do it.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

There is a very good reason the term "bitch" isn't always nice. 
Of all the multiple dogs I've kept together Male/male, Male/female/male, Male/male/male/female. Etc, etc, etc, I haven't had two bitches together since I was a kid.
Dad wouldn't have a male dog around. 
Think Archie Bunker watching Edith watching Fido get a boner in the middle of the living room. :-o


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Not for nothing, but I forgot to add that dominance in the litter is not necessarily going to mean a "top Schutzhund female". 

If you watched Ash bite the crap out of Junior mint, you would think she was the top dog. When he actually wanted something, she gave in immediately. Might not be what you are looking at. Maybe she just frustrates easily. What do I know, I am just guessing, looking at a computer screen.


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## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

Like Nicole stated, it can be a lot of extra work and inconvenience apart from your normal routines. And when separation is the practice you choose, inevitably there's a good chance that somewhere down the line you're going to screw up and pay for it, _financially or worse!_

What Tammy says, about 'not allowing it', by being alert and busting heads when necessary can work well with a lot of dogs, but unfortanately not the most determined ones. Especially if those types of dogs have already crossed the line previously. I don't think four broken limbs and a open gut wound wound stop my two girls. Like some dogs obsess over toys or food, these two obsess about killing each other.

For me, I don't think it was ever worth it, and I plan to place either one or both of them somewhere appropriate eventually. Love the persistance they bring to a fight, but I want a dog that can shut it off, _and especially when I say so._


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## Shawn Killeleagh (Mar 1, 2010)

I have two females, unfixed, they can't be left alone at anytime. Crate them whenever you leave the house.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Shawn Killeleagh said:


> I have two females, unfixed, they can't be left alone at anytime. Crate them whenever you leave the house.


Sometimes it certainly can be that easy. When I had another adult female here for a few months I had to put my dog in a heavy duty kennel and chain it shut. It also was covered and the other dog was placed in a covered kennel as well. Even then my bitch would still manage to pop the door if I got too close to it with the other dog.

Kenneling and separation is all well and good for the average pet owner who doesn't travel to remote locations, but I do and sometimes for long periods of time. The dogs come along and need to travel together in boats, planes, trailers, and sometimes within the same kennel. Obvously most people don't have these challenges and can find a way around it if the dogs exhibit some dislike for one another. 

Aside from the dogs that were here temporarily they only presented a small problem and my dogs have otherwise done very well together - even those of the same sex. Frankly, I couldn't imagine a dog fight in a bush plane or in a kennel they were both in. Given the noise during transit, if a fight started in the kennel I'd never know it and the consequences could be severe.


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## Shawn Killeleagh (Mar 1, 2010)

Nicole Stark said:


> Sometimes it certainly can be that easy. When I had another adult female here for a few months I had to put my dog in a heavy duty kennel and chain it shut. It also was covered and the other dog was placed in a covered kennel as well. Even then my bitch would still manage to pop the door if I got too close to it with the other dog..


I use Caribeeners (SP?) to keep the doors shut, and each crate is in a different room, Right now, they are both sleeping within 10 feet of each other, but I am in the same room.

I can't imagine using one crate for both dogs.


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

I have three females in one yard, three in another two in each of the others. I can move them from yard to yard but I do keep an eye on them for a while. I still wouldn't recommend it in this case simply because you asked the question. Males is one to a yard period.


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## Tanya Whelan-Velasco (Mar 21, 2010)

I have two females.. One mali n one very dominate gsd she dont even tolerate males.. I can't leave my gsd with my Mali for one minute alone BUT if i am right there i have two well behaived girls BUT i am the dominate bitch of the house and they both know that!! It is very hard to keep two together i do alot of rearranging all day.. When my GSD had her last litter i was keeping one of her females and those two would go at it all day long my friend who lived a house over would call and tell me the girls are going at it again if i was not home or in with my newborn.. It is possible but it is work if they are both dominate. Good luck!!


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Shawn Killeleagh said:


> I can't imagine using one crate for both dogs.


You might if you had 30 miles to transport them, no roads in which to do it, and only ATVs or foot as an option for transport. The kennel is far larger than you probably are imagining though. On the other hand the space in which my dogs have been packed into in a bush plane were far tighter than one might expect. Uncomfortable might be an understatement. As I mentioned though, my situation is probably unique in some respects thus why I need to be pretty selective when making selections on the type of puppies or dogs I get.


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Nicole Stark said:


> You might if you had 30 miles to transport them, no roads in which to do it, and only ATVs or foot as an option for transport. The kennel is far larger than you probably are imagining though. On the other hand the space in which my dogs have been packed into in a bush plane were far tighter than one might expect. Uncomfortable might be an understatement. As I mentioned though, my situation is probably unique in some respects thus why I need to be pretty selective when making selections on the type of puppies or dogs I get.


That reminded me of a friend that had me come over recently to watch a lion hunting tape put out by some guides in Wyoming. They ran an airedale with a bunch of hounds. He wanted to know iof that was one of my dogs they were using. In the first few minutes there was a scene where a truck pulled up with a huge dog box on the back. The guy opened it up and 8 hounds and one airedale came out of that one box. I had to laugh as I told him that wasn't one of my dogs in with all those hounds. Besides, the airedale was behind the hounds on every bay which isn't good airedale style.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Don said;
"Besides, the airedale was behind the hounds on every bay which isn't good airedale style."

Pickin off the slow straglers! 8-[ 8-[ :-D


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