Can Same Gender Get A Long Or Need Each Gender?

[ChewieTAG]

Hi all,

I currently have a 15 months old male shih tzu, desexed.

I am thinking of introducing a new friend to Snowy.

I don't know if I should be introducing a female shih tzu or a male shih tzu, to avoid dominance / aggressiveness between them. Initially, I am thinking of a female shih tzu but some breeder said, two males together are fine too.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Sandra777]

Male-Female is almost always going to work, it's very unusual for them not to 'get along'. They might not become deeply bonded soul mates but you are almost guaranteed of no major aggression/dominance issues. The bitch will almost always end up being the boss and the dog will follow along behind :laugh:

In some breeds male-male or female-female is virtually guaranteed to end in tears, but with Shih Tzu's I would think this is much less likely and with a desexed male and an age gap it's likely it should be fine. So much depends on the temperament of the two dogs and your management of them.

If the breeder who said 2 dogs is fine is experienced and knows your dog AND the prospective puppy then it's quite likely they will be able to guide you to the pup most likely to fit with the current dog with no problems.

[Cosmolo]

I agree exactly with what Sandra said.

[Leema]

I agree with Sandra, too.

If you're getting a puppy, I would get the opposite sex because you're almost guaranteed that the dogs will get along.

However, if you're thinking of getting an older dog, I'd be more willing to try adult same-sex dogs on a case-by-case basis.

With an adult dog, you know what you're getting. When you get a puppy, you're speculating on what you're going to get.

[dandybrush]

from my limited experience i recommend a boy/girl combo just makes life so much easier! i dont worry about my 2. my parents have 2 boys raised together from pups and they have/will fight over food or sometimes other things not often but still i'd rather minimise the risk of a fight myself

[twodoggies2001]

Our family has always had two males together without any problems. They have always been neutered. In all the years we have had dogs we have never had females, because males have always been our preference.

[cassie]

I've always had two males at the same time, and never once had an issue. Agree with everything Sandra said though.

[ChewieTAG]

Male-Female is almost always going to work, it's very unusual for them not to 'get along'. They might not become deeply bonded soul mates but you are almost guaranteed of no major aggression/dominance issues. The bitch will almost always end up being the boss and the dog will follow along behind :laugh:

In some breeds male-male or female-female is virtually guaranteed to end in tears, but with Shih Tzu's I would think this is much less likely and with a desexed male and an age gap it's likely it should be fine. So much depends on the temperament of the two dogs and your management of them.

If the breeder who said 2 dogs is fine is experienced and knows your dog AND the prospective puppy then it's quite likely they will be able to guide you to the pup most likely to fit with the current dog with no problems.

I see. Looks like male - female is a better choice.

I did see some other forums where they mentioned about the female being the bossy one too !

Do you think male - male combo are less fights compare to female - female? Of course both neutered.

My dad once had female - female (not neutered) and both wants to kill each other, they have to be separated in the household all the time. But then, he had other female-female and male- male that live fine together. I guess, female - female has a higher chance of aggressiveness towards each other?

[Sandra777]

Female-female hatred is more likely to produce a life-long feud if things go bad, male-male hatred tends to be considerably more a management-oriented and often there are a very clear triggers, and once these are removed the pair will go back to their 'normal' relationship.

With bitches the reasons for their disagreements can be really subtle and they are very good at biding their time and holding a grudge - they aren't called bitches for nothing!

Someone once said that dogs fight for food or sex whereas bitches fight just because they want to :laugh:

[twodoggies2001]

That's true about bitches being just called that. One of my previous boy's breeder had no end of problems when the sister of my boy turned on the mother as she was getting on in age. From then on, she had to keep them separated at all times. I feel that would be hard to live with, always making sure the dogs were kept separate. Makes for tense times.

[Diva]

I have keep entire males together and both entire and desexed females together happily, but my experience is confined to two breeds, neither of which is much prone to dog aggression it seems. If people experienced in your breed say male/male is likely to be fine they probably know best, but male/female almost always works so it is lowest risk. Just choose the second dog carefully to fit in with your current set up.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Diva

[halfthewords]

Our two Miniature Pinscher bitches have had scuffles before, in contrast to the boys (Bichon and terrier x) who get along like a house on fire. The best interrelationship between them is between Carl and Mischa, though. I would go for a girl, safer bet. :)

[alpha bet]

The sex of the two doesnt matter all that much - but sometimes it is worth considering the maturity of the first dog before getting a second. Generally I recommend clients wait until their first dog is over two years old as this is usually when you can see how mature your dog is. However if he is pretty easy going and mixes well with friends dogs then chances are you will bring a pup home and they will enjoy each other's company.

Also as you have a small breed there is one word of warning - many people have a tendency to spoil their little dogs and they can then become very fussy about any changes that happen in their lives. If so he might object to any pup male or female.

[Missymoo]

I think it depends a lot on the individual dogs personality too..

[BC Crazy]

From my experience, limited as it is. Male/female are almost always successful. Some boys will get along with other boys. Neutering will help in some dogs.

But 2 girls together that don't get along are the worst. You will have to keep them apart for life in most cases. Once they dislike each other there is no making up.

I have also heard they will fight till the end if left out together Bitches in the true sense of the word.

It really comes down to the nature of each & every dog though. They are all very different. I have one of each & had my boy first. I had my eye on another boy but was advised

to get a girl. In hind sight I think I would of been fine with a boy as Sonny pretty much gets on with everybody but wasn't prepared to risk it as there is no way I would jeopardise Sonny.

So I got a female & they are BFF's, which is lovely. They play together all the time so I'm wrapped :)

[ChewieTAG]

I guess the majority seems to agree on the male - female combo.

I guess the female will rule the pack

[JackC]

just like humans :laugh:

[Poodle wrangler]

I had 2 desexed poodles with a 20kg weight difference.

Never a problem, but one was bossy (smaller one) and big guy very mellow.

Well-matched for temperament.

The standard poodle would even give up a bone to the littler guy!

[Christina]

For the last 20 or so years I have kept around 5 or 6 dogs & have honestly never found gender making any difference at all except with undesexed males together.

If the dogs are desexed I doubt they are conscious of being male or female as they don't give off any hormonal smell. I don't think they duck down & look for boys bits, or lack of to determine sex of each other.

I have kept litter mates the same age, combinations of male & female entire & desexed with little problem. I do find I cannot keep 2 entire males together once the reach puberty but that may be because I have entire girls around.

As long as the dogs know the rules & who is boss I don't think the sex matters at all with desexed pet dogs.

[moosepup]

Just from my own experience, I've found the male male combo to be the most challenging. Having said that though, I think it's more to do with personality and we are getting there, slowly! :laugh: