# males getting along with eachother?



## dwbonfire (Dec 29, 2011)

i just adopted my new GSD. hes about 2 years old, and he is not neutered. we're not yet sure when or if we will neuter him, please dont flame me for that! its not the point of my posting.. anyhow, in all the dogs i have had in my life, i myself have never had a intact male before. in time once i find another GSD, i would like to adopt another one whether it be a neutered male or spayed female. i wondering if this is out of the question if i keep him intact? could he live and get along with a neutered male, or a spayed female without always *bothering* them (if you know what i mean  ) he lived in a home with other dogs and i was told he gets along with other dogs, so he must have been with either a neutered male or spayed female.. im just wondering if its possible, because i know with horses it is generally not lol.


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## SheepGirl (Dec 29, 2011)

My aunt and uncle have two intact male dogs living together. They get along most of the time, but still have their moments where they get in a tussle.

They're a Pekingese and a Shih Tzu, though  The Shih Tzu is about seven and the Pekinese is five or six...needless to say they haven't injured each other in their fights where they had to go to a vet. But I would assume that your future GSD could very well live with an altered dog. But I guess it does depend on the individual dogs--you should see if they get along first before you bring the second one home.


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## dwbonfire (Dec 29, 2011)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> My aunt and uncle have two intact male dogs living together. They get along most of the time, but still have their moments where they get in a tussle.
> 
> They're a Pekingese and a Shih Tzu, though  The Shih Tzu is about seven and the Pekinese is five or six...needless to say they haven't injured each other in their fights where they had to go to a vet. But I would assume that your future GSD could very well live with an altered dog. But I guess it does depend on the individual dogs--you should see if they get along first before you bring the second one home.


ok well that gives me hope! yes i will introduce them properly and make sure they do get along, but i just wasnt sure if i was crazy to think they could stay together and not fight or not have the intact dog constantly hounding the other dog.
heres another question - will an intact male try to breed a unspayed female even when shes not in heat? if he does will she get pregnant? i know this probably sounds dumb but i never had to know these things because i always had fixed dogs.


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## SheepGirl (Dec 29, 2011)

Well if a female is not in heat, then that means she's not ovulating and so a male (I would think) would not try to breed her, thus not getting pregnant. But if she is let's say a day or two of coming into heat and the male attempts to breed her, then she may become pregnant.

I know with our barn cats, before we had them all spayed and neutered this summer (all 18 of them ), the boys never did try to breed the girls unless they were in heat.

But I'm no expert on dog breeding, so who knows


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## ShadyAcres (Dec 30, 2011)

I have 5 dogs in the house.

Zulu is an 8 yr old spayed Dachshund.  While not exactly an alpha dog she has her spots where no one else is allowed.  She also trains the new dogs while they are puppies (and easily intimidated) to respect her space.

Jute is an 8 yr old spayed Border Collie.  She is the Alpha dog of the pack.  She is also my babysitter and protector of the weak and helpless.  I have had bottle babies (pups and sheep) in the house and _nobody _is allowed in the living room unless she says so!

Topper is a 5 yr old intact Border Collie male.  While he has no desire to challenge anyone, he no longer backs down  even to Jute.  

Ash is a 3 yr old intact Border Collie male.  He instigates issues than hides.

Sage is a 20 moth old intact Border Collie female.  She instigates and does not back down.  She is also half the size of the other collies and knows how far to push.  

I have never had a major fight between the house dogs.  Mainly just squabbles that I let them work out on their own.  When Sage is in heat Ash respects Tops dominance but I also do not leave the 2 boys unattended.  During that time Sage is separated in a fenced area or crated in the house.  Close to everyone yet not close enough for accidents!

I work one day a week  usually an 18 hr day.  Dogs are in kennels with indoor / outdoor runs during this time.  Other than that I am typically home and able to monitor any issues.  I have found it best to allow them to work out their problems and only intervene if ones safety is a concern.

All 5 dogs also get along with the 3 LGDs that are outside.  But there is the occasional issue.  Willow, my pregnant Pyr / Anatolian is now very food aggressive.  Delmer, my 4 yr old intact Pyr / Ana and Top have had some standoffs.  But Collies and LGSs only interact when I am working sheep and all know and respect their jobs.

While I am no expert, I have had dogs all my life (50 yrs).  I was raised on a farm and most of my adult life has also been on a farm.  I have also worked for vets and gained a lot of knowledge on animal behavior.  While some issues are certainly hormonal induced  such as intact males behavior when there is a female in heat nearby  some dogs just dont get along whether spayed or not.  Have you ever met someone for the first time that for some reason you just did not like?  Some dogs just wont get along no matter what their sex is or if they are altered.  

My advice would be for your next dog to be a puppy.  And have the option of returning it if it just does not work.

And enjoy your 4 legged family!


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## DKRabbitry (Dec 30, 2011)

I am going to say it depends on you, your household, and the dog's personalities.  I have 3 german shepherds from working lines (2 neutered boys, 1 spayed female) and an intact male boxer from bench lines  (so he has a *softer* temperament).  

My one German Shepherd I had intact till he was 2.  I can tell you he is a no-nonesense dominant dog.  He is 9 years old and the 3rd in command here in this household (behind me and DH).  When he was intact, he WOULD challenge other dogs.  He was only with a spayed female at the time, so I never had any problems at home.  But at training classes and dog trails, he would posture and challenge other dominant dogs.  I just had to watch for that and control it.  After he was neutered, he didn't do the challenging anymore, but he won't back down if challenged.  That is where the only problems we have in our household stem from.  The intact boxer won't challenge another dog, but he is toy possesive.  So they only get toys when supervised and if the boxer starts to posture, the toys are taken away because my male shepherd will react to it.  My female, even when she was intact, is a more easy-going girl and she is really good for testing unknown dogs because she won't challenge and she will listen to me when I tell her to back down.  My young male is the son of my female and has her temperament.  He is a pretty laid back boy and was neutered before maturity.  When challenged by a strange dog, he doesn't back down, but to the older dogs in my household, he is still a pup and gets along well. 

I do take my dogs to training classes and am very close to them, so I can read their personalities and I know how they will react.  The most recommended way to have an easygoing household is to have a male with a female.  That way they won't feel the need to challenge each other in quite the same way that the same sex would.  The trainer I work with will actually reccommend multiple males as apposed to multiple females in a household, because the females tend to be more possesive of their people and just more temperamental overall.

I have never had a spayed female come into heat.  The only mounting done by or on spayed females I have ever expereienced was done out of dominance.  I did have a neutered male try and breed an intact female in heat, but nothing came of it.  

As the other poster said, it will be easier introducing a puppy than an adult dog, but it all really depends on so many things.  My two adult shepherds (male & female at the time) were easily introduced to the adult boxer.  But I have a lot more control over my dogs than most people do so if they started to get too rough, I would tell them to stop and things would cool off.  The boxer is was just off in left field and wouldn't listen to anyone, but he was just happy bouncing around with his new friends


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## redtailgal (Dec 30, 2011)

I have a 13 year old unaltered daschund, a 5 year old spayed Mastiff, and 12 year old unaltered Jack Russel.
*
 I* am the alpha of my pack. No questions asked.  As alpha, I dont allow toy aggression, food agression or aggression with each other. Period.  They each have their own space.......the inside of their crates.  The door to the crate stays open and they can go in their own crate (and no one else's) to be left alone. While they are in their crate, the other dogs and all the humans are required to leave them alone.

Each dog gets one on one attention, and the pack gets attention as a whole.

Dogs will hump one another at any time.  Female will hump males, and vice versa. Spayed, unspayed, neutered, un neutered, they will still do it.  The only time a dog will be pregnant is during her heat cycle.  Spayed females do not have the "parts" to even have a heat cycle (no uteruse), so spayed dogs cannot get pregnant. Unaltered males do have a much higher tendancy to hump things.......dogs, cats, goats, chickens, people, tree stumps.......yes, tree stumps. You should meet my Jack Russel.

You can probably expect some humping when you bring this dog home.  There may be some aggression.  Keep your dogs (all of them) on a leash.  Introduce them at a distance without treats (treats may CAUSE aggression at this point).  Allow some light sniffing if all goes well. PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE "nice" behavoir, tail wagging, friendly sniffing etc.

FREAK OUT, get loud and be angry INSTANTLY at any growling from ANY of your dogs.  Dont let them decide who will be alpha.......YOU and YOU alone are alpha.


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## AdoptAPitBull (Jan 8, 2012)

Growling is a good thing, and should NEVER be punished.

It is a warning to other dogs, a verbal "hey, quit it, you're ticking me off". Without it, a dog doesn't know to back off. If you punish a growl, you are telling the dog NOT to warn. If a warning is not given, a fight might break out because you are telling the dog to not let the other dog know something is wrong.

This happens all too often when a child is bitten. The owner punished the warning growl, so the dog bit first because it wasn't allowed to warn first. Respect what your dog is telling you.

Some dogs will not get along with other dogs, period. You can "alpha" them all you want. I can't "make" some of my males like each other as much as you can't "make" me like Casey Anthony.


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## crazyland (Jan 30, 2012)

My dogs are unaltered. Even with a female in heat there are no fights or squabbles. My older male will growl at the younger to back off away from the females kennel and that is the end of it. I have no dominance problems. I have no problems with unwanted litter either. I am an active owner and pay attention to my dogs and the cycles. I also don't have a problem with marking or mounting. I can take them anywhere in public and they behave. Training and socialization plus a healthy, sound temperament. 
A properly trained and socialized gsd will get along with another dog, intact or fixed.


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