Help! Can you have 2 males GSDs in house w/harmony - Page 1

Hi folks - Can any of you tell me out there who have lived with 2 male GSD's and they get along and do not need to be seperated. I have a 3 year old and would like very much to get a puppy - the only puppy available to me is a male. What do you think?

As a breeder I won't place 2 males together or 2 females together in the same pet home. Why risk it?

I suppose it can go either way, will they be supervised or not, at the present time i have 3 males running together 2.9 years , 2.4 years & 14 months and have no problems, maybe i am just lucky..........good luck to you.

how trained is the male that you have now? i had 2 females together for 10 yrs. I never had a problem. i now still have 1 of the females she will be 12, and 2 males "INTACKED' I might add. both house dogs ages 10 and 4 1/2. never had a problem. they are show lines i don't see there being a problem if you let them establish their rank. my older dog is the boss... period! he does play fight with the younger male and i encourage it. he is dog aggressive as well, but from the very beginning he never dared to go after "the baby" (we got the 2nd male at 10 weeks) the younger male is starting to growl at the older male and a strong "cut it out" from me ends it. i know that i am lucky, because i know some people who's dogs just can't act this way and will look to kill each other. Harley

I don't agree with "let them establish their rank". You ask for trouble when you allow them to work it out. Dog fights are nasty and can be expensive to stitch a dog up. I've seen males that lived together just fine, then out of the blue. All it takes is one time. JMO

I never rule out the fact that this is a "flame ready to broil". I learned the hard way and several thousand dollars later. Everyone got along greatly and I was gone for 3 or 4 hours to have someone let them out only to get home to (2) females with blood everywhere and a sight so horrible I couldn't look @ it. I strongly urge to keep the separated and if having them out together needs to happen occassionally, then strong close contact is highly suggested. Training had nothing to do with these females. Hormones and the fact that they are both dominant females had everything to do with it

I HAD ("HAD" key phrase) 2 GSD males that were brothers of the same sire & dam from separate litters and I had to get rid of my younger because the older put so much dominance/pressure on the younger at such an early age that I believe he broke my younger male's spirit in many ways. The more time passed, the worse my older GSD got with the younger. I eventually found the younger one a happy home where he is able to be free without the constant "being put in his place" by an Alpha. I replaced him with a female GSD that worships the ground my alpha walks on...and it works out much better. I think a lot of this has to do with the temperament of both dogs. Some males are more assertive and dominant than others. My older started out being top dog and then the younger constantly challenged him and that's what caused the trouble. Both wanted to be alpha. Some males will be content to stay where they are (as long as there are no females in heat nearby). *Always keep in mind the "pack order" mentality. If dogs are left to themselves together without interference from humans, they will ALWAYS revert to the pack scenario and only one can be in charge...that means if there are 2 males, one will be forced to submit. Depending on his temperament, he may instantly submit or continue to try to thwart his opposer until he wins and takes over dominance. As they get older , it can definitely wear on the owner that takes it on. Both my dogs were raised together in the home and not separated. Mosty people would probably separate them. If I had to raise a male puppy from 6 weeks again, I would make sure he has the freedom to develop without the constant badgering by the "Big Dog". *But then again, it has a lot to do with how you want the dog to turn out. I like confident males - and they don't get that way by being beaten up by their big brother every day! I am sure there are other opinions, but this is mine. Hope it helps! :)

I previously had 2 males together of different breeds, the boxer was 2 when I got the other male puppy..they were fine. They were inseperable. I now have a year old shepherd mix and a 3 month old shepherd puppy...I limit their play time as the older one is a little rough and they never play unsupervised...I also don't want my puppy to get bullied or lose confidence. The older one is not aggressive at all just still clumsy and plays a little rough... I do think it makes a difference if one is older and one is a puppy. There is no threat from a puppy. In my experience the older one has loved the puppy and I never had a big "I am Alpha" problem. If they are of the same age then I think there is a need to prove who is who in the pecking order.. We'll see from these two but the older one isn't even like that with strange dogs, he's not submissive in any way..he just won't start a fight.. Good luck

I can honestly say this can be done and with very good results,as I have had 3 males with me in the past years,but I shall say with this age bracket I wouldnt advise doing unless you have more than enough time ofr at least be responsible and kennel them when gone. A good friend sold a puppy recently and the end result of this exact same situation wasnt good at all. The new owner was super negligent and it resulted in a puppy death.As a trainer I wouldnt advise doing this unless you do exactly what need be done as there are no short cuts either. Jerry

Hello Renz. If your male is socially no problem, then why shouldn't it work? The puppy will accept your older male as the leader, altough there may be a few conflicts during the pubity-phase. If you remain the boss, there should be little or no problems. Isabelle