Dogs raised together - Page 1

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Shawnicus

by Shawnicus on 29 June 2016 - 06:06

Just curious as to what you guys think about raising a 12 month old male and a 12 week old male together ( not related ) both are gonna be working dogs , the older male has had tons of work done and is a one man type of dog  .. Just curious as it would ruin the younger one or even both if they interact or bond ,would it effect their drive and workability ? thanks in advanced


by beetree on 29 June 2016 - 11:06

If you remain the clear leader of the pack, it can be done and in fact is a lot of fun. The younger dog will learn so much from the older one. There are some jealousy moments with mine, but stay firm with not allowing disagreements to escalate. Mine have a greater spread in years so, you might have a different dynamic to work with. It will be interesting to hear what others experiences have been, and what you can expect.


bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 29 June 2016 - 11:06

Raising a pair of same sex dogs together is fine until one or both reaches maturity. However things can get out of hand and dangerous very quickly if you assume things today are the same as yesterday. At some point they will fight it out and it could get nasty. It always happens .. mother - daughter or sister-sister, brother-brother. Two dogs of the same sex and of equal size or breed are destined to have conflict. Mixed sex pairings .. male - female work out much better other than the possible breeding implications. If you keep them separated and work or play with them one at a time or in mixed sex pairs then that is not a problem. I never let two mature males run together nor two mature females. It's better for the dogs as the weaker or younger one does not get bullied. Later however the older one will become the weaker in old age and the roles will reverse with possible disastrous outcomes. I have seen this role reversal with mother-daughter pairs when the mother dog gets 6-7 years and the daughter reaches 3-4 years of age and her prime. Keeping two mature same sex GSD together in a lifelong pair will come back on many owners if they are allowed to run together 24/7 ... the last thing you want is a serious fight in the middle of your house with kids or guests around. I have had to separate two mature male or female pairs in a serious fight and unless you have help a single person may not be able to get the job done with two tough dogs determined to fight it out. Unless you are willing to risk getting hurt or one or both of your dogs getting injured or killed don't let mature males or females run together unless closely supervised and in a controllable environment with plenty of help.  That Leader of the Pack stuff is all pie in the sky if you are not there when all hell breaks loose.  I love to let the older dogs school the youngsters ... that can be very healthy but at around 12-14 months for the youngsters the schooling can get too tough and stops being productive.  I've seen older males and females discipline their mature opposite sex offspring but same sex pairings get more dangerous with age.  Also in the case of a 12 month old raised in a human only household the juvenile may lack good dog social skills such that assuming the 12 month old will behave properly around the 12 week old is not a given.  Just as in the case of human children of greatly differing ages playing together the older and larger juvenile may use their superior speed and size to perform some rough "body checking" or rough play that is inappropriate for the smaller younger juvenile. 


by beetree on 29 June 2016 - 12:06

Well, that is typical voice of gloom, Bubba!

Just want to clarify, my two boys are both neutered. And are not related. They get along great and are always together. They ride in the back of the Jeep, no problem. If Beau jumps in first, he might try to hog the entry space and claim it all, but hubby doesn't allow that. Generally, Mojo rules, and Beau executes the orders. Their disagreements only happen if they are allowed resource guarding. I nip that in the bud and while I have seen teeth, there has never been blood.

Female dog owners often tell a different story.

Some people are better pack managers than others, so I think a lot depends on that, too.

bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 29 June 2016 - 12:06

Perhaps more appropriately the voice of experience .. BeeTree. Neutered or not my male and female GSD dogs will have serious conflicts sooner or later if mature same sex pairs ( or more stupidly three or four dogs ) are allowed to run together and as I stated earlier if you let them run together when you are not there in person and paying full attention all of your wonderful pack management skills will be of no use. It is the height of stupidity to think that if you are not paying full attention to what is going on even if present that the situation can not escalate in a few milliseconds to a full blown fight. Experienced dog owners know this!!  Once the fight is on and serious I want to see anyone get both dogs locked in combat to stop fighting on cue. 


Shawnicus

by Shawnicus on 29 June 2016 - 13:06

My main concern is two dogs becoming doggy or the puppy specially preferring the dog over me !! I doubt the older one will ever be since he's been raised by me and only me and the bond is set ...

GSD Admin (admin)

by GSD Admin on 29 June 2016 - 14:06

My main concern is of dominance. Likely the older one always dominating over the younger one. IMO, Bubba is mostly correct.

by beetree on 29 June 2016 - 14:06

You would be surprised, the dominance isn't a power trip type thing at all. And it isn't absolute. For instance if there is a food or treat and Beau claims it first, Mojo accepts that. If anything, Beau is always stealing Mojo's Bully stick and apparently, Mojo lets him.

Careful observation and learning about pack behavior has been an eye opener for me with my two. I also know a friend who always has kept multiple females (3) of different breeds and never a death fight. There certainly are variables.


by Bevsb on 29 June 2016 - 15:06

This is anecdotal info only, but I have had 2 GSDs (mother and son) who were together for life and never had any serious fight in spite of being left alone together for long hours while I was at work. At another time I had 2 males in the same situation with no problems. I was naive and lucky.

I currently have one 4 year old female GSD and would never feel comfortable leaving her unsupervised with another dog. In spite of the fact that she has always loved to play with other dogs, she can get into a fight with one (male or female) in a heartbeat. I gave up the hope of getting another dog so she would have a companion awhile ago. She only plays with other dogs with supervision.

I live in a condominium complex with a township park behind my unit. At times we have had multiple dogs playing together almost like a dog park. On several occasions dogs that seemed to be getting along fine would get into a fight requiring 2 people to pull them apart (fortunately not my dog although it could have been). I think it depends on the dog(s), but I have had my female since she was 8 weeks old and for the first 2 years she was wonderful with all dogs and never fought over anything and now she does, so adding another dog could have been a disaster for me.

 

 


Shawnicus

by Shawnicus on 29 June 2016 - 16:06

Actually my little ones are the most dominant , way more food aggressive and dog aggressive at this age , most times I gotta save the older one from getting bullied.. I would post a video but Iam not sure how on here. 






 


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