Can someone explain? Male vs. Female?

[CountryWolf07]

So, I've been thinking a lot lately about getting another dog, but my own. I have seen Hank's behavior towards other dogs - he shows fear, aggression, whatever it is, that his hair sticks up on the back of his neck - he has shown this at the dog park a couple times and would only go to the people. So, the dog he only gets along with is the next door dog, which is a female, a year old Collie mix. The dogs he absolutely did not like or get along with are males - Mike's dog, Dozer, about almost 7 years old and my other friend's dog, Brutus, a Boston Terrier. So, I'm thinking what's wrong? Is it because they are males, not a female? I've been considering a female puppy a lot lately. Thoughts?

[Husky_mom]

same sex dogs tend to have more issues among each other than opposite sex dogs...

there are exceptions as well..

my girls were fine together when I had a male.. since he passed... fights started and hence had to kept them separate...

maybe if introduced early and being the other dog a pup.. Hank won´t feel as threatened in his alpha position... but female sounds great... whichever works out best...

any breed in mind?...

[Taz_Zoee]

When you adopt at ARF (the shelter I volunteer at) they mention that opposite sex dogs get along better. Not that they won't adopt a same sex dog, but they just tell you that.

It sounds like a female dog would be ideal in your situation. Usually if you adopt they require or allow you to bring in your dog to meet the potential new dog. This also helps so Hank and the new dog are meeting outside "his" territory so he doesn't feel threatened in that way.

Good luck!

[CountryWolf07]

That makes sense! Thanks. Oh, I am just open minded about what I'm looking for. Probably another hound mix, but who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself. Ideally, I'd like to get another Husky but not right now.

[Asiel]

Husky Mom is right, same sex dogs do have more problems getting along. Sounds like your dog has shown he's favouring a female. Maybe he's afraid another male might take over his top spot.

[Seravieve]

Generally I would agree with the others, same sex dogs tend to have more issues with each other... Like Zeke and Eli did. Zeke didnt like Eli from day one, but we were able to manage it. He got used to him being around, but didnt like it when E over-stepped his boundaries.

On the other hand.. Take Bunny and Mia or Bunny and Treo (formerly Lily, our new addition).. From day one Bunny hasn't had ANY problems with either of them. She loved Mia.. they played and played and played. She plays with Treo as well... maybe not quite as much, but she still does. They all three cuddle on the bed, etc. No issues what-so-ever.

I'd say generally, yes, but it's varies dog from dog really.

[chocolatepuppy]

Can't tell by my house that same sex don't get along. Lacey and Layla get along fine. It's Jake and Layla I have to watch for fighting, male and female. Also, Lacey and RB Mandy got along quite well with only a few scuffles. Again, two females.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Glacier]

I have much more trouble with female-female pairings than male-male pairs. The girls, when they fight, fight to kill each other. They are not going for dominance, resources ect. They are trying to hurt each other and left to battle it out, one of them will end up at the very least seriously injured. The worst fight I"ve ever had to break up was two female mal-mix littermates. I've stopped 15 dog pack fights with less trouble than those two girls and I still ended up with a 1000 dollar vet bill.

The females never forget or forgive either. They will hold a grudge for the rest of their lives. I keep my girls apart all the time when unsupervised, except the last two senior girls. Sleet hardly moves anymore unless she has to and Pingo is much more interested in keeping track of her tennis balls than she is in fighting!

The males will fight, but they rarely do serious damage to each other. Injuries in the male fights occur when a third dog jumps in or it turns into a pack fight. Pack fights are a whole different league of aggression! They generally stop when the other dog submits. I've watched two of my boys have what looked and sounded like a fight to the death. Until Founder gave in, admitted Muskwa is still the boss of him and they both walked away covered in saliva but completely uninjured. They were playing 5 minutes later. I've never had a male I couldn't work back into the pack after a simple one-to-one fight. They move on and can usually learn to tolerate each other, even if they aren't BFF's.

My mother always said she greatly prefered the way my brothers fought over the way my sister and I did....I get that now!

[Lori Jordan]

It really is bizarre how things work out my SIL,Has 3 males,One is a Aussie,a black lab and a Bermese/Border Collie/Sheltie mix,And they all get along fine,And then look at my gang Lacy and Molly have never seen eye to eye,There managed now,But i have had to take Lacy into the vet on two different ocaisions for stiches.

Personally I like males better,My Storm and along with my SIL dogs are sooo Different then females.Please do not take this the wrong way,Now it could all be based on the breeds that i have,But i find females more tempermental and have attitude,My husband is the opposite he would prefer females(Go Figure)lol.

Lacy is funny,she is ok with other animals,Until they smell her rear end,And she is done for,I had her down at the family farm,They now have a border collie/Husky mix Sammi..A male...He is so friendly and just want to play,He took a sniff at Lacy's backside and the teeth came out,Now just picture this,Sammi was devasted that Lacy would not play with him,And Lacy was ready to take a round out of him.

Molly and Bella Run together and play like there is no tomorrow..I think its more of a trick question,If your going to adopt,once you have chosen which Pup best suits you and your lifestyle,Take Hank and the pup for a meeting,I think Shelters allow you to do so.

I think in all dog fighting it comes down to the dog that wants to be alpha..My Maggy could not be botherd with conflict...Molly well she stands her ground,I always say to Lacy she is a true red head,Firey temper lol.

Good luck in your search i hope it all works out for you!

[Queen of Poop]

Just doing reading on dominance, urinating, etc. What I got out of it is that have a male/female relationship. But ensure the female is smaller than the male. Just what I read, passing it along.

From my experience: I had a 4 year old female mixed breed, introduced another 1 year old female, smaller in size. They bonded and got along great.

[k9krazee]

When Shadow was alive Mini would always fight with her. Female/female fights ARE the worst. And every fight had some sort of injury (usually on poor Shadow!)

Then we've had male/male fights with Micki and Jack, but they're never serious and if we clap our hands or yell "Hey!" they stop.

Come to think of it, I've never had a male/female fight at the house and right now we have 2 females and 2 males.

[Seravieve]

This is interesting to read.. Just in general.. but also because when Zeke and Eli got into it, it was pretty bad. Zeke always started it. They'd be in the living room or on the back patio and bam! Eli has little scars all over from it. Just little tooth marks, that wont grow hair back, except for two on his face, which grew white hairs instead of brown/black. Zeke drew blood every time he went after Eli. Of course, after a while it stopped and they co-existed, but it wasn't fun in the beginning.

[Lori Jordan]

This is interesting to read.. Just in general.. but also because when Zeke and Eli got into it, it was pretty bad. Zeke always started it. They'd be in the living room or on the back patio and bam! Eli has little scars all over from it. Just little tooth marks, that wont grow hair back, except for two on his face, which grew white hairs instead of brown/black. Zeke drew blood every time he went after Eli. Of course, after a while it stopped and they co-existed, but it wasn't fun in the beginning.

That is the way it was with Molly and Lacy,It all happend so fast,One minute they were both resting the second i was pulling them appart.It looked like a crime scene there very last fight,There was blood all over the walls,kitchen cabinets,But Lacy took Molly's big jowles to her advatage i think.Lacy ended up with stiches in her ears,face and chest.Now since then there has been a few grumbles between the two but nothing has ever come of it.We were looking at resuing other Newfs...and were told to not have 2 of the same sex.I dont know but from my expierience i can see that females will fight,And all my guys are fixed,and it has not changed anything.But with Maggy i guess she is a one in a million she could not be botherd...she will just go lay in her corner and go to sleep.The one fight they were trampling all over Maggy and she just waited for them to get out of her way,then she moved...

[Freedom]

I have a different thought. Rather than spend the money just now on another dog, and vet bills, etc. Would you consider taking Hank through some classes to learn how to control HIS behaviour? To maybe help him CHANGE his behaviour? In the long run, it will make life easier all around, for him, you, all the other dogs both current and future additions.

Just something to consider.

[kokopup]

The females never forget or forgive either. They will hold a grudge for the rest of their lives.

Sounds like my First wife.

I think a lot also depends on the breed. Koko a Lab/Golden mix seems to get along with all breeds male or female. I saw her get ill with a male dog once when we stood in line at a SCHS gathering to get her chipped. I think in this case she was just tired from standing and being sniffed non stop.