dobe8

Hi,

My dad recently bought 2 male australian shepard pups which are litter mates. I know that you aren't supposed to have 2 male dobes in the same house but I wasn't sure if it depends on the breed of dog. Is anyone familiar with this breed or know if the same theory will apply when the reach maturity?

Seems like trouble waiting to happen....

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Luvbirds59

Yes...he is in for a long hard ride. Siblings are hard enough to raise together, then have two of the same sex, should make for that much more work and problems. I wish him luck.

oxc

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Murreydobe

It really depends on the breed. There are breeds whose original function was to work together in a cooperative unit that have few to no problems with same sex aggression.

However, littermates of any breed are more likely to fight than two dogs from different litters.

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tgejr

Not too familiar with the breed, however most male dogs at some point will challenge each other for dominance. You might luck out and get one submissive male that will automatically back down. Odds are though that you have to assume that they will fight and have to keep a constant eye on them.

waiting

I found this on an Australian Shepherd site.

The male Australian Shepherd will usually stand 20-23 inches and will weigh around 50-65 pounds. As with most animal species, the male Aussie is the showier of the two sexes, carrying longer hair, heavier bone, and a more masculine head. He typically has a very regal air about him. Males do have a tendency to be territorial and do not always take well to having to share their space with other male canines. Again, if you are not planning on using your male for stud, you should think about having him neutered to make life easier for all parties concerned.

Now after that is said, our brother in law had two males purebred, six years apart, both neutered. Never once was there a problem, it think that is not the norm.

Hopefully your dad will be lucky.

dobebug

What happens with adult males (intact or neutered) does to a very large extent depend on the breed.

I had an Australian Shepherd for nearly 13 years. He was an intact male and basically he didn't fight. It wasn't that he couldn't--I was there when he knocked a couple of other dogs (one Dobe and one big Pointer mix) on their butts. But once he'd knocked them down (and he was outweighed by at least 20 pounds by each of those dogs) he did nothing further--the other dogs decided that they didn't want to play that particular game with him and left. He lived amicably with my male Dobes, raised the male puppies I brought into the house, introduced breeders puppies to hairy dogs and generally was a useful, entertaining dog in my pack.

I think that probably a couple of male Aussies (although there are some males who are same sex aggressive it is much less common than in Dobes) would get along fine.

HOWEVER...!!!!! (I bet most of you can guess at what I'm going to say next--because it's already been said) I would NOT raise littermates of any sex together. The results are generally pretty unsatisfactory--neither pup gets enough attention, enough training etc. I think the littermate issue is far bigger than same sex in Aussies.

I'd never have gotten littermates and as it stands now I'd be looking to rehome one of them and when the first pup is two or three get another. If you think Dobes can be destructive and hyper try Aussies--and for even more trouble try two Aussies. Like Dobes, they need a job and if you don't find one for them they'll find their own and you are not likely to like the results.

But good luck trying to convince your dad of that.

dobe8

well thanks for your advice everyone. Thats what I thought.

Its a long story, but I actually don't like my dad and I dont talk to him either. I heard about the dogs through the grapevine, our family dog that we had for 15 years, just died of bloat because he was irrisponsible and he accidently ran over his other dog the same day. These two aussies he got were "replacements". I wish the best for all dogs but I hope they tear up his house hehehehe

Lord forgive me, its mean I know...

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Hip_Shot_Hanna

Let me preface what I am going to ask by saying I don't doubt it is true that littermates are more likely to fight than two dogs from different litters.

What I want to know is does anyone know "why" littermates are more likely to fight? I mean, it seems to me that two 4 month old puppies would be just that.. why does being a littermate make a difference?

Julie W

I don't know about aussies, but it's not a problem in whippets having multiple males in a household. Even intact and with bitches in season there is rarely a problem with male/male aggression in the breed. I myself have 2 intact males currently, but have had up to 4 intact males at a time with intact bitches. I have only ever had a problem with one male, but he was aggresive towards everyone, male or female and he was an oddity. Most of the whippet folks I know have multiple intact males with no problem. It just depends on the breed.

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Riagogogo

Like others have said....raising littermates, no matter what their sexes are is not going to be easy. Unless he wants to make it his full time job working both pups/dogs the way they should be worked....obedience etc....Your dad is going to have to work extra extra hard to be the alpha in that pack. LOL

My personal opinion...I think a trained dog is a good dog.

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