:confused23: I've been reading so much on here about male to male agression. Is it the same for females, Im asking beccause I have 2 Pekes, sisters, raised together, treated the same, but once they hit 1 1/2 yrs. All hell broke loose. Both want to be QUEEN BEE. Each get along great w the other 5. But one has to be caged while the other is loose or they will attack each other. Now I have my DOB. She's only 4 months and likes to play with them, they let her know to back off if she pulls their tail or gets too rough. But as time goes on is there going to be a major problem with who's going to be head lady? Of course the DOB will tower over all of them. Everyone is fixed, the Dob will be soon. My Dob pays no attention to the 2 tiny ones (3-4 pds) she'll lick them everynow and then but doesn't bother them. (I hope she's not just tasteing them. LOL !!!)
Female To Female Agression???
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Yes, same-sex aggression can be an issue (with any breed, really). Same-sex littermates raised together are especially risky and that often turns bad. I'm sorry to hear you are dealing with this. I could never live in a "crate and rotate" situation.
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The reason good breeders won't sell siblings together is because siblings who are raised together tend to have aggression issues. I've seen it plenty of times at work. The two dogs will be fine for a year or two years and then suddenly it all goes bad. Some people on here have really good links about it, hopefully they'll chime in.
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We have four females in our house, two chihuahuas, an eskie and our dobegirl. For us I don't think its as much same sex agression as it age related. Our eskie is 10 and is pretty mellow so alot of times she can't be bothered with all this puppy nonsense and she lets her know with "smiles" to back off. Our baby chi LOVES her gigantic dobesister and can't seem to get enough of her. The two of them are both young so they have the energy to keep up with each other,my biggest challenge with them is the rough play with the size difference, our middle child can't be bothered, she tolerates her giant sister but doesn't really engage in play, then again she is kind of in her own world anyways, always has been. I am sure the potential for same sex agression is there but I have never seen it, even when it was just the three girls, could be because none of them are really "alpha" types, they all were rescues and they all just accepted each other. This is also our first dobe so we are kind of learning the ropes with this breed as we go along. So far so good with the four girls all getting along. ps on a side note. no sooner did i click "save" that all four of them started fighting over a cow ear. LMAO.
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I own a female Boxer which I brought into my home (I rescued her from some real pieces of work, but that is another story) to live beside the sweetest natured Majorcan Mastif Bitch to ever draw breath. All was great until the Mastif who was ill with Leishmania (disease over here in Europe) was having an off day and BHAM! Full on dog fight. It took me a good 10 minutes of throwing water into faces, punching, kicking breaking a piece of 2x2 over the Boxers head etc to get them to part enough so I could hold them apart. Believe you me two 30+ kilo bitches intent on killing each other is one heck of a handful. It took all my strength to just simply hold them there, I couldnt move to put one in the house or anything, luckily at the outset of the fight I had called my son who was in town at the time (15 kilometres away) to come home and he raced in just as they had gotten their second wind for round 2. He dragged the Boxer away whilst I dragged the Mastif. The vet spent hours stitching them both up and warned us it would happen again. It did over a year later, this time however, it was in front of both my son and I and we quickly put a stop to the fight before it turned into the same kind of bloodbath.
So I would say female on female aggression does occur, it just depends on the dogs. I now cannot have another female in our household because of it.
So I would say female on female aggression does occur, it just depends on the dogs. I now cannot have another female in our household because of it.
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While same-sex aggression can be a problem between either males or females, what you're experiencing is more likely due to sibling rivalry.
Here's a link to a good article about this issue with tips on how to handle it: Sibling Dogs:
The Worst Of Both Worlds. An important quote from this article: "Strangely enough the worst fights are normally between bitches who can fight to the death." You may be able to cope with the situation by crating-and-rotating. However, Pekes can live to be +16 years old, and if your girls are only 1.5 right now and are really trying to kill each other, then re-homing one of them might be in their best interest.
Best wishes for a healthy solution to your problem.
Here's a link to a good article about this issue with tips on how to handle it: Sibling Dogs:
The Worst Of Both Worlds. An important quote from this article: "Strangely enough the worst fights are normally between bitches who can fight to the death." You may be able to cope with the situation by crating-and-rotating. However, Pekes can live to be +16 years old, and if your girls are only 1.5 right now and are really trying to kill each other, then re-homing one of them might be in their best interest.
Best wishes for a healthy solution to your problem.
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Whenever you have two dogs of the same sex in the house there is the potential for problems because there is always the possibility of someone challenging who is alpha among the dogs. Sure, the owner should be the one that's in control overall, but in my opinion that's never going to replace/stop the natural dog to dog interaction. It has a better chance of working if one of the dogs has an obviously more submissive personality than the other. Some dogs have no interest in being head dog while some just learn their place. The later could end up being a problem later as the dog matures or perhaps when they see an opportunity to challenge the other dog. Just a risk I wouldn't want to take.
Part of why male/female combos work best is because there's not as much competition. In other words, there can be an alpha bitch and an alpha dog and they don't really have anything all that serious to squabble about. Sure there is the possibility of occasional bickering, but not the dominance driven fights to the death that can happen with the same sex. Although in my experience the bitch is usually the overall boss and can offer up a death look to the male once in a while. lol
Part of why male/female combos work best is because there's not as much competition. In other words, there can be an alpha bitch and an alpha dog and they don't really have anything all that serious to squabble about. Sure there is the possibility of occasional bickering, but not the dominance driven fights to the death that can happen with the same sex. Although in my experience the bitch is usually the overall boss and can offer up a death look to the male once in a while. lol
My female and her sister had to be seperated they were fine when they were young but after age 2 they had a very bad fight and they still have the marks to prove it. My female is very strong will and she will kick your butt if you don't take charge of her and tell her the facts. We have come along way together. She knows who run her house I do along with my husband ...
eace: Thanks guys, I'm lucky that I stay at home now but it is tough to keep switching them back and forth every hour or so. If I want to go anywhere someone has to be here to do it. I would love to find a home for one of them which would solve my problem but WHICH ONE??? That's what no one in the house can agree on. Each are so sweet and so different. They both have different personalitys and we love each dearly. It would have to be a special person who would love and spoil like I do. They are dog door trained and pad trained both (hate the ice here in OH). Have never gone in the house, but have never been on carpet. All u are right it's never going to stop, so I guess I better start trying to decide and find that special person.
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Yes it is a common thing, and with littermates raised together it is more of a rule than exception (I don't get it why people want two pups of the same age at a time, but hey thats just me).
Female to female aggression is often even worse tan male to male. I work with a man who lived with a very famous breeder here in Europe for 10 years. At one time they had a mother and a daughter, they lived together happily, played, slept in the same bed... One day the breeder came home, the daughter was literally in pieces, blood everywhere (dead of course).
I was told that once females decide they don't like each other, they fight, but not like males, just to decide who's boss, some bites, wounds, but mostly a lot of growling. They fight till the end-meaning one dies, or they are separated. And they are never "friends" again.
So I think the best option for everyone is to find a new home for one of them, as you realized. Fingers crossed!
Female to female aggression is often even worse tan male to male. I work with a man who lived with a very famous breeder here in Europe for 10 years. At one time they had a mother and a daughter, they lived together happily, played, slept in the same bed... One day the breeder came home, the daughter was literally in pieces, blood everywhere (dead of course).
I was told that once females decide they don't like each other, they fight, but not like males, just to decide who's boss, some bites, wounds, but mostly a lot of growling. They fight till the end-meaning one dies, or they are separated. And they are never "friends" again.
So I think the best option for everyone is to find a new home for one of them, as you realized. Fingers crossed!
ggrogers, My prayers are for you to find a special home for one ..it happened for me ...
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Tippy, terrier, and Kyrah, dobe, both females. Yes, it started when Kyrah was a little over 15 months. A few squabbles then a pretty big fight. Seeing your dobe having your smaller dog by the back of the shoulders trying to shake it like a rag doll is not a pretty sight. Things were rough for a few weeks afterwards but no fights. Now they tolerate each other well. But I am always on watch. They are always separated when I am not home.
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I have to agree with this poster, while I've never had any agression issues, I won't be leaving our dobegirl alone with the three little ones ever , its not fair to them as they are so much smaller and it only sets her up to get in trouble should one of them piss her off and they get into a squabble.
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Usually you can have one boy & one girl no problems you add a third dog you have a pack situation then you can have problems.You have boy to boy problems & girl to girl sometimes
you really have to watch them keep on top of what they are doing most of the time.
you really have to watch them keep on top of what they are doing most of the time.
Guess it's sorta like humans, one man one woman, throw another female in there and all hell breaks loose !!!! Except at my house I have a bunch of girls who can't agree on anything. Guess thats why they call the BITCHES ... Sorry, my sense of humor is a little strange today .
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I wish you all the best in finding a new home for one of your little ones. If in the end no one can make the decision then maybe you will just have to draw lots or the like, that way fate chose for you. Not a very scientific way of doing things I grant you, but hey, where is science when someone asks 'what is love exactly?:heartforyou:
I took them both because I didn't want either to be lonley by their selves, Never heard a peep out of them at night when they were tiny. I was thinking with my heart instead of my head I guess. I have 3 dogs that people didn't want so I took them to try to find them a home. Well they found one all right, with ME ! I also have 4 outside cats that got thrown out, 1 came from the shelter my daughter worked at. We have a shed w a cat door and we heat it in the winter, they are 1 male 3 females. I have fixed them all, shots and Frontline. I spend more MONEY on my animals then my family, I swear. Now I know it wasn't a good idea, thanks every body. But having to make this choice will not be easy, I will have to search for the best home, hope I can find someone we know so we can see her now and then.
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I have 2 female dobes, not littermates, about 10 months apart. While there have never been fights, they do occasionally get vocal. That is the extent of it, and they are always loving on each other within minutes of their spat. It is almost always about toys, they dont fight over food, treats or anything else other than my attention, which I give lavishly to both, but the black older girl has been with me longer and feels (rightly so) that she is entitled to the lions share so to speak. They play beautifully in the yard, romping and wrestling, and tug of war, and digging holes! (craters is a better description)
This is NOT par for 2 females, I know, and maybe one day one of them will say "Ive had enough" and decide sister needs a butt kicking, I hope not, but I am fully aware it can happen and I am prepared to handle it. I have done my homework for how to separate them and how to deal with warning signs, if there are any.
This is NOT par for 2 females, I know, and maybe one day one of them will say "Ive had enough" and decide sister needs a butt kicking, I hope not, but I am fully aware it can happen and I am prepared to handle it. I have done my homework for how to separate them and how to deal with warning signs, if there are any.
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