I currently have a 6yr old spayed female springer spaniel. We have come across a female Cavalier spaniel pup. I recently read that you should only get a male dog. If you already have a female, 2 females will fight. I have also read that males make better lap dogs. Is any of this true? If you have them spayed and neutered does this still hold true?
Any input is appreciated!
I have 2 spayed Bitches a 5year old Collie/ Springer cross and 4.5yr old collie/whippet cross and a 13week old Male Shetland Sheep dog pup. The 2 bitches don't fight now, but that is because I feed them separatley only give high value treats when I am in the room to supervise them and the younger bitch is not as competivive now as when she was younger. It is a lot harder having 2 bitches than a Male and Female dog.
I basically don't let them have the opportunity to fight with each other, which has resulted in much happier dogs.
When I bought my female, I also purchased her sister for my son and his wife. From the day I brought them home, I puppy sat daily for my son.....my gal and my son's gal....always got along fine and still do. Yea! They play fight, but know when one is getting too rough. By yelping, the other has learned to back-off. It's what a puppy learns while still with his/her mother and litter-mates. RE: Lap Dogs...the females love being on our laps. My other son has a male dog who dislikes being on any one's lap for longer than a few minutes. When we have family dinners - I feed all the dogs at the same time after we eat, and there is never a problem.
Basically...it comes down to how strong a leader you are. Our family dogs know what is expected of them when we are all together.
I also think that giving your 2 dogs, whether of the same gender or not, equal amount of attention, exercise and supervision can help them
get along. Just correct and monitor some behavior early so that it doesn't become a habit.
We purchased 2 toy poodles 3 weeks ago. They are now 16 weeks old. Hubby thought it would be best to buy 2 so they'd have each other to play with. Being that toy poodles need human attention all the time, we hoped having a playmate would keep them busy with each other while we do our daily tasks around the house. So far it is working great. We spend quite a lot of time with them though as we are trying to train them... and we are learning how to be good dog owners.
One of the hurdles we have approached is the fact it is extremely difficult at times for several reasons:
1) Because they are normally side by side playing.... if one is doing something wrong... it's challenging to correct the ones behavior as the "good" one also thinks she is doing wrong. We haven't quite mastered that one yet. (Correcting bad behavior when they are both together).
2) Training them. We found that we have to remove one from the room to work with them as otherwise the sister wants to neck wrestle and play. She constantly distracts her sister who is being trained. So we definitely have to have them in separate areas. Our training sessions are short (5-10 min's) several times per day.
Hi Springer,
I have heard that also but it is bunk in my book, My first female was a Chihuahua and then I got a female Golden, then 2 Chi sisters and now my baby girl Yorkie. They are all best friends and also my daughter brings her female German Shepard out and she and my Golden swim all day and play. My Golden still thinks she is a lap dog and she is 3 years old and about 45 pounds.
My sister has a Golden male out of the same litter as my Holly and a male Doxie, they are unseparable and play all day long. Never fight.
If you have found a sweet Cavalier and are wanting it, Go for it. I have loved that breed and almost got one myself but thought maybe not with my 5 now. She was a beautiful Ruby Cavi, they have the sweetest face.
Oh, but get a health guarantee, this breed has heart valve problems and I think it is hereditary.
Good Luck and keep us posted.
Mia
There a lots of different opinions on this but I really think it comes down to the owner
I have never had dogs who fought (other than play fights)
I have owned 2 females myself and also had females who constantly visited their female littermates owned by friends
I currently own 2 males who are not neutered and they also do not fight
Get the dog that you really want and you should be fine
I agree with you Gail. Your dogs respect and love you. You are a good Alpha.
If a dog doesn't have the respect for you as an owner/Alpha they won't listen.. Dogs who fight [unless they are trained to] are fighting for a position in the pack. If the owner is a good Alpha, you may have multiple dogs and not have to worry about such things.
Have you ever seen an animal behaviorist/trainer? They have multiple dogs and have no problem. I use to live on a dog ranch and trained with my trainer for mostly power dogs. Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Dobermans. They would all get along because they knew what their boundaries are. The trainer would save dogs that people used for fighters. These dogs would be rehabilitated and retrained as a protective service dogs.[Police Dogs] They were no longer real pets, but they had a job and they did it well. These dogs had to be separated at all times, not allowed to socialize with other dogs no matter what age.
Anyway, be a good Alpha with your dog, and your dog will do anything to please you.
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