>I don't think doormats are what is called for in our breed.

I wouldn't think a doormat character would be wanted in any breed. They might as well be a stuffed toy.

>I would hope that most male dogs of most breeds are not aggressive in any situations.

I would expect that most male dogs (and females, come to that) could be aggressive in certain situations. For instance, newly-whelped bitches will defend their whelps. Two males, unknown to each other, will fight over an in-season bitch. To be surprised by that would show a remarkable unawareness of nature.

Just like all humans eh? 
BUT if they communicate properly in the same dog language, then it doesn't escalate. :)

That's right. Of course you have to take into account the unknown socialisation factor - a dog which doesn't have adequate and correct interaction with its own species won't show its best side!

I'm very inclined to agree with Onetwothree on this question.

Interestingly the general working requirements for GSPs have shifted from their German origins where they were expected to work on a one-to-one basis with their handler and were expected to be hard enough to deal with cats, foxes and wounded deer. In the UK this has shifted to needing to be able to work on a driven shoot.

In the driven shoot scenario, a dog will be expected to be off-lead and often some distance from the handler. Other dogs will be working at the same time (both dogs & bitches) which will have widely varying levels of training and temperament. They will need to crowd in the back of shoot vehicles.  In these circumstances, an iffy temperament with other dogs is an absolute liability and likely to make both the dog and the handler fairly unpopular.

I've owned labs in the past that have been used at stud that would always walk away from the slightest disagreement. I've no real problem with a male (or bitch) sticking up for itself if heavily provoked, but if a dog of mine was seriously looking for trouble in a working situation then we would very likely be parting company.

In many of the larger Spitz breeds, I suspect that if you discounted any stud dog showing aggression towards another male, you would end up with very little to choose from. I have noticed in shows on the continent that most people seem to take a far more realistic approach towards dog to dog aggression than they do in the UK. Sometimes I wonder  if we have very unrealistic expectations of our breeds and their behaviour in our efforts to make them "socially acceptable" Many of the situations in which we put our dogs are extremely "unnatural" & yet we behave as if putting 30 mature males together in a confined space was natural! Obviously, gundogs by the nature of their work have to get along with other dogs, but others, for example, those bred to hunt alone or in small numbers do not have to and, as Brainless says have to be very self assured to survive. My Akita will not tolerate other males (although perfectly capable of being shown because he has good manners). I wish he did, but if he was a hale fellow well met with all & sundry, he wouldn't be the same dog. The reason he is as he is is because he is 110% confident that he is the World's Top Dog! (but he still won't go into the kitchen if my 25lb Buhund bitch says he can't :D) I knew when I bought him that this was a breed trait & was prepared to put up with it because his other breed attributes more than make up for this.
I am most definately not advocating breeding from dogs with suspect temperaments, but think we should remember the purpose for which the dog was originally bred. The show ring is hardly the best place to assess temperament and there's many a good handler who can keep their dog under such close control that no one would ever guess how naughty that dog might want to be. Conversely, there are some totally incompetent handlers who can reduce any Open Dog class to World War 3, just by letting their badly trained dog become completely hyper.

As Brainless says we own the same breed.They are a self assured confident breed.Now if we bred them to be of a very soft nature then they would be useless as a hunting dog...we would then have people moaning that a dog should still be capable of doing its job despite being 'just' a show dog.
My boys live together happily and will mix happily outside the ring.They mix with other males outwalking.When I take them into a ring with maybe a dozen other entire male dogs if another dog eyes one of mine I accept that they will 'pull themselves up' and return the stare.I would not accept my dog growling for no reason or starting anything but I do not expect my dogs instincts to be so supressed that they will not behave like dogs when the need arises
Archer

Interesting thread - as has been said breeds were bred for different purposes and certainly my own breed is expected to be full of sparkle and  intensity - it is fairly common for male BSD's to object if their personal space was being invaded by a strange dog. Perhaps those that own a 'softer' breed would bear this in mind when moving around in an enclosed space such as an indoor show - I get really fed up with folk who allow their dogs to wander about on a long lead and sniff mine then look surprised when mine object !.

Yvonne 

I think its unrealistic to take hundreds of dogs...some of protective guarding or terrier breeds into a confined space and expect them to mix regardless....some tension is a certainty
Archer

I'm not just talking about dog shows here. 

I'm talking about, besides shows, working tests, shoots, field trials, training days or just 2 dogs meeting in the park - you name it - any of these situations often leads to male-male aggression with many dogs, which I've witnessed myself in these situations.

In my experience in my own breed most of the males that would be on their toes or have a grumble at a cocky rival in the ring or at a crowded show would be quite different off lead in the park where they are not restricted and can communicate properly, choose to distance themselves etc.

This is where some newcomers to the showring attending their first shows get a slight surprise when their males react to other males when they do not normally do so at the park, training class etc.

Shows are full of tension and excitement, and a lot of male and female dogs, all on leads which adds to tension, reducing the opportunity to choose to keep their distance or communicate properly, and some are simply overwhelmed and thereby defensive or overly aroused.

thats testosterone for you no matter what species

Honestly unless the males have grown up with each other or have lived in the same household or confines for a while then you can expect that if there are females in heat around and alot of people still show their females even when in heat for me that is a no no but some dont seem to care.

i would judge the temprement on what he is like with strangers (when the owner of the female brings her around) and what they are like with your friends girl i would ask what sor of puppies he has produced ( if they know)

As far as im concerned it doesnt matter how big or how small they are when they feel they have to compete that will happen

Although agression maybe a heritable trait, it is much more likly to be affected by socialisation!

Yes but that doesn't explain the male-male component of this. 

None of the bitches I have are currently aggressive towards any dog, male or female.  Of course they were all extensively socialised.

However almost every male dog in my breed that I can think of, no matter early socialisation, I have known to have at least a grumble towards other males.  I'm not saying grumbling is unacceptable - I'm saying that I haven't seen it happen between bitches hardly ever, whereas I see it all the time between dogs.  As, overall, socialisation of bitches is not much higher than dogs, I think we can rule out the socialisation component.

That's the difference between males and females in most species. Females tend to be more sociable and tolerant in general. Spayed bitches have been known to become more 'challenging' - the female hormones seem in many cases to have a softening effect.

Agreed JG, I just wanted to point out why I don't think socialisation is the factor here.