Quite a long time ago I posted about getting another dog after losing my beloved 14yr old springer and was not sure what breed to get now I am older myself. Main consideration.... nothing too demanding of exercise and not high maintenance. Anyway after some ideas, i decided on a wire dachshund or another spaniel breed.

Fast forward...I have owned a cockapoo dog for the past 12 months!   I know...high maintenance mongrels (ridiculopus cost); coat like grooming a sheep; mad as a box of frogs; need a lot of exercise (just like my springer!);  constantly hunting for anything furry that moves; terrorises the bantams which loathe him (when Mrs sussex gives him a sharp peck on the nose, he is overcome with excitement for the kill).  On the plus side, he is very intelligent (born dancer) and quite trainable although recall goes out of the window if he spots his favourite creature, the squirrel.  We now have a rat visiting and again his enthusiasm to kill is infectious.   This is a dog that can deal with a rat, i am sure!
He is also a great guard dog inside and outside the house.  I will have to finish by saying he is very cuddly and loveable!

After giving it much thought, i have decided to get him a companion and I still want a standard wire dachshund (having owned one before).  I would like some advice if possible regarding neutering/spaying.  In the past years I have owned 2 bitches at the same time (mum and daughter) and 2 dogs (the dachshunds).  But I think it might be better to get a bitch even though he seems to get on with most other dogs (excluding an off lead staffie which has attacked him 4 times and which I have reported to the police).  However my cockapoo has not been neutered as of yet...it is not something I would normally consider unless very necessary.

So....should I get him neutered before getting a bitch?   Or do I get the bitch spayed when old enough? Or do I have to get both done?  Has anyone experience of keeping both sexes and not getting either done?   I just wondered how other people manage this.  Any advice would be most welcome.
Many thanks.

depends how you feel about putting him in kennels for 3 weeks when the bitch pup has her first season.   I would not want to spay a bitch until she has had one heat and it would be hard on both of them to live in same house during season and kept apart.   if you can't board him somewhere else for those 3 weeks then I'd take him to be castrated before getting bitch pup.

I guess that would make sense.  However I have been told that neutering the dog does not stop it from pestering a bitch in season even though, of course, it does stop an unwanted pregnancy.  Maybe most owners get both done to prevent any problems?

I just wonder how breeders cope because don't tell me they all put their bitches in kennels. Unless they have their own kennels, of course. Maybe there are few breeders who keep males and if they do, not in the house.
It would be so much easier to get a dog..I recall my dachshunds scrapping but not that often and more noise than anything else.  But most of the time they cuddled up and I think that was because they were the same size and breed.

My cockapoo is quite dominant, very friendly and playful but certainly not submissive.  Maybe keeping 2 neutered dogs is the answer?? Or buy a mature bitch (spayed or at an age when it can be done rather than a puppy)  What a conundrum..

I'd go for spaying the bitch - always.    But this really is up to you because clearly if you decide to allow one season before having this done, you will need to be able to keep them separated from day one of her season to the bitter end!   I had an entire male, elderly, the last of my home-breds and decided to buy a bitch of another breed going forward.   Just as a pet so I talked to my vet about getting her spayed around 6 months and he put me off, saying let her have one season first - citing potential growth plate problems and spay incontinence later on.   I took his advice (something I'd never had to consider before as yes, we had a small show kennel with entires of both sexes although our bitches were spayed once retired - by around 7 years of age) and waited.  And I made arrangements for a local kennel to take her and keep her safe when she did come in.   I could have separated her from him myself, but he didn't need to be anywhere near a bitch in season.   As it happened there was no sign of a season by 11 months, so I asked him to go ahead and spay.  Which he did and she's fine.

I only went for castration for medical need.   And yes, even castrated males will mount and even tie with a willing partner......

> I just wonder how breeders cope because don't tell me they all put their bitches in kennels. Unless they have their own kennels, of course. Maybe there are few breeders who keep males and if they do, not in the house.

The ones I know either keep them in separate rooms while a bitch is in season or have one in a crate one out while home and both in crates when out.

When I kept my girls son I decided to have her spayed as I wasn't going to breed her again and imagined separating them would cause issues as mine are not ones who will be happy to be shut away.

> When I kept my girls son I decided to have her spayed as I wasn't going to breed her again and imagined separating them would cause issues as mine are not ones who will be happy to be shut away.

And this is why once retired, I had my bitches spayed to avoid having to confine them for 3+ weeks away from the others, and however impossible it was to get at them, avoid the angst amongst my males.   I had mine upstairs in an open crate in an ex-pen and if I had to go out leaving them all alone, I'd shut her in the crate, and close the door to that room and shut the others in the kitchen.   The only place they went out to empty was via the front door onto a completely separate area.  That still meant washing the 'communal area' at the bottom of the stairs to remove any 'drips'.   Such fun.   Looking back, I don't know how I managed!!   But we had no unplanned litters.    Even then, we had some degree of howling going on, from her as well as the others - so, out of respect for neighbours, I tended to only go out if my other half was home to keep a lid on things.

Why do you have to get a bitch?  Why not get another dog?? 

I simply would never have both sexes at ages where they were entire.  It would just be a non-starter for me.  Dogs don't exist for us to treat them like objects and do whatever we consider best for us - they have needs, themselves. 

See 'Dogs are not here for our convenience':  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/opinion/dogs-spaying-neutering.html

Interesting views on this.  I had my springer bitch spayed when she was 6 years old and then only because she was very broody and producing milk. I did not buy her for breeding although when she passed, I wished I had so that I had a daughter from such a wonderful dog.  Anyway other bitches in the past 45 years, i never had one spayed and had no problems.   This is only the second male I have owned and my experience is that they are harder work!

Yes, i would never get a bitch spayed early.  A neighbour had her working springer/cocker bitch spayed at 6 months and it (may have) affected her growth as she is really small for that cross.
A friend has a cockapoo bitch spayed very early and she is really submissive to other dogs, rolls over when she meets them and also sprays.  I am not saying that spaying when 6 months did this as i am no expert but in all honesty I prefer not to spay or neuter unless it is a medical thing like you say.

Having said that, my entire cockapoo pup has been on the receiving end of dog hostility many times, bitten twice and hair pulled out etc.  Most times when he is on the lead and the other dog is loose.  My pet hate....owners who shout...."don't worry love, he is friendly"!  I asked my vet if neutering my dog would help with this problem and he said there is absolutely no guarantee that would help.
Now I carry a spray and a stick (well, a ball thrower) and I have to be very careful where i let him off lead.
I will carry on thinking about the best solution to having a companion for him.
Many thanks


A neighbour had her working springer/cocker bitch spayed at 6 months and it (may have) affected her growth as she is really small for that cross.



Just the opposite,in fact ,biologically, removing the male or female main hormone producing organs before the growth plates close( ie prepubscently)results in dogs growing taller than genetically inherited & having lighter weaker bones to boot due to the length & strength of the bones being effected

When you cross breeds you really have no way of predicting the phenothype of the offspring

Sorry..I got that wrong...interesting about the weaker bones. It really seems not a good idea to meddle with the hormones.

Regarding crossbreeds, my cockapoo is an f2 so both parents are cockapoos.   One thing is that he came with a folder thick with health tests and pedigree history of the parents, gp, ggp and gggp.  I also met the parents and grandparents owned by the breeder.  The tests include the litter and parents eye examination and all the Laboklin test results for each parent. And I signed a commitment to return him back to the breeder should that be necessary at any time. Also I have the offer of free boarding for life and free clipping for the first year.  Truthfully, he and/or his parentage has come with more tests than has been provided to me by any breeder of pedigree dogs I have ever had in 45 years.  But having said that, I do understand why someone would say "designer dog" and be against crossing all these different breeds to sell at ridiculous prices.  I totally agree..they are crossbreeds, mongrels, and I have surprised myself by acquiring one.  Quite why I have is another story....I blame my family!

When I got my first miniature wire dachshund (in the late 80's) he came with a pedigree but no health tests. In fact he was cheaper because he was the runt of the litter with undescended testicles.  Still cost me £170 which to me with a young family was a lot of money. 
He never grew much, his testicles never appeared and he was very tiny but he never let that stop him.  A feisty little character adored by the family, especially my boys, and he lived until the grand old age of 14 despite never having the op to remove his bits.   And he never got ill once.  I must have been very lucky!  I love the breed and hope I will be able to have another but I must take my senior age into consideration.  Oh dear, something else to think about.

Wow quite surprised that the breeder of your crossbreed did hip & elbow scoring as well as a full set of DNA tests for Cocker Spaniels & Poodles & the clinical eyed tests. i suppose it could justify the high cost of the puppies.

Pity that they still cannot claim the puppies will not shed or be "hypo allergenic" because there is no way of predicting which coat type(poodle or cocker)any puppy will inherit even after they have been born, as there is no DNA test for this & of course human allergy to dogs is caused by the dead skin cells-dander-, saliva & urine & not the fur

To be honest, i was not in the least bothered about hair shedding..after all, i had a springer for 14 years and was quite used to collecting hair from every corner! But then I am not allergic to dogs.  However my cockapoo does not shed hair at all because his coat is curly like a poodle.  Skin cells and dander, saliva and urine..well, I obviously can cope with that as i have no reaction.   Non shedding is a bonus, especially if you are houseproud but grooming the coat is like grooming a sheep. And it matts overnight.  And costs a fortune in clipping. Easier to have a shedding dog! Just as well I love him!

He was one of four in a litter and all were wavy like him apart from one which was smooth haired. I believe this is called the grandad effect, a throwback.  I wanted the smooth  but she was sold first. The litter was black/white and the smooth reminded me of my springer. Still they say comparisons are odious and anyway she could not be replaced.  Jester is black & white and more spaniel than poodle in looks and his ways.  The poodle comes out when he dances on his hind legs (and, no, I have not taught him to dance!).  Years ago we had bearded collies and people are always asking me if he is a beardie puppy.
 
You say the human allergy is caused by dead skin cells?  My son has asthma (not so bad now he is older) but he was fine with the dogs, even the hairy ones. But as soon as he came into contact with a cat, he sneezed constantly and had a runny nose.  I wonder why he was allergic to cats and not dogs? Maybe different skin cells.

Hi, I think this is a really useful question to be asking and one that I suspect many people find themselves having to consider when they realise they would like 2 dogs but got a male as their first one!  People seem to be commonly advised to have a male and a female if having two dogs and the dynamic between two dogs of the same sex can be unpredictable with some breeds.  I'm sure a lot of people who got male dogs find themselves secretly wishing they'd had a steady older female before they added a young male to the house too!:-)

It's increasingly a difficult question because of the shift that seems to be taking place from the early neutering of dogs as a matter of course. to the recognition that neutering has some pretty serious impacts on health and well being in dogs, leading to more dogs being left intact for longer.  This is more common in other European countries that require a very good reason for neutering so I wonder if asking how pet owners manage the dog/bitch question in those countries where it isn't the norm to neuter?

One thing maybe you could do is see what your dog is like around in season bitches - unfortunately you can't really avoid coming into contact with in season bitches because many owners will insist that it is fine to walk them in public places. As he matures, if he's one that is going to be reactive to that then you at least know something about what you would be dealing with? I think some dogs can have an extreme reaction while others might be easier to manage? I would also consider if your home and work situation allows you to safely manage the separation required for when a bitch is in season - and if you have a back up solution for boarding if your dogs got too distressed or you got driven mad by them both trying to get to each other:-). 

One other thing I've noticed is that people often seem to get 'broody' around the time their pup reaches a year old and start thinking about another.  You didn't say if your Cockerpoo was a pup when you got him but just in case, you might think about holding off on getting another until you have a steady, mature, well trained dog to introduce a new pup too, otherwise you'll have two young ones with limited self control to manage, which can be a very tiring handful:-D.  That would give you time to see who your current dog is going to grow up to be and that might give you a view on what sort of a companion would work best with him?  You may well not mind the challenge of two young dogs of course but maybe another factor to consider is that if they are very close in age, their lifespan may be very similar too.  Good luck with whatever you decide and I personally think it's really responsible of you to be considering all these things in advance when so few people do.

Having been in a similar situation (already had an entire male, no plans to neuter him) when I wanted to get my younger dog, I decided on a second male, (although I’d have preferred a female). They have got on together pretty well, although knowing more now I think I would have got a female and had the Suprelorin implant in the older male for the time of the female’s first (and possibly second) seasons. However, it does the (in this case full cocker) coat no favours.

But you have the offer from his breeder of free boarding for life, so would you consider boarding him away while the new female was in season? (Sorry, my computer had an “upgrade” and won’t do quotes any more.)

Valley..Thank you very much for your helpful advice. As for being broody, you are right.. I am!  Also as quite likely my last dog (due to being in my late 60's), I really want another wire dachshund.  I am fit and active and I could cope but I agree with waiting until my dog has matured from a 14 months adolescent into a well mannered, beautifully behaved pooch (I can only hope!.
So that is what I will do. Be patient and see how it goes this year.
And, IF I go ahead, it will be a bitch.  With a dominant male, a female will soon change the dynamics and rule the roost.  Especially a dachshund!  But two males..more likely to be a problem.
I do not want to have either neutered but if it had to be then so be it. There..I have solved my conundrum. I think.
Many thanks for your replies.

Thank you for your reply.

Unfortunately the breeder lives 130 miles away and its difficult for me to get there.
I don't really like the sound of a pill to suppress libido but I could put him in kennels if necessary.  Or maybe family could help out. I don't know but I think a bitch would be a wiser choice than getting another dog with my rather dominant cockapoo.
No rush...I am now waiting until he is out of the adolescent period!

I'm not sure what a 'dominant' cockerpoo is...

Forgive me for saving this, but when hear the word dominant (often as an excuse by other owners - dog walkers), I think rude & ill mannered.

"Dominant" is the opposite of "submissive"
Cockerpoo is a cocker spaniel/poodle cross.
Do hope that has helped you out.

What makes you believe your current dog is dominant ? A truly dominant dog(be they male or female & 99% of the time they are female)does very little to show dominance. Only met a few dominant dogs in my life & most can "enforce" their dominsnce with a look or a body posture. It doesn't include any physical interaction with other dogs.

I remember that when an apparently quiet tiny docile bitch belonging to a friend died, her other dogs cohesion fell apart. The tiny bitch had in fact ruled the other dogs with a will of steel & had kept them"inline" for 15 years. My friend had to sort of take her place & retrain the rest of the dogs so their behaviour was acceptable again. This was 40 odd years ago I must add

>Forgive me for saving this, but when hear the word dominant (often as an excuse by other owners - dog walkers), I think rude & ill mannered.

Exactly. Spoilt and badly trained.

This can be a great forum and very helpful but at times spoilt by judgemental posts particularly when they digress from the OP's original request for advice (imo).

"A truly dominant dog(be they male or female & 99% of the time they are female)does very little to show dominance. Only met a few dominant dogs in my life & most can "enforce" their dominsnce with a look or a body posture. It doesn't include any physical interaction with other dogs."

FWIW, we had a bitch who clearly ruled the pack without anything physical going on.   It was absolutely apparent, even if we suspected this was the case, after we had to let her go after which for a significantly long time, 'her place' in front of the fire remained empty.   None of them went to lie there initially although eventually they did.   Clearly with her it was all about body language.  Interestingly we kept her after as soon as their eyes opened, we noticed one of her eyes was cloudy and eventually it 'blew' and the eyeball had to be removed.   It was only then that an abscess was found.  Not wanting to let her go to a home, we kept her but even with just one eye, she was clearly effective re her status within the pack

I'd suspect that if a dog acts (attacks) 'dominant', it may actually be far from that but adopting the 'attack is the best form of defence' attitude.

Given how much effort the op is putting into research on the subject of the post and freely admits her current dog is still an  adolescent I wonder if the term dominante in this context is actually work in progress.
Ince he gets over being an adolescent , mayures and has been trained he is likely to be a well mannered dog
Agree mamabas often a dog that acts outwardly dominant is infact showing nervous aggression and needs different behaviour training to that ofan immature pup who needs guidance

Rather than call the behaviour aggression I prefer to call it defensive behaviour

Thank you for that.  I thought I was being sensitive but I did not like the tone of the way the conversation was going and it left me feeling like I was stupid. Maybe it is because i have one of those crossbreeds rather than a pedigree but I love my dog and he is a great companion now that I am living on my own.  I don't really know what i would do without him.
Anyway as unfortunately a couple of people have been judgemental, i will not post again but a big thank you to the rest of you who were very helpful.

I would wait until he is old enough to castrate & also mature mentally & then get your second dog, won't matter whether it's a dog or bitch then & then you can neuter the second dog/bitch at the appropriate time.