can anyone with 2 males give me information on their experiences.
currently have an 18 month male.
chosen a male pup? (both staffords)

have been adviced against it.
My elder male is dog friendly, and i assumed that bringing them up together they would be fine.
i would greatly appreciate any information xx thanx xx

I have two males - one is 7 and the other is 2. They get on really well together. The younger one adores his big 'brother' and follows him around like a little lamb.

The only thing I would say is make sure you really DO want two, whether dogs or bitches. There's a lot more work involved :)

Can't speak personally - will be in the same boat myself in a year or so, though, so interested to hear any replies. My brother in law has 3 male labs (3, 1 and a half and and 6 months - the younger two are dad and son) who all get along well, sleeping together in the same kennel and run area, but I don't know if this is an exception to the rule or not.
Tracy

In my experience it has depended on the temperament of the older dog. I had one that was a pussy cat with all things canine, I knew he had the type of temperament of 'anything for a quiet life'. I brought in a Dalmatian dog puppy and they were both fine, no problems at all.

However, when my old boy went and I wanted another pup to live with the Dally I knew bringing in a male would be a potential disaster as he was such a dominant dog and not too friendly with other males. I got a bitch puppy who a year later bosses him around and keeps him in his place and he is so sweet to her, even moves out of his bed if she decides she wants to lie in it!

To sum up, I don't think you will ever be sure with two dogs of the same sex, (Two bitches can be worse) opposites are a safer choice.

Hope this helps
Sandra

Will let you know! We have decided to get a dog pup, should be here in 6 weeks! We already have a dog and a bitch and it has taken us ages to decide, in the end we decided our dog is the easier going of the two, our bitch very very occasionally has a problem with other bitches

That said, if I could only have two dogs I would always have one of each as that always seems the best combination (of course you have to bear in mind keeping them apart during seasons or neutering one or both)

Good luck with your decision

Hayley

Rafystaffy
I too am in the same boat as I would like another Staffy and was inclined more towards another male -but the majority of Staffy breeders and owners have warned me against the idea.
The situation seems to be ok at first but there comes an age when they begin to fight :(
Like you, my current dog is dog friendly but you cannot guarantee what the other will be like

Hi,

I have one of each Ruby is dominant and puts Murphy in his place now and then but when we were originally looking for Ruby we thought about a male at that point we had a male staff 18 months old who was very placid and was advised by breeders and by my vet to have a bitch from a pup rather than older, Jake let Ruby rule the roost would even eat of the same bowl but would 2 males get on as well I think it depends on the temprament of both dogs as they say best to have on of each.

All of my staffs have got on really well and I have just brough a massive plastic dog house for them to sleep in, in doors

I am the owner of two male Mals. One is 2 1/2 and the other is 14 months. The older mal is not male dog friendly (in the breed I'm afraid) but he is perfectly fine with the other Mal - they have always been fine together. I am aware that this could change and I do have enough room if I should need to split them up in the future. The pup was 8 weeks when we got him and so he ahs always looke up to the older dog and even though he's now going through adolescence, he seems happy with the order of the pack.

Hi Raffystaffy
Personally I would have to disagree as I own 8 staffies 1 male and 7 females, I did own 2 males but all havoc broke loose when my younger male turned 18 months the other was 10 and they lived together since the younger was 7 weeks. I had to keep them separate for the next 3 and half years which was a night mare as accidents happen and when they got together it was hard to seperate them when fighting and you don't want that! I might be wrong but I would go for a bitch this time sorry

hi ya ihad a male staffie 4 years old,then we bought a male bullmastiff everyone thought we were mad and we would have trouble but they loved each other you couldnt seperate them they were always the best of friends.debb

I was advised to never have a dog on it`s own because they are pack animals. I have 3 males ages 4yrs4mths, 4yrs & 2yrs6mths all living together & up untill a few wks ago a neutered male aged 6yrs5mths.
Also have 4 bitches of similar ages & again never had a fight between them. They are dogs & as such I try to understand their behaviour & live with each other in harmony. They are Labradors so theres a very good chance the breed temperement excels in our living together in harmony :)

Christine, Spain.

I have 3 male springers litter brothers 1yr 6mths and 1yr, and 2 bitches litter sisters 2yrs 6ths, they usually get on really well with just the odd growl amongst the boys, if things start to get heated then one of the bitches tends to step in and calm things down, she hates the others fighting.

I think the trick is to understand the pack behaviour of dogs (and to remember that to the dog, we are part of their pack). Usually the problem is not the dogs but our failure to understand the pack and to understand life from the dog's point of view. In some instances people seem to be able to own more than one dog regardless of sex and have no problems, others have immediate problems.
Although I don't believe in giving any breed 'bad press' as there are always exceptions to the rule, Staffies do generally have a reputation for not getting along with other dogs, and the difficult thing is that is not always immediately obvious as they seem to have a change in temperament towards other dogs once they mature, (approx 2-3 years) by which time you will already be attached.
I am a fan of Staffies but would be very cautious of taking any risks. Two Staffs that get along fine are a lovely sight to see, but the damage if one turns can be horrendous.
Never get a new dog without first introducing it to your existing dog on neutral grounds. If I were you I would seek professional help from a local source to get sensible advice on testing your existing dogs temperament and advice on how to introduce a new dog into your existing dog's territory. You need to get a good understanding of your existing dogs temperament in order to know how to treat the new dog. It is usually best to let the dogs establish their own pecking order, rather than for you to decide who will be top dog. Good luck!

Hi, I have 3 Staffords, 2 females & 1 male, We are getting a second male soon but he we have kennel's.
Whenever our girls (mum & daughter) have had scuffles it's happened really quickly, one minute they are having a play & the next minute it's a full blown scrap! luckily it's only happened a couple of times & we have been there to break them up. I couldn't garentee that I could break up 2 Stafford dog's on my own before any serious damage was done!
I have friends have gone home to find one of there Stafford bitches had been killed in a fight by either her mother or her sister. These were dogs that got on great until that day!
we never leave our dogs together when we are out. I also don't agree that they should to be left to sort out the pecking order on there own. Staffords can do alot of damage to each other even if they are the best of pals.
Hope this help's, Trace.

This is what I have been told by other Staffy breeders Tracey who have been involved with Staffords for a long time .
A fight can break out over nothing in particular- even when both lying next to each other in front of the fire.
lel

I would not recommend 2 male staffords at all unless you are a very experienced staffie owner and have kenneling facilities and could be 100% the two dogs would not be left alone for any period of time.
Initially they would probably get along fine but as someone has already said when the puppy becomes a "teenager" and wants to try his dominance you could run into REAL problems.
I would go for a bitch and if you are not intending to breed or show get one of them fixed.

Staffie
do you find they are ok if their owners are around or that the problems only start when they are left alone ???
I really did think it might be more of a problem with a bitch and a male and therefore thought another male woul be best suited to the family but after asking poeple I find this isnt the case ? The main problem being that I dont want to breed.
I know you have Staffs also -so would you also recommend a girlie ??
I would want to show another and I know now that you can show a spayed bitch but I am worried about the health implications to her ??
I do need more advice on this before I decide ...
Lel

Lel when you get it let me know because your information will be the same as I need but in reverse ie have bitch what next? dog or bitch?

Had a dog and bitch before and they were fantastic to see. In fact it makes me smile just thinking of them in fact Gypsy was always in charge Sam just couldn't be bothered in fact he never barked at the door in fact he only just managed to open an eye when anyone came to the house (UNLESS THEY HAD FOOD). Gypsy guarded enough for a whole pack of Staffords.

Karen

Hi Karen
I dont want Gus to reach the age where he changes temperament and problems start
and I dont want to have to spay a bitch and she has health problems . :(
Also I dont want Gus to think he has had his nose pushed out when the new arrival comes
it is a hard choice if you want another and i want to get to get it right :)
Lel

I know what you mean watching Sal tonight as she sat good as gold watching the trick or treaters coming down the path. Nicely because everytime a trick/treater came and went she got a piece of hot dog suasage ;) So in her opinion who cares about trick/treaters when mum's got sausage:D

Then as she lay on the floor eating her yougurt out of the tub (ski, in peach or raspberry only) I wondered if she would have her nose pushed out. BUt I figure there is enough love to go around for two. And she's so laid back I have to check she's not horizontal :D

Karen

Hello I am having a similar problem. We have 1 bitch who is 6 months old, she is spayed and great with other dogs (maybe abit too great!), 1 8month old staffieX who has been done and 1 3 month old male staff.
We dont know what the pecking order is and I dont think they do either! The bitch is great never aggressive unles shes over excited with a toy but she bullies the little man by nipping him and forcing him to play. The eldest is bossy with food. The youngest is very good but gets aggressive when they try and steal his toys!
How can we establish a pecking order and also lel how have you got along?

Thanks everybody!

3 dogs under a year????????  Wow - that must take some time.

I wouldn't worry too much about influencing the 'pecking order' - they will sort it out themselves as they mature, and any attempts by the humans in the house to affect it could well backfire.

Thanks! It is a real handful and often takes me and my boyfriend to keep them in line but they're getting it! I'll leave them to it and see what the outcome is. but after reading about all these pairs of males fighting i am now abit worried!!

Thanks!

Think my comment on 'sorting out their own pecking order on their own' was misunderstood by Trace. What I meant by that is that you should reinforce the pecking order that the dogs themselves have established. Do not try and enforce what YOU consider the pecking order should be unless there are particular problems and a behaviourist has suggested that you should intervene. If dogs understand their own position in their pack, there are less likely to be challenges between them. By 'on their own' I meant 'as per their choice' not 'when they're alone (unsupervised)' It is because they can do so much damage that it is all the more important to understand how they behave in a pack and how important a pecking order actually is amongst dogs. It is often when their place in their pack has been challenged or confused that problems occur.
I can recommed a book that advises on all sorts including behaviour/pack instincts. Please refer to the Doglopaedia- a Complete Guide To Dog Care by J.M Evans & Kay White. Gives loads of valuable advice on all sorts of canine issues.
Hope it helps.

hi Raffy

looks like you have already made your mind up,
i hope they both get on but it might go wrong sooner then you think, i breed a litter of Stafford's 23 months ago (not my first litter) i had both mother and father (and another bitch) and they all got on very well, the dog was fine with all other dogs/bitches i could walk all of mine off lead most of the time, the father had been used at Stud 5 other times so i thought that putting him to my bitch would not change him he was 3.5 years (i breed the litter to keep a pup). when the litter was born we decided that the best was the first dog born so we decided to keep him knowing that Kane (the father) was ok with all other dogs (was told by a lot of people not to).
things started to change when Leo (the pup we kept) was about 6 weeks, Kane was not a great lover of puppies, he had been around a few litter's and i only let him see the puppies on a few occasions. When the rest of the litter started to leave for there new homes at about 8 weeks i would get Kane to be in the same room as the litter more often (when they were out playing, he was always in the room when the litter was sleeping), and when Leo was the only dog left (2 bitches left to go) i did not put him out at all, unless he wanted to .
He would play with all the puppies but would be harder on Leo, when the other 2 bitches left i started to get things back to normal, but Kane was still hard on Leo i tried all sorts of thing like feeding Kane before the pup (and that was 4/5 times a day) saying hello to Kane first and things like that but things just got worse,
when Leo was about 10 weeks i could no longer walk Kane off lead he had changed, he was fine unless a dog looked at him (fine with bitches).
by the time Leo was 4 months they could not be kept in the same room as each other, Kane would try and get him no mater what or who was in his way it was his home and that was it,
i decided that Leo had to go in the outside kennel but still it was hard as i have children and Leo had to be put in his Kennel if Kane went out in the garden as he would have a go thought the run fence, when Leo was 7 months old he ended up in the vets because one of my little girls left Kane out to play in the garden with the bitches, Leo was in a mess.
We lost kane when Leo was 9 months old (he was knocked over) and if this had not happened we would have had to rehome Leo.
so please think long and hard before you get a dog puppy

Natalie