does anybody keep three or more males together in the house ?

yes

Me too :) I have 4

Yes

That was a nice easy question then :D

me too
Archer

Yes Lel, I can manage ones like that. :) got ten finger so I have room for a few more before it becomes a problem.

NOOO Jackie...you then start wearing open toe sandals and hey presto..you can count to 20!!
Nikki

Yep we have 6 & a female(spayed ;))

Yep, got 5 here, although only 4 live together :)

Christine, Spain.

Now we sit around with all our male dogs  wondering what the guest wanted to know for :)

Not in my breed!!  Not even two!

Thought I had better have at least one person who doesn't so it is not a complete whitewash :D

Did you really mean that you can't keep 2 Dobermann together? Why not, do they all fight or something or is it because they play too rough.

Hi Jackie

It is NEVER advised by anyone who knows anything about the breed to keep two Dobermann males together.  They tend to fight with the result that you may only be left with one.  It can be done, but is very, very rarely successful.

Thanks for answering that christine, i remember Dobes in Need saying not to have two males together, but what about two females

Hi Lorraine

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Tends to be better if there are a good few years between bitches

Thanxs :)

If the guest was asking with the intention of having  3 males in his/her household maybe we should point out it depends on which breed(s)...some will need morecaution than others
Archer

i've got two  males but different breeds one is 2 and the other just comming up 1.
I used to have two bitches once  same breed and they used to want to fight all the time they hated each other from the day i tried to introduce them, sadly one passed away not so long ago, but the fighting between them was so bad that i rehomed one to my brother where she lived a happy life until she was 15,and they in that time living with them she accepted other dogs into their house bitches as well as dogs, but if we even parked beside each other at shows and his bitch could see mine in the car they would start barking and growling at each other talk about clash of personalities.
Carol

i have 3 males sadly 1 has died recently i intend to get another in the future   also 1 female i think it can work although 3-4 is a pack of dogs , with that comes pack behaviour so pack leader me ,hopefully, once that is sorted out things can work out from my personal experience with the yorkie breed .

We have 5 boys here.

3 males in my house, well 8 if you count hubby and sons.

did and they all got on well

If as we hear Dobermann males can't be kept together and bitches are also doubtful are their any other breeds the same, don't mean the odd problem but where it is advised not to keep more than one dog?

usually  recommended not to keep two male staffys together but male and female is usually ok

Lel, a good number of people do though don't they, may be the dogs are kenneled when at home.

In general not advised to keep two entire maremma males together either - at least not without the facility to separate them permanently if it becomes necessary. They can live peaceably together but if they do start to fight at maturity they can do each other serious if not fatal injury. I would never advise anyone to have two males together in a house.

Janet

So that is Maremma, Dobs & Staffs, are there any other breeds where the mature males can't be trusted together. I am beginning to wonder why these few breeds are different, the Staffs I can understand by am puzzled by the other 2. Also how to 2 intact bitches of the same breed manage?

We had problems with keeping 2 Tibetan Mastiff's together always the younger wanting to be top dog but when the older one passed away we brought a newfie male then 2 years old in and the had not problem between them then we added a male dogue de bordeaux and still no problem. Now have 12 males but as 9 of them are only a day old I do not think it counts!

Maremmas are guardian dogs - they are by instinct territorial. In "the wild" i.e. working in the mountains in Italy entire males live together but they are not fenced in, and disagreements are sorted out among the dogs. They have space to stay out of trouble and the younger dogs are taught early to respect the more mature males. That said, many are scarred - and I suspect not always through encounters with predators. In the less natural environment of a house these instincts are more likely to cause problems since dogs are forced to live very closely and males fighting and perhaps scarring each other is less acceptable to the average pet owner than to a shepherd (although obviously fighting to serious injury or death would not be good in any situation).  In Italy I have seen many examples of males living peaceably together - including active stud dogs - but they all live in relatively free environments as above. I also have a friend who has 3 males including 2 entire and they are so far peaceful. But I have also heard of dogs that have been "friends" until the younger is 4 or 5 suddenly fighting seriously - hence the advice that people shouldn't have two entire males unless they are able to separate them if it is becomes necessary. It may not be - but it is possible - and I suspect it is more likely if they live in the relatively close confines of a house.

Bitches can be a problem as well though less often - but if they do fight seriously they can do damage. Thankfully most bitch fights if they happen are more noise than damage. That said many Maremma females would not accept a strange adult female into their home.

Janet

I have had up to 4 male belgian shepherds living peaceably together in the house - and this was with two bitches as well.

At the time our stud dog Merlin was very definately the boss and Lola was our Alpha bitch, everyone else found their own place in the pack and we seldom had any problems - the occassional 'swear' word over possessions but nothing serious BUT we had to let them sort it out each time a new member joined the pack. Am now down to 1 male and 3 bitches but intend to keep another boy from my latest litter. My lovely Merlin is now gone and the male I have now is not dominant so I'm expecting a bit of a reshuffle as the pup grows up.

kerryblues males do not get on my dad found out the hard way