Question about having two female boxers

[abby's mum]

I have always wondered about this myself. The breeders I have contacted have all said that if Abby gets along with other females, which she has-she has cohabitated with females, it should be fine. I am not sure I want to risk it though. On the other hand, I have never had a male and I'm not sure I want one. They can just get to be soooo big. I am not sure what to do.

 

[gmacleod]

Just do a search here on 'females fighting' and you'll find plenty of information. Yes, many times two females together does work out fine, especially if one is a very submissive dog and both are spayed early. But when it doesn't work out, the results are serious. Female dogs fighting aren't just fighting to establish dominance - which is generally the case with males - but are fighting to get rid of the other bitch. So at its most serious, bitch fights mean fights to the death. And once that sort of fighting begins, it is extremely difficult to stop.

Moreover, the poor owner rarely sees it coming because the two bitches will usually get along fine for a year or 18 months, but when the younger of the two reaches maturity things can change very quickly. I should note here that boxers are a rather scrappy breed, and bitch problems with boxers are a little more common than in some other breeds.

The fact that your current bitch is not very dominant is probably a factor in your favour, but she isn't fully mature yet and it's difficult to predict the adult temperament of a new puppy. If you are confident that you will be able to recognise the first signs of dominance problems, to address those to avoid problems occuring AND to find a liveable solution should your bitches end up unable to co-exist (meaning playing musical dogs in and out of crates), then another female could be for you. IMO a male is a safer bet though. Opposite sexes don't guarantee you two dogs that will always get along, but the chances of it much better and in the event of problems, any fights are likely to be less serious.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Super Boo]

I have always wondered about this myself. The breeders I have contacted have all said that if Abby gets along with other females, which she has-she has cohabitated with females, it should be fine. I am not sure I want to risk it though. On the other hand, I have never had a male and I'm not sure I want one. They can just get to be soooo big. I am not sure what to do.

If it helps at all, my female is about 10lbs and 1 1/2 inches BIGGER than my male--so I think size differences are minimal. I was hesitant to get a male because of the marking/lifting leg issue. My male rarely lifts his leg and marks about the same or less than my female (and only outside). The main difference is that my male is VERY sensitive and loving. You cannot raise your voice to him and he always is on my lap (that can also be a drawback as he weighs 65lbs )

 

[Claudia807]

As others have said . . . it's up to you, but you would be stacking the odds in your favor by getting a male. As a rescue volunteer I can tell you lots of horror stories about females not getting along. Sometimes no amount of training and working with a behaviorist will fix it. As the moderator stated, when bitches start fighting, they don't get over it and move on. It turns into a "this house isn't big enough for the both of us" sort of thing. We are talking nasty, nasty fights where nothing will break them up. I am not exaggerating in any way. I've had lots of people tell me their little buttercup would never fight with another dog, and some people just will not believe it until they see it for themselves.

The worst case scenario is that you need to be prepared to keep the girls separated if they later decide not to get along. One time I had a female foster dog who made the mistake of challenging my Lucy and . . . whoa nelly. We had to enact a new household policy of having at least two CLOSED doors between the girls at all times. If one even caught a glimpse of the other, it was all over.

 

[courtney323]

What the previous few posters have said is absolutely true.

My female, Maddie, is sooooooooooooo playful and silly and rambunctious. She plays plays plays with any and every dog she sees. She has a great time at the dog park, and generally gets along with any dog she meets. I get together with another person on these boards (who has 2 females) and we meet up and let our dogs play. They have a great time! No dominance issues whatsoever.

You would think that we wouldn't have any issues here, but Maddie just CANNOT coexist with another female. This is the reason her original owner gave her up for adoption (severe female/female fighting). Something happens to my sweet girl when another dog is brought into our household to stay.

When we brought Lennox (our 2 year old Foster Boy Boxer) into our house, we actually had the same fighting issues, despite the fact he was a male. It turns out Lennox is dominant as well! It took us months of working with both dogs just to get them to coexist somewhat peacefully. Ultimately, we couldn't keep the two of them and Lennox now belongs to my parents, who fell in love with him (and live here in the same City). The pooches are much happier being an "only" dog -- but ironically, they love to see each other and play.

My (long-winded) point, is that even if your dog *seems* playful and not very dominant, there is NO gurantee that she will get along with another dog in her household. I still feel that opposite-sex pairings work much better, as males tend to "fight, forget, forgive and move-on". Females will ALWAYS remember and hold grudges...

Good luck

 

[ssleighter]

This quote came from Boxer magazine:

"When it comes to other dogs, however—especially dogs of the same sex—boxers are not so likely to get along without incident. Dog aggression seems most common among females, although un-neutered males can also fight. Once two boxers have had an argument, it’s never over. They hold a grudge, and they will be enemies forever and can’t be trusted to be together. Anyone who gets in the middle of a boxer spat risks injury, not because boxers would attack humans, but because they are so focused on besting their canine enemies. It is never recommended to place a female boxer in a home with another female. Problems may not surface for a few years, and what are you going to do when it does? It’s not worth the risk."

Legacy Boxer Rescue will never adopt a female boxer to a family that has a female dog of any breed, and I don't know any rescues in this area that will do so. Our goal is to place a dog in a home forever, and even if they get along at the onset, that can often change. It isn't worth the risk that two years down the road that boxer might have to be returned to us.

Personally, my Ginger is so female dog aggressive we can't take her to places like PetsMart. She does fine with male dogs, but HATES females.

 

[blurble33]

we have 2 females - one is almost 5 and the other is 2 1/2. we adopted the older one when the pup was about 6-7 mos old and they are the best of friends. if i had to pick a alpha it would be the younger one, however she knows her place and knows that the REAL alpha is her mom and dad - they older one is not neccessarily submissive to the younger one but we haven't had any problems. early on the younger tried to take the olders pig ear and the older snapped at her and we haven't had any troubles since - she didn't snap she just let her sister know she wasn't a pushover we do watch them wrestle and box very closely and when the get pig ears they are watched very closely - just b/c i know that just b/c it hasn't happened doesn't mean it won't happen - u know? both of our girls are spayed as well and have been told that can make a difference.


after saying all this, i do feel we are fortunate for our 2 females getting along so greatly - but we have made the descion that we would not chance it again - the next set will be a netered boy and spayed female.

 

[lmwenske]

Thank all of you for your replies. The only reason I was considering it is because Bella has been well socialized, and she gets along with females more so than males of all breeds, including boxers. I did ask some breeders about it and most said that it depends a lot on their personalities versus gender. Bella was spayed very early so she never developed any aggression issues as far as territory or anything like that. My roommate has a dachsund and she is actually the alpha dog in the house. Thanks again!

 

[courtney323]

Just to clarify though, I do not think early spaying has anthying to do with this female/female issue

My female (read my story above) was spayed at 5 months of age and, furthermore, never showed ANY territorial or aggression issues. She gets along with every dog she meets, and wants to play!

Dogs can be very deceiving, and this is why same-sex pairings can be so difficult. You can't really predict how they will act with another dog in their house.

Example:

My female's 1st home, she got along GREAT with the other (5 year old) female Boxer until she turned 1 year old. Then, as Gmacloud said perfectly, she reached maturity and things turned for the worse literally overnight. There were many trips to the emergency vet for BOTH dogs, until the owner had to give one up for good (and we adopted Maddie).

Good luck in your decision