Hi,

I have the opprotunity to rescue a rat/chi mix who is a 1 yr old sweetheart male.  My question is I also own a boston/rat 1 yr loveable male mix.  I have never own two male dogs before and wanted to know if there were certain problems I was getting myself into...marking, dominance, territorial, agressivness??? They are both fixed and play fine with other dogs.  It just seems that most two dog owners have one of each sex but I couldn't help but fall in love with this little rescue.

thanks for any advice

PICTURES!

Pros and cons with boys. If they are altered and if only one (or none) are dominant it can work. I have 3 here right now. Normally we have 2, Zip, 11, dominant and Eddie, 3, puddle of goo. Right now we have the Peanut, 9mos, and he's not dominant but he's strong willed for sure and was neutered late. No serious fights but they do require some mangement. If one is dominant you need to support that so the balance is maintained. Does that make sense?

ETA I think boys (who have been neutered young) are even more loving than females many times.  Big cuddlebugs.

daisysmom,

I knew the moment I saw him that we were meant for each other but I guess I'm just having new parent anxienty.  I'm worried about Maxx feeling left out and upset and then what if Maxx snubs little Jester.  I don't want him to feel unwelcomed and unwanted.  I just want my babies to get along and I won't know that until the meet tonight for the first time.  His Foster Mom is bringing him over @ 7:30 to introduce us. I think we will meet at the park first then come back to my place so Maxx doesn't get upset.  Or maube I shouldn't worry so much and just let these things work them selves out, whatcha all think???  I'm a mess...can you tell I'm a pleaser

I had a pack of 5 - until my Sasha passed recently - which included 3 males and 2 females. The males were fine - it was Sasha and Sandy who had the issues. Both were alpha females, but Sasha was more brutal, so I supported Sasha as alpha to stop the fights between Sandy and Sasha.... there were still fights from time to time, but then again, Sasha fought with everybody from time to time to keep her alpha status, even at 18 years old....

Sarah is right. Neutral meeting place! There are three males in this house. Me, Smokey and Bandit. Jeanne made sure we are all fixed and there are no problems!

Posted By DaisysMom on 02/28/2008 10:30 AM
Meeting at the park is a fantastic idea. You'll have to try and control your emotions so the dogs, especially Maxx, don't pick up on them. (Not easy, I know.) If you can adopt a "matter of fact" attitude about the whole thing it will be helpful. As in, "Hey, bub, this is your new brother and he's here to stay and that's that". You can't sweet talk or lovey-dovey a dog into feeling better about something, that actually typically makes it worse. (Not saying you would approach it that way, just pointing it out.)

You can expect a transition period where it might seem as if they aren't "loving" one another yet, but others here will attest that after a while they usually become the best of friends

And that's the greatest thing ever! 

Not all females are alpha.... but if you DO get 2 alpha females, it could be trouble. I didn't mean to imply that 2 females should NEVER be together... but if you do get a female, and it's from a rescue, make sure to ask if it's in a home with other females and if she shows dominance.