Getting A 2Nd Dog Of The Same Sex And Age

[Guest lucylei]

We have a 5 yr old girl who loves everybody and everything, but does not like to be left home alone. She currently stays with another greyhound during the day and loves it, so we're thinking about getting another dog. We just heard that a compatible dog is available, but she is also five and also a girl. I've read that you shouldn't get two girls and you should space out the ages of your dogs. Is there any merit to this? Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

Thanks!

[Guest widowcali]

I adopted Cali when she was two. A year later, when I moved to Florida, I started fostering and ended up adopting Widow. They got along so well that I knew Widow had to stay.

 

They are both going to be 12 this year, Cali in June and Widow in September. And they get along so well that where I take one, I have to take the other.

[greysmom]

Individual personalities are much more important than anything *they* say. Take your dog to meet the other one - or foster with intent, if your group will do that. If things go well, then go for it.

 

Remember, dogs at the track are kept in same-sex groups all the time. They are used to living with other females (or males). Very occasionally there will be a problem, but those are few and far between. I currently have two girls who are just a year apart and they don't have any issues at all.

[Hubcitypam]

Was the advice not to get two dogs of the same sex specific to greyhounds or just dogs in general? I know that the big boxer rescue here will not adopt two females to the same house as there have been so many fights, but they will adopt two males to the same home. Have never heard to space out ages, unless it was to avoid the possibilty of higher vet bills at the same time if both dogs become elderly. When I used to have 6 fosters at a time I never had any major fights - and most of those were 12-15 months old and had never been to the track.

[Guest lucylei]

Was the advice not to get two dogs of the same sex specific to greyhounds or just dogs in general? I know that the big boxer rescue here will not adopt two females to the same house as there have been so many fights, but they will adopt two males to the same home. Have never heard to space out ages, unless it was to avoid the possibilty of higher vet bills at the same time if both dogs become elderly. When I used to have 6 fosters at a time I never had any major fights - and most of those were 12-15 months old and had never been to the track.

 

I think it was applicable to all dogs in a 'pack' mentality so I don't know if it applies...and yes, the age thing for the vet bills.

[Guest DeniseL]

I was under that same impression when we first brought home our girl Thyme. When we picked out #2, it was another girl. We brought her home and it was CLEAR that it was not going to work from the second she came in. She went back that day and is a happy only dog now in another home. That experience reinforced our belief that two girls were tough. So we brought home a boy, Miami, and it was fine and they get along, never fought, but not particularly bonded, either. Then, a while later, we tried another girl because we had heard so many great stories of bonded girls. Izzy came home in January, and although it got off to a slow start, the two girls are BFFs!!! They follow each other around, sleep together and play like crazy. My Miami likes his quiet time and can't be bothered with them. It works out great. So, yeah, I guess it just depends on the individuals...good luck and keep us posted!

[Guest BuckeyeAmy]

I've got two males and they get along fine. Definitely take your first dog to meet the prospective adoptee. Our group will not adopt out to you unless you bring all dogs & family members to meet the new dog. Everyone must agree to the dog being adopted, which I think is a great idea.

[Moneypenny]

I have 3 girls, and they get along beautifully, but all very different personalities. One of my girls, Emmi, is a spook and loves being with the other more confident girls, my oldest girl is a brood mom, and while she is top dog, she is a very benevolent leader. Over the years, I have usually had a mix, so I was a little nervous when I added Asia as the 3rd female, but they all seem to really like each other.

 

IMO, if your current girl is having issues being left alone, she may appreciate having a more confident housemate.

 

Best of luck!

[msjpk]

I had two males, they got along fine. Lou misses Plummer.

[philospher77]

As to the same sex, I would say it depends a lot more on personalities. But having dogs that are the same age means that it is much more likely that you will be hitting expensive medical care for both dogs at the same time, and the real possibility that they both go to the Bridge at close to the same time. That's more than I can handle, so I would space them out at least a few years. Of course, having said that, the second dog who adopted me is both the same sex as my first (female) and close to the same age, as far as the vet can estimate. She is a small dog, and thus should have a longer lifespan, but who knows for sure? Still, I wouldn't give her up just because of those two issues.

 

Oh, and the reason that two dogs of the same sex is generally not advised is because of the possibility of same-sex aggression. Especially in females, where they will try to kill each other if you get two really dominant bitches. But if you know the dogs' personalities, that shouldn't be as much of a concern. If you were just picking a random dog out of the pound, I would advise going with the opposite sex.

Edited May 25, 2013 by philospher77

[Guest Scouts_mom]

My first grey, a girl named Scout, clearly chose my second dog, TIa. Scout had ignored all the other dogs we showed her, but Tia, she nuzzled, then they trotted off to pee together! They were bonded. When Scout died, I took Tia to meet possible new dogs. I really wanted a certain male dog, but Tia tried to bite him. So we found her a girlfriend. Again they were BBF. But Lizzy had health problems and died a year later. Again I tried to get Tia to accept a male. I thought she liked a certain male and we let them run and play together. The guy body-slammed Tia and Tia then would not let him near her. We settled on a sweet brood mama. That mama outlived Tia and she let me get a guy!

 

The point of all this is that it really does depend on your dog.

[greytpups]

I was always concerned about adopting 2 greys the same age, but when Bailey died of cancer, that theory flew out the window. There aren't any guarantees in life

[Guest june]

I have three girls very close in age. They all get along great, but I brought home one female I just loved and tried to make it work. She really wanted to be an only. I learned a very sad lesson from that and she had to be returned and is now an only dog and is happy. Listen to the dogs.

[Guest lucylei]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I guess it really depends on Missy's personality. She hates being alone - but also growls at other dogs when I give them attention. I guess we'll have to see...

[Rustyroo]

I had two boys that lived together peacefully. There was never any snarkiness between the two. Franny has been with three other females at the same time at the dog sitters, all were the same age, and never had problem. It basically comes down to the individual dog.

 

The only reason you may not want to get one the same age is that you may lose them close together. My boys were a year apart in age and I lost both of them within 9 months of each other.

[Tracey]

Morgan was 3 when we adopted Cosmo, 2. Both females. They weren't snuggly, but they got along just fine, shared common space without issue. We had Cosmo for five years (osteo) but the only real dustup they had in all that time was a fight in the yard over a squirrel one of them caught. Other than that, they got on great.

[a_daerr]

I agree that it depends more on the personality of the two dogs rather than a blanket rule regarding age and gender. I have two boys, and they are wonderful together. But with that being said, I wouldn't just go with the 'first pig in the poke' just because you're excited to adopt now. Take some time meeting a few different dogs and introducing them to your current dog and family. We spent a good six months looking for the 'right' match to our Henry.

Edited May 28, 2013 by a_daerr

[GreytHoundPoet]

A lot of the mentality about not adopting 2 dogs of the same gender comes from dogs with same sex aggression issues (a legitimate concern in quite a few breeds and lines). The reasoning behind people being more hesitant to place 2 females over 2 males is that female fights tend to be worse in many cases. Of course, human female fights can be nasty to see as well. It is not a common concern in all breeds but there are enough out there that it became something to focus the public eye on, and then it went from being a smaller scale issue to the general public believing it is a golden rule. Things tend to do that in the dog world (and life in general).

 

That being said, I have 5 males (2 intact) and 2 females and no issues. In fact, most turnouts feature just the 5 boys together since they all play so well together and my girls tend to do their own thing. I have had one female greyhound foster who was simply nasty to all other females and I almost adopted a boy that turned out to be very dog aggressive (not going to work here), but, in general, Greyhounds don't tend to have same sex aggression issues. There are individuals in every breed that don't fit the mold. My advice would be to worry more about individual temperaments and personalities than gender and age. Incidentally, my Greyhound males are 9.5 and 7, my Greyhound females are 3 and 5, my Galgo is 7, and my Ibizan Hound boys are 1 and 4.

[GreyPoopon]

FWIW, I had 8 girls all born within a year of each other--2 poodles and 6 greys. They were compatible, even companionable. I lost 3 of those within 5 months of each other 3 years ago, and 2 of the remaining more recently. The other three are still here, as are several added after the first batch of losses.

 

My concern is not age/sex but whether the dogs get along. And as greytpups said, there are no guarantees.

[BatterseaBrindl]

FWIW, I had 8 girls all born within a year of each other--2 poodles and 6 greys. They were compatible, even companionable. I lost 3 of those within 5 months of each other 3 years ago, and 2 of the remaining more recently. The other three are still here, as are several added after the first batch of losses.

 

My concern is not age/sex but whether the dogs get along. And as greytpups said, there are no guarantees.

 

FWIW, I had 8 girls all born within a year of each other--2 poodles and 6 greys. They were compatible, even companionable. I lost 3 of those within 5 months of each other 3 years ago, and 2 of the remaining more recently. The other three are still here, as are several added after the first batch of losses.

 

My concern is not age/sex but whether the dogs get along. And as greytpups said, there are no guarantees.

 

 

We've had more little squabbles between females, but the boys also snark from time to time.

[Brandiandwe]

We have two girls born two weeks apart. There is the occasional snark, but that happens between dh and I anyhow! We knew they were the right personalities for us. Having said that, if we get number three, it might be trickier.