Hi,
I have a 11 month old intact male Rottweiler and a 2 year old neutered male french bulldog (they get along great, no problems). In a few years I would love to get another male rottweiler, but have heard that that is not a good idea to have 2 males. I haven't made up my mind yet if I am going to neuter my current rottweiler yet, but if I do it will be when he is a little older, maybe around 2-3 years old. I was just wondering what is everyones opinion/experience on owning 2 male rottweilers? Also, if someone feels they are capable of handling 2 male rotts in a household, how difficult would it be to find a reputable breeder to sell you a male when you already have one?

Thanks
Beth

 Quote: Beth Burgess

Hi,
I have a 11 month old intact male Rottweiler and a 2 year old neutered male french bulldog (they get along great, no problems). In a few years I would love to get another male rottweiler, but have heard that that is not a good idea to have 2 males. I haven't made up my mind yet if I am going to neuter my current rottweiler yet, but if I do it will be when he is a little older, maybe around 2-3 years old. I was just wondering what is everyones opinion/experience on owning 2 male rottweilers? Also, if someone feels they are capable of handling 2 male rotts in a household, how difficult would it be to find a reputable breeder to sell you a male when you already have one?

Thanks
Beth

So you would then have three dogs .... but you aren't asking for opinions on increasing your pack from two to three?

Yes, what would everyones opinion be on adding another male rottweiler to a 2 dog household such as mine. Or would it be better to add a female? You can just run with this question, just trying to see what would be the best combonation as far as female vs another male.

 Quote: Beth Burgess

Yes, what would everyones opinion be on adding another male rottweiler to a 2 dog household such as mine. Or would it be better to add a female? You can just run with this question, just trying to see what would be the best combonation as far as female vs another male.

Three of any breed:

Are you very experienced and a great pack leader? I think that most people should not have three dogs (or probably 2 intact males, either).


That's JMO. I'm sure that others will weigh in, too.


Have you read about pack structure, and how three dogs will change the dynamics enormously?

In my experience having two males in the house, if even only one is an intact adult, can be tricky. Adding another male to this dynamic is really tough, especially another intact male. You have to be prepared to keep them separated at all times. It may not require that, but it's likely.

I don't have experience with Rotties, but with Dobes. The males can be quite male-aggressive. Males neutered after the age of two tend to remain unchanged in this respect. Hopefully someone with Rotts can shed some light on whether or not the same kind of dynamic applies with Rotties.

This possibility in addition to the new dynamic brought about by living with three or more dogs is prohibitive to most people. I've done it as necessary for a few months here and there, but it was a lot of work and worry, and not a situation that I would actively seek out or want to make permanent.

 Quote: Kristel Smart

... You have to be prepared to keep them separated at all times. It may not require that, but it's likely. ...

A strong point that I wish I had made.

when i moved in with my boyfriend, it put our dog total to 3 males, 2 intact, one not.

thats 2 bully male bullybreeds(mine neutered, his not) and my toy breed(intact as well). My 2 males are reliable together, and can be "loose" together, but by that, i mean, they can be loose in the same general area as i am. in reality, they would be fine with each other if i left the room/house, with the way they scavenge garbage, etc, im not sure the house would be fine....

my boyfriends male however does not get thrown into this. He is actually extremely social with other dogs, but he is so "in your face",and rough, he has no off switch, and charges into everything, for the small dog, its just plain scary, and for my bully, it could trigger him to react.

all 3 of the males can walk together, they can even be in a large open field off leash together(we go to the dog park when there are no other dogs there), and can and do go to OB and psa training classes together, sit beside eachother quite nicely in class, etc.

we don't keep them separate because they DO fight, we keep them separate because we don't want things to escalate into the makings of a fight about to happen. Big difference, but a key one, i think.

IMO, there is every chance in the world your male rotties could get along quite well. BUT, in order to find that out, you would have to put your dogs in a position to see what would happen, and what could happen is a fight.

Could you break it up?? sure, maybe. but the fight would have already happened, and the damage(both physically, and to your relationship with your 2 dogs, as well as their view of other dogs) would already have been done.

to me, its not worth it to "lets see what they do", especially not with dogs that large, its not an issue with the breed, i love rotties, its an issue with dogs that are just plain big and heavy, trying to pull 2 dogs apart that weigh that much is't something i think i could do alone.

i've done the whole "dogs loose in the house as a pack" nonsense. for most of my dogs, it worked reasonably well, i still crated when i wasn't home, i still crated at night, etc. But i had too many "oh, i guess these two don't get along, NOW i will crate and rotate these 2" to know that the damage gets done fast, and for me, its not worth it anymore.

Either way, if you DO get this additional dog, no matter HOW friendly they seem towards eachother, i would STILL crate and rotate at first, possibly for the first month or longer, don't jump the gun because they seem to get along.
after the initial having them ignore each other phase, i personally would then(this will take 2 people) work with on-leash OB with both dogs in the same training area/yard/park, then walks together, etc etc.

it is better to take it unreasonably slow needlessly, than to try and fix an issue, because the dogs were introduced before it was time.

Some great advice here!

 Quote: Mallory Kwiatkowski

Either way, if you DO get this additional dog, no matter HOW friendly they seem towards eachother, i would STILL crate and rotate at first, possibly for the first month or longer, don't jump the gun because they seem to get along.

And in regards to the above quote, I would add that in ADDITION to being overly slow and cautious with introductions and separations, you should remember that large breeds mature quite slowly, and their temperament can change dramatically between puppy hood, adolescence, and adulthood. Your current male rott is still very much an adolescent, and while he may be friendly to your other male now, and may even seem welcoming to a NEW male now, he may not feel the same way a year or 2 from now. You'll want to be extremely watchful for slight behavioral changes that could be signaling a newfound territoriality, protectiveness, or inter-male aggression (my male only became intact male aggressive at around 18-20 month... before that he was a cupcake).

I'm with Mallory - there's a potential for things to work out just fine... but you need to be prepared in the event that it doesn't, AND you need to be aware that things can change with a dog's age. You are inquiring about a completely unpredictable situation, so if you really have your heart's set on another dog - and an intact male at that - just make sure you're ready to handle ANY of the possible outcomes.

~Natalya