Hey guys!

I have a very dominant IPO2 bitch, Zelda, that gets along well with other gsd's. I've put a litter on her in the past and she's been good with pups. However, I plan to bring home a male Golden Retriever for my son and am worried that she will not take too well to the puppy as she hates anything not a gsd. Weird that she likes cats though. This is a show puppy and I can't risk injury.

I've heard conflicting remarks from working gsd breeders. Some say that spaying Zelda might increase her dominance towards puppies since she will no longer possess that "maternal instinct." On the other hand, some say spaying her will calm her down and make her less dominant toward all dogs.

Opinions appreciated from working gsd homes that have experience with dominant bitches and have seen the effects of spaying.

Never had a GSD, but have had plenty of other dominant bitches, a chesapeake bay retriever among them.
I don't think spaying will affect this one way or the other. A real bitch, is a real bitch -- a male pup of sweet temperament may win her over, though. You'll just have to be super careful with resource guarding, food etc. Coming from a litter of goldens, he may not understand how serious her corrections can be.

Great advice Betty! I didn't think of it that way. Her corrections I'm sure may be too rough but I don't have food aggression with her or anything. I think a smart move would be to leave her intact and spay her around the time the puppy is 4 or 5 months before he could breed her. I don't want golden shepherds lol

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Edited by Connie Sutherland (01/24/2014 07:16 PM)
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I also agree with what Betty said about a hard female & the corrections that she may give a pup or young dog. I would be VERY careful about their interaction....especially with a pup & adult dog. A pup that is attacked by an adult dog (or a pup perceiving a correction from an adult female or male as an attack) ....can often grow up to become a dog-aggressive adult.

I'm going to add that......some dogs just don't EVER get along. PERIOD.

I would go forward with the idea of them possibly having to live separated no matter what age either is or whether spayed or neutered. This is a fact of life if you choose to own more then one dog.

I have had dogs that got along from day one, some that took 2 years to finally tolerate each other & others that NEVER got along. These dogs were from 7 week old pups to adult dogs...males & female...all intact. All with proper pack leadership & supervision.

Can't address if spaying or neutering will change the dogs interaction with each other. It may, it may not...depends on the dogs. Some behaviors will diminish with spay or neuter...some are more ingrained & will not change.

 Quote: Anne Jones

I also agree with what Betty said about a hard female & the corrections that she may give a pup or young dog. I would be VERY careful about their interaction....especially with a pup & adult dog. A pup that is attacked by an adult dog (or a pup perceiving a correction from an adult female or male as an attack) ....can often grow up to become a dog-aggressive adult. ...

Me too.

I never noticed much of a change when my females were spayed. The sweet one stayed sweet and the dominant butthead stayed a dominant butthead LOL.

Choose your pup carefully. I've never had any problem adding a puppy to my existing pack, but I carefully selected pups that would mesh well with the others.

I've always found it helps to add a pup to an existing dog or pack, rather than trying to add an adult. I also like to separate my dogs by at least a three year age difference. I know human siblings tend to fight more when they are closer in age and the same gender... I think the same holds true for dogs. Intact or not might make more of a difference with male-male aggression. I do think an intact female or one spayed later in life has a bit more "edge" than one spayed early... but that may just be anecdotal. And that edge doesn't mean they are more aggressive just... more dog.

oh my goodness!!! Such a great response with different views! I did a litter on Zelda last year but lost the whole litter due to the vet's error in judgement (long story). Although she never got to wean the pups, she did become a lot more affectionate...it's weird, she went from all business, don't touch me, work work work, I hate other dogs....then after the litter....she became loving, enjoys belly rubs, tolerates other adult dogs and puppies. I still worry because recently I went to have her play with a 6 month GSD female (super hyper and disrespectful) and she kept trying to submit the dog to the point where the pup was peeing all over her self. Of course we nixed that interaction as quickly as possible. However, at the training club we do group play and the pups are much more respectful of adults in the "pack" and she tolerates them well.

I'm already prepared to keep them separated if need be but I'm hoping to socialize them to where they will get along!!! AHHH lol I'm really hoping by the Golden Retriever breed being so submissive naturally and by it being a male that we can avoid a nasty battle between the dogs.

Kiersten: Zelda is 5 so it will be a good age difference. She's still young enough to play but old enough to teach the pup.

It is you job as pack leader to correct those in you pack. I, personally, do not let my dogs correct each other...that is my job to see that they all obey the rules & do not bully one another.