I have a 2yr old and and 7mth old male gs- both in tact and they get along fine. The older gets a free run always, the younger is crated at night and while i work through the day, this is how it will always will be, it took a bit to get the older one used to the pup but after his initial strop he came round - and now loves the fact that he has company to play on with. They get on great, but i guess its still early days.
I always adhere to Vc's rules ie

#1 eats first and always alone

#2 eats second and always alone
etc etc

also they get trained seperatly, 50% of the time they get exercised seperatly. Works so far.
I beleive that it also helps with their drive promotion - they both compete heavily when playing for balls etc

I have several dog inside my home, all of them high drive, aggressive dogs ( except for the pet Corgi :rolleyes: ). None of my three males every meets the other males, as I have no doubt that there'd be bloodshed. All dogs are crated when another dog is out, with the exception of a pet Corgi bitch who is so submissive that she rolls for my pet cats...
All the dogs get about three hours out of the crate time with me alone in the house, and several hours out in their kennel runs, plus the daily training time which accounts to maybe 1 1/2 hours per dog, if you add up obedience/ tracking/ protection training.

I have no need, nor do I think that it is ever wise, to require intact males ( or bitches ) to have to peacefully co-exist with each other. It's easier and safer to separate them, period. These are high drive competition dogs and they're worth way too much to me, both financially and emotionally, to allow them the possibility of injury to satisfy some vague desire to make them get along in the same house.
Dog safety over human "ego" need wins out in my book.

I also had three High Drive Males at one time, and they NEVER hung out together.......I agree with Will, it is far better to keep the dogs separated.

When I brought home my work dog I had a delusional idea that he and my wife’s protection trained Rott would one day be able to be free to run around together in the back yard. They both have very dominant personalities and were like oil and water from day one. We tried the neutral introductions at a local park more times than I can shake a stick without success…… as soon as there was an introduction there would become a true fight for dominance. My fear as Will pointed out, was that there was too much time and money invested in both of these dogs to risk forcing them to “get along” just to make things easier at home.

Their crates sit across the room from one another….they eat at the same time… they have separate “outside time” (both get along fine with the female Cairn Terrier who is the boss by the way and will at times of conflict be seen hanging from the jowls of the Rott ) Both get separate “family time” in the house.

When the determination was made that the Rott would never truly be a breeding quality dog and was neutered at age 2.5 the hope arose that we would then be able to integrate the two dogs more…… the neutering made no difference at all.

Some dogs will be able to get along….some won’t. I believe that when you get into the world of multiple dogs in the house and especially multiple working dogs you must prepare for the reality of a no-contact separated lifestyle.

I'm not recommending the following solution to anyone, just mentioning it. I had 2 males living together a GSD and Siberian Husky. The Sib was 6 months older than the GSD. When they both neared maturity they started to have some pissing matches. I began doing what I called a Double Alpha Roll. I wouldn't recommend this for the faint hearted or if you don't have enough strength to dominate both dogs. Both dogs were slammed down into sideways submissive positions nose to nose and then proceeded to explain to them who the boss was. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> This had dramatic affect on both dogs interactions with each other. I wouldn't try this with a handler aggressive dog or a dog you weren't used to dominating. BUT to get back on topic, Raising 2 puppies together isn't always about the dogs getting along, it's about having enough time to train both dogs.

I also live in a multi-working dog household and have a question for all you others.

Do you think it's a good idea to let your dogs "work things out" on their own (provided they're not intent on killing each other) or work it out for them? I have a 4 year old spayed female and a 1.5 year old intact male. The female has always been really bitchy with the male - always barking and snapping at him - and she's getting worse as he gets older and more dominant. They have gotten into a few minor fights over toys and attention from me but nothing major. To this point I've been letting them figure things out but what do you guys think?

Some dogs will be able to get along....some won't. I believe that when you get into the world of multiple dogs in the house and especially multiple working dogs you must prepare for the reality of a no-contact separated lifestyle.

Well said Matthew Grubb!

Heather is it worth taking a chance on them tearing each other apart?

Save yourself the financial and emotional expense not to mention the possibilty (a very real one) of serious injury...been there done that...not intentionally...but it did happen when one chewed his way out of a kennel and into another male's kennel...Besides who says they have to like each other??

JMO

I totally agree with Van Camp..that males should never be put together.With females..yes they can work it out..but even in that..you have to carefully watch..especially if there are more than two. I also agree with Will Rambeau.. totally...in his recommendation to kennel and protect the dog/s.Candace