I have 2 beautiful dogs. The one is a GSD of
about a year and the other is a 10 week old
GSD crossed with a Belgian Groenendael. Both
are males. I am the handler of the older one
and my wife will be the handler of the puppy.
I was initially very sceptical about having two males but it is working wonderfully so far. My oldest dog has accepted the puppy extremely well and they even cuddle up together to sleep. I know that some breeds do
not get along with each other such as terriers but the shepherds seem fine together. My oldest dog is 0% animal aggressive but the
youngster is quite a cheeky little pirhanha but I suppose if you are a cute 5kg ball of black fur you have to be assertive to hang on to the foodchain. I havent got a female at present but will look at getting one in a few
years when the relationship between the two and their humans is firmly established.

I am new to dog training and owning and I would like to know if I defused a canine time
bomb by getting another male. I agree that owning dogs is a moral responsibility that affects my family, my dogs and neighbours.
Any comments welcome

You can find detailed answers to a lot of your questions right here on the Leerburg website.

But briefly:

1) All may be fine now between your male dogs, but you will probably have a different situation when the puppy reaches puberty. It is almost certain that the dogs will have to settle the rank issue--AS ADULTS. If either dog is unhappy with the status quo, you will have a dog fight. Guaranteed. It is often impossible to keep two male dogs together...

2) ...ESPECIALLY if you introduce a female! I can give you plenty of examples of male dogs I know that more or less "get along"--until you bring a bitch on the scene. Again: prepare for a dog fight. And it won't be pretty.

You've got a few months yet. Take the time to learn all you can about dominance/submission issues and pack behavior. Your future with your dogs depends upon it.

Good luck,
Pete Felknor

Fortunately you have selected 2 breeds that have been bred to work in groups to certain extent. The Groendales are a little mellower as adults than a lot of other protection/herding breeds. One thing I would suggest is don't let the dogs work out the rank issue. You need to settle it. If they are left to work it out you may be faced with an on going battle between the dogs as the subordinate male tries to improve his position. If you create a situation where the dogs understand that fighting is not allowed it is less likely they will fight if you are not watching them. Thefact that they have seperate handlers may help this, but both must respond equally to both you and your wife. Trade off working them on a regular basis. I would keep them seperate if you cannot watch them until this issue is settled when the puppy is 1 1/2 to 2 years old.

Never leave your dogs together unsupervised, either now or when the pup matures. If you do, you may come home and find one or both dogs severely injured, or dead. Learn how to stop a serious fight now, while you have some time.
I always have a parting stick handy, in case of an accident.
I understand that using one on breeds other than the APBT is ill-advised, as the dog may whip around and nail you when you take him off of the other dog. Mr. Frawley has info on his site about how to stop a fight.
Good Luck- Ted

Canis Lupus:

Take what was said seriously. Especially Peter's post. Human's have a saying. "Two is company but three is a crowd." In dog this translates to "two become doggy three is a pack." Read up on Ed’s articles for a definition of doggy and pack. Best of luck.

My pack consist of 2 intact males 15 mos. and 18 mos. and a female (spayed) 6 years, gsd's. They are loose in the house and yard together. Are in separate crates at night and while we are not home. But I often leave them unattended in the yard together. I have always interveined in any squabbles when the males were pups over toys, bones or space. Neither of the males messed with the female (except for the continous humping). Squabbles consisting of growls, bared teeth, charging occasionally occured. When a conflict would break out I would jump up yell and throw something on the floor near them to stop it. The offending dog was taken by the collar to his crate for a period of 15 mins. and then released. I have not had any conflicts for about 6 months now. One male has become alpha and the other is accepting it. I train both myself in schutzhund and really enjoy the two of them. They keep each other entertained in the yard with games of tug, tag and chase.
Nancy

I have two intact males. One is three, almost four, and the other just turned two. I recently got back from vacation and picked up my younger male at a friends house and my older male at my parents. There was never an issue over dominance til they were gone from each other for 12 days. Now rank has become an issue. Bodie (younger) is feeling very confident these days since he has been a part and Dante (older) is feeling his position is threatened. Add a friends neutered Doberman to the mix (i'm pet sitting) and suddenly both are wanting more rank. I have been able to keep it low key growling for now as I am forceful in my position as alpha but time is very limited with my two males running together. Looks like I won't be able to be lazy too much longer and have to start walking them alone.

Your puppy is small so it isn't a threat to alpha position yet but the time will come from the description you give of the pup that there will be a squabble over rank. Learn to break up a fight quickly, I also recommend Ed's article. It's a good one.

At the GSD club I train at there is a way to break up fights between two dogs when things
get extreme. We give them a moderate correction when they growl at each other but when things get extreme and a bona fida clash
breaks out the two handlers of the dogs will
pick them up and hang them and choke them untill they are out of breath. Then they get put down facing each other and if one starts behaving hostile to the other it gets the same
treatment again. Those dogs are guaranteed not
to fight again. We let all the dogs socialise
and the older dogs are remarkably calm towards
the more boistorous younsters. I know that this method of hanging might sound cruel but its not as cruel as to watch the dogs rip each other apart. If my dogs really become serious
about fighting and as a last extreme I will
have to apply this method but hopefully it will not be neccecary.
My older dog is remarkably calm and not agressive towards other animals at all. I'll
just have to wait and see how the little one
turns out. Neutering one or both at a later
stage is also an option I looked to relieve
male sexual tension.
I think I'll just play it by ear and gather
as much expert opinions on the issue.
Thanks for all the advise. This is one of the
most helpfull webboards I have been at.
I look forward to some interesting conversations!!!

A good reason why unless you are a true pro, a male and a female(both fixed)is the best choice for those who just can't stop at one!