2 Females With Male Dog In The One House

[Holeshot staffies]

We currently have 1 female and 1 male English stafford in our family and we are looking at purchasing another female pup. But we don't know if the 2 girls will get along. They are pets first and formost so they will not be locked up most of the time but we do have an enclosure that one can be in while we are not at home but I don't want to favour any of them over the other. Are we just being silly or is this something we should be looking into more?

[Dogsfevr]

Depends on the reason for getting a third,if it doesnt work out what will be the plan?/

[Starkehre]

In my opinion, provided your family are strong assertive leaders with good training skills, have plenty of time to spend with and train all 3 dogs, have a valid reason for wishing to add another dog to the pack, have the funds to cover daily expenses plus unexpected vet bills, own your own home or have permission from your landlord/agent and have no issues with council owning 3 dogs, then I do not see why you should not get another pup.

Unfortunately there is no way of knowing whether or not the bitches will get on, or for that matter even the new pup with your existing male, so you will also need to be prepared to call in a behavourist if problems crop up, and follow up with extra training.

Remember fairness or favouring in a dogs' eyes is different to ours. If you plan to use your enclosure it will need to be sheltered, big enough and also be warm in Winter and cool in Summer.

If you can tick all these boxes, then it seems OK to me.

Just a friendly tip, there will be a few well meaning, Stafford fanciers and DOLers that will gently wish to advise that the breed you own and love is actually called Staffordshire Bull Terrier, not English Stafford.

Edited January 3, 2010 by dyzney