Same Sex Aggression And Breed Predisposition

[Henrietta]

Hello,

Are certain breeds predisposed towards same sex aggression?

Are some breeds not predisposed towards same sex aggression?

By my thinking for example, a foxhound would not be predisposed to same sex aggression because they were bred to run in packs harmoniously. Is my thinking on the right track at all?

If people would like, I'd love to hear a description of their breed/s in relation to tendency towards same sex aggression. Especially individuals with a lot of experience with their breed/s or with dogs in general.

Thanks. :rolleyes:

[kirst_goldens]

arnt all dogs supposed to run in packs??

[Henrietta]

arnt all dogs supposed to run in packs??

Sorry, I should have clarified my use of 'pack' in this instance... I'm happy to be corrected but I was thinking a large pack of foxhounds or beagles would be different to having a number of dogs together, who may or may not need to be run separately?

In the sense of a huge pack of dogs like you see historically with the foxhounds, no... I would not have thought many breeds would be able to run in a large pack without some serious aggressions issues.

My reference to foxhounds was only to perhaps illustrate the connection between breed predisposition towards same sex aggression and breed history. I could be completely wrong here.

[kirst_goldens]

i see so u mean because they are used to hunt in packs now...

well i think that all dogs came from pack animals, having said that some dogs just dont get along with other dogs of the same sex - i have really only seen this with entires though and not particular with breeds in my experiences.

not much help sorry hehehe

[shmoo]

I understand what you are saying about pack dogs. You mean packs as in hunting packs such as beagle or foxhounds who go on hunts with their owners. Or huskys and malamutes that pull a sled together.

I don't have any knowledge on same sex aggression under these circumstances. You could try contacting hunting or sledding clubs.

ETA: You could get some idea by looking at the breed history and what it was bred for - they might mention something about preferred sex.

Edited June 6, 2010 by shmoo

[Greytmate]

Some breeds may work in packs, but they are not all are kennelled in packs.

[OSoSwift]

I would not have two entire male Dobes together, and would be very cautious with two females, although a male and femal would usually be fine.

In Whippets I think any and all combinations are generally tolerated well and if there are problems it would be a particular individual that may have a problem.

I wouldn't have two entire male Staffords together, some Stafford bitches you can, some you can't.

I think it is a breed by breed thing, and an individual dog thing. Some are better at it than others.

[Henrietta]

Ok thanks for the responses. Shmoo, I had forgotten about the sled dogs, but I have no idea about how they work, I'd have to read up.

Noted that dogs wouldn't be kenelled in packs. They would still have to get along enough to work together I guess?

Yes RL, I guess it is a breed tendency but it is also an individual thing as well. Thanks for the examples.

Edit - kirst_goldens, yes I always thought that same sex aggression was more common and more intense in entire dogs and bitches too.

Edited June 6, 2010 by Emm

[corvus]

A lot of primitive breeds can be tetchy about other dogs of the same sex. Like Basenjis, Akitas, Canaan Dogs and so forth. Also guardian breeds. I have heard livestock guardian breeds in particular. Perhaps in some cases it is breeds that are just quite game. Same sex animals are far more likely to create sparks when they come together than opposite sexes, so it may appear that they are not good with the same sex.

[Clyde]

Edit - kirst_goldens, yes I always thought that same sex aggression was more common and more intense in entire dogs and bitches too.

Not so in entire bitches. If anything it is believed that female hormones present in entires can help to keep bitches less aggressive.

I think it depends on the individual dogs and owners, but that aside, I would also be hesitant to run same sex Staffords together.

I have been told that Saint Bernards are supposedly good with each other due to being kennelled together during their origination.

[Rebanne]

I had an entire GSD bitch that was fine at home but a bit of a terror when out, with other bitches, until she was desexed. Fern, entire greyhound bitch, rules the roost here and therefore can give any of the others a bit of a hurry up if she feels like it. Packs have 2 leaders, the top dog and the top bitch, so, IMO, if the others accpet the leader, no problems, if one won't then you have a problem.

[sas]

Edit - kirst_goldens, yes I always thought that same sex aggression was more common and more intense in entire dogs and bitches too.

Not so in entire bitches. If anything it is believed that female hormones present in entires can help to keep bitches less aggressive.

Really?

My experience has been the opposite, however that could be individual dogs as well.

[Aidan]

Edit - kirst_goldens, yes I always thought that same sex aggression was more common and more intense in entire dogs and bitches too.

Not so in entire bitches. If anything it is believed that female hormones present in entires can help to keep bitches less aggressive.

Really?

My experience has been the opposite, however that could be individual dogs as well.

The jury is out but the weight of the evidence so far leans towards keeping bitches entire if they have shown certain types of aggression.

[Mas1981]

I had 2 desexed ridgeback bitches they fought when they were entire and after they had been desexed. They loved each other most of the time but small things would set them off. And the one could not be taken near other dogs she was very dog aggressive.

[Greytmate]

Noted that dogs wouldn't be kenelled in packs. They would still have to get along enough to work together I guess?

If the dogs are working they are performing a task that may not lead them into direct competition or confrontation with another dog.

[newfsie]

We have alway had a number of dogs. six, four and now three..........we often have bitches, but some multiple's of dogs too. We have mainly had newfs and working Kelpies. We have not had any issues, except for the rescue newf girl, who wanted to kill our other bitch initially. but we took control and everyone now lives past and present in harmony. When a disagreement does seem to start, we alwayf growl at the bottom dog. She is the one who should not disagree with the number one dog. That seems to keep the peace. we have never kept them seperated, even when they did have the disagreements. We have made our dogs realise that they have to behave and we are the ones in control. In general newfs are very easy going dogs. We used to have two newfy girls and one boy and life was so quiet. And our working kelpies have always been easy going. Not sure if it is to do with who handles the dogs or the breeds. when I lived at home my parents bred GSD's and we had two males and four females and we never had any issues. Ofcourse they were kept seperate at season time..........

[RugerRun]

I own a few foxhounds and have been getting to a few hunts and I can say that there is still same sex aggression within this hunting line. Even with other friends with the breed, there is sometimes dogs or bitches that just dont get along together. You are still going back to the basic drives of hierarchy of the pack with the dogs being full. Bitches in season will cause issues and there will be the fight for alpha positioning. It might not be as bad as some other breeds, but they can still show a lot of aggression. I am lucky at the moment as my full males do get on extremely well considering I have an entire bitch.

We sin bin the dog who causes any issue and the more you work them the less issues - too buggered to worry about issues. :D

[idigadog]

We have 9 entire male Siberians living and working together. Rarely do we have any aggression between them however, we don't have any entire bitches for them to fight over!

Before getting into Sibes we had Malamutes. One male, his sister and a younger bitch. Both bitches were desexed and they had some gawd awful fights to the point that we would never leave them together unless we were there to supervise. As silly as this sounds, we could still run them in harness side by side.

We have a very relaxed all male pack here that enjoy working and playing together but I'm pretty sure the tables would turn if we were to introduce an entire bitch. Our co-breeder has all the girls at her place and for the most part, she doesn't have any issues either.

[ophnbark]

All of our schipps get along except for two of the entire bitches that hate each other with a passion, wouldn't say it's a breed thing though just a dominance thing. Our entire boys all get along fine as do the other entire bitches.