2 male dogs living together.?

Question

I have a 3 year old Shih-Tzu who is not neutered. We just got a 2 month old Yorkie 2 weeks ago. Shih-Tzu isn't neutered, and the Yorkie is still young. If S-T stays un-neutered, and the Yorkie will not be, do you think there will be problems in the future?

Answer 1

well dogs are great pets we have two male also they get along great the trick is to have one big and one small if they are both big they will fight all the time and don't get dogs that are too aggressive.

Answer 2

The odds are very high that there will be issues, especially with your two breeds. Both are very territorial. All dogs must determine a pack order, and they do that by gender. There must be an alpha male and an alpha female. They will need to determine "who is the boss" even if you neuter them both, but the fighting will be more aggressive if you don't fix them. Much like humans can sexually reproduce at age 12 or 13, but they are not true adults until they are 18-20, dogs are not socially mature until 18 months - 2 years old. It may seem like everything this is fine until one day when your new yorkie is in this age range. Then there will be a huge fight, possibly to the death.
There are many things you can do to reduce fighting... never feed them together. Never let them play with food type toys together (chew toys). Spend time with each dog separately. Take them both through training classes one at a time if you haven't already. See the attached link for more ideas.

You would have been much better off getting a female yorkie and neutering your S-T- then both could be alphas of their gender and not have to fight about it.

Good luck - hopefully neither of your dogs has a high alpha drive and it will be ok.

Answer 3

There will be scuffles. Yes. More than if the dogs were both neutered. You will need to keep a close eye on the dogs. But, depending on the temperaments of the dogs, you may get lucky and not have a problem. My yorkie is one of the bad yorkies that you hear about. He was very temperamental from the time he was 2 months to 3 years when we HAD to have him neutered. He's still has issues, but not nearly as bad.

But, anyway. Is there a reason why you do not want the dogs neutered? It really is better for the dogs. It will cut done a lot of their testosterone. Causing fewer problems between them.

I, also, have 2 unneutered outside dogs (dalmatian and mix breed), they fight and disagree all the time. Do to the testosterone they tend to butt heads a lot. But because they have an established pack, so to speak, between the two of them, they know who is the leader of the two (my human family being the pack leaders of them both). You need to let the dogs find out who is top dog amongst themselves. Now, that doesn't mean to let the older dog attack the puppy, but do let them have their scufles to SOME extent. Never let it get serious. If the Shih-Tzu growls let him growl, do not scold him for growling. If the puppy runs and jumps on the older dog, who in turn growls or bites, do not punish the older dog, as the pup was the one who came onto his space.

Definately invest in basic obedience with both dogs, if you haven't already done so with the 3 year old.

Answer 4

If the Yorkie is a female, you will end up with mixed breed pups. If the Yorkie is a male, you will likely deal with a battle for dominance and territorial marking. Get them both spayed and neutered.

Answer 5

Dogs can live together, regardless of their sex. In tact males do tend to have more disagreements than neutered males, as each one is fighting for dominance.

My real question to you is why do you not want to have both dogs neutered. It is much healthier for the dogs, as they do not develop medical problems down the line. Also, there is less marking of their territory, and less temperament problems. Not to mention less puppies that end up in shelters because no one wants them.

Either way, you need to distinguish yourself as the pack leader of the dog world. The dogs will figure out for themselves who is the leader of the dog pack, but you must distinguish yourself as leader of the house. This will eliminate scuffles down the line.

Answer 6

Two males can certainly live together in a household, but I highly recommend you get them both neutered. It will decrease aggression, or having them be very territorial. It will also decrease the risk of them getting in a scuffle, marking in the house, looking for females in heat, and health problems. There are so many benefits to neutering, that there's no reason pets shouldn't be. Please get them neutered.

Answer 7

Yes, From my experience with male dogs, the animals do not seem to know the difference between male and female. Our little male, a West Highland Terrier. unneutered, weighing 20 lbs. would not leave our neutered, 80 lb, Chaz Hound alone for a minute.

Answer 8

Dogs learn from you and other dogs.

You have the making of a pack in our home. You really need to be the pack leader to prevent any of your males from taking on this dominant role in the home.

If one of your males becomes the "Alpha Dog", you can develop problems depending on how stuborn he can be.

I have two male, unaltered dogs that live very well together with two other females, and I've NEVER had any problems at all. This is because I established myself the Pack Leader and because of this, none of them find the need to be dominant.

It's how you handle the situation that will yeild your final results.

If you are the pack leader, you should be fine.

Also, your adult dog will know the new one is PUP and will typically not bring any harm. This is instinctive behavior. Bringing in the new dog as a pup will make it much eaiser.

Be careful of jeliousy of the first dog; spread your love around.

btw, in my experience, Spay/Neutering does very little in this regard.

Best of Luck

Answer 9

There WILL be problems in the future!!!!!!! There is NO reason these dogs should not be neutered. Get them fixed and you will have a less aggressive household, less "marking" in the house, and longer lives for the boys.

Answer 10

Yes, I think you will have problems in the future.. Intact Male Dog Aggression. I also believe you are putting their little lives at risk for developing Testicular Cancer, Prostate Cancer etc. You also risk them being aggressive to other males when you take them for walks. You are at risk of them running away... Male dogs can smell females in heat up to 3 miles away.
Did you know that nearly 90% of all dogs bites are by intact males? So you are also at risk of your dogs viciously attacking someone, and having to have them put down.
Yes I see problems in your future.