# Male or female companion?



## jweber83 (Mar 14, 2009)

We have a beagle that we have adopted for about 2.5 years. He does get regular socialization with other dogs but with newer dogs he has a hard time warming up to them(growling, snapping somewhat, posturing).He seems to do it more with males rather than females. Is this just a coincidence with the males or is there some substance to that? He does normally after a few days or weeks eventually get over it. We are still working on that. Our main question pertaining to that is that we are looking to get another dog so would it be in our best interest to get a female to promote peace in the household?


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## drea (Mar 9, 2009)

I was told that if you already have a male dog at home, you could get either another male or a female, but if you already have a female, you should get a male. I've heard (not sure if this is true) that males know their place in the pack structure, whereas females don't.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

In most cases, dogs prefer companions of the opposite gender. I'd say if he already has problems with other boys, a female companion would be best for him.


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

drea said:


> I was told that if you already have a male dog at home, you could get either another male or a female, but if you already have a female, you should get a male. I've heard (not sure if this is true) that males know their place in the pack structure, whereas females don't.


I think most females know there place. IT is not uncommon for even a very low ranking female to outrank a high ranking male. Females are most commonly the top dog in the home. If your dog has shown some male to male aggression I would tend to lean toward a female. I would make darn sure that your dog gets to meet the potential new dog before any decisions are made. Generally opposite sex pairing go more smoothly. Keep in mind there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule. Good Luck. Will you be adopting dog number 2?


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## jweber83 (Mar 14, 2009)

We will not be adopting the second time around. Partly because we want to avoid issues such as the one we have now by starting with a puppy. But mostly because my wife and I are very involved hunters and are looking to get a bird hunting companion. So we are in touch with a few breeders that breed dogs for their natural ability to hunt. Specifically the Vizsla breed. It is a breed I grew up with and know very well. Now again I don't want to down grade my beagle. He is great. We do visit the in-laws large property a few weekends a month along with all of my wife's cousins. In total there are 8-9 dogs at any given time out there. He gets along with them. It just took some considerable time with some of them. I even take him rabbit hunting and he does well with little to no training for it. And most of all he has a blast. He is very intelligent and very gentle. Its just that particular issue. Thank you all for giving me some info on my question. Any more info would also be helpful.


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## 2malts4me (Aug 23, 2008)

I have two females and they get along great. I hadn't even thought that there could be issues depending on their sex. We had Sophie for about a year and I was looking for a rescue when Annie came my way at about the age of 8 months. 

Annie was gravely ill when we brought her home so that could factor in also. She was basically in her bed a lot in the beginning months so I'm sure Sophie didn't see her as a threat in any way. Now, they just play, play, play. They even love to snuggle together.

My daughter has a male Maltese who visits with us sometimes and him being a male doesn't seem to be an issue either. In my VERY limited experience I think it has more to do with the temperment of the dogs than their sex.


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## drea (Mar 9, 2009)

We have two males, and they get along. One is 13 years old and definitely alpha, and the other is 11 months old, more than 1/3 the size, but is submissive to the elder dog. I don't think there's a hard and fast rule, one way or the other.


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