I am not trying to scare you,

#16669
KaylasMom
Participant

I am not trying to scare you, but generally speaking, same-sex households contribute to same-sex aggression, with females being typically worse than males.  While you may have had same-sex groupings in the past, every dog is an individual and may not like another dog, especially of the same sex.  Many people make it work, but you have to be oh so dilligent about EVERYTHING that you do (feeding schedules, crating, monitoring EVERYTHING, etc.).  If you look any pit rescues, many will not adopt a dog to you if you already have a dog of the same sex. 

You also have two dogs who are VASTLY different in age, and that can also cause a problem, also with being the same sex.  The senior in your group may not want to tolerate the little one’s boisteriousness, and by snapping at her, showing her teeth, she is trying to tell her off without really hurting her.  At this point, that isn’t an issues, but at some point, she may decide that warnings are not enough and acutally hurt the little one.  This is something that you need to take heed of EVERY minute of EVERY day with two same-sex dogs with siuh a space in age!  Make sure that the puppy gets a lot of play time on her own and when she is worn out, that may be the time to allow her with the senior.  As alice said, a good dog is a tired dog. 

Keep in mind that pit bulls are slow to mature, with maturity hitting at around 2-3 years of age, sometimes 4 years old!  As your little one matures, she may not want to tolerate the warnings of your older dog, and she may become aggressive with your senior.  That is NOT what you want!

Pit bulls, and any breed of dog for that matter, can and do interact peacefully with other dogs, but individual temperament, early & proper socialization of ALL dogs, and excellent management on your part is the key to make a same-sex household exist.  Things may not be rough right now, but just keep in mind that this is only the beginning!  We have many dogs (of all breeds) that come into my clinic to be stitched up from being attacked by their fellow dog family member(s).  It is usually been determineid that it was becasue of same-sex dogs or a large age difference. 

It would be a good idea to take the puppy to classes when she is old enough, to learn how to get along with older dogs, and the same might be good for your older dog.  Take her to classes so she can learn how to interact with such young dogs.  Many shelters offer free classes! 

Also, make sure that you learn A LOT about dog body language.  By learning about the different degrees that a dog holds her tail, the different types of tail wagging, whale eye, head movements, leg movements, stance, etc., you can help eliminate many future issues by being able to read your dogs and stop any issues before they happen.  Not being able to read a dog is one of the main reasons dogs bite people and their family member dogs.  People don’t know what they are looking for when a dog gives a warning.  Many warnings are extremely subtle, and by knowing what to look for, you could save a lot of distress for you and the dogs!

One more thing, make sure all your dogs are spayed!  By keping hormone levels down to a minimum, that will help lower potential aggressive tendencies, but it isn’t 100%.