Two Female Basenjis??

[zandra]

My husband and I have a female Basenji who is just over a year old. We are hoping to get her a friend because she gets lonely during the day, but she does really well when having other dogs around. We both prefer female dogs but I do know there is a risk of dogs of the same sex being more likely to have problems with each other.

My dog has been around other female dogs when I stayed with my grandparents for a couple of months and when she stayed with my parents while we were on vacation for a couple of weeks. She didn't seem to have any out of the ordinary issues with the female dogs (aside from when one of them wanted to stop playing) and actually fought more with my parents' male Cocker Spaniel.

Is aggression between females a particularly bad issue in Basenjis? Is it a hit or miss thing depending on the temperament of the dogs? Will getting the second female as a puppy help? Thanks for the advice!

[DebraDownSouth]

Basenjis have a particular issue with other dogs, most often same sex, but even opposite. So given a choice, yes, your best bet is a male. Right now, she is still a puppy, but as she matures, she may deal very differently with same sex dogs. Especially important if you are considering another basenji. You might have better luck with a male from a very non-dog aggressive breed. Nothing is a sure bet. You watch and you stay alert to changes. If it's any comfort, that's true of many breeds.

[grouchyeve]

Sometimes Dogs just DO NOT like each other. If you find a dog take your B with you and do proper introductions.
I had a male and a female and the male tried to kill the female on a regular basis.

[eeeefarm]

Certainly they are all different and Basenjis as a breed seem to have more same sex aggression than some, but it can be hard to predict. Introducing a puppy is generally easier than introducing an adult, since pups have "puppy immunity" for a time when they are small. I had two girls who got along wonderfully well, the older one being seven when I acquired the pup, and after some initial reluctance the older girl essentially "adopted" the pup as if she was her own. Things can change, particularly as they mature, but in my case the two were lifelong BFFs. However, when I lost my older girl at 16, after a time I brought in a 2 year old male, and my remaining girl absolutely hated him on sight! With a bit of work I managed to finesse a truce, and she tolerated him for the rest of her days, but she never really liked him and would not play or cuddle with him.

IMO, much depends on your own relationship with your dogs and how sensitive they are to your wishes. I've had very good luck with both dogs and horses, introducing newcomers, but I know things don't always work out the way you hope.

[tanza]

As we say "It works till it doesn't"..... sometimes it does, most times by the time they are 2 to 4, the trouble begins. You are much better of with a male, but that goes for any breed, not just Basenjis. When talking to a breeder, explain the situation, they might have a female that they feel might be a good fit with another female.

[CrazySenji]

Basenjis are known for same sex aggression. I've been told by breeders and other basenji owners that two bitches together can be bad news. That being said, I have two intact males and I've had little to no issues. The occasional "hey! that's MY toy!!" that you can have with any dog. On the flip side, a friend of mine in a different breed kept all 3 males from her last litter and at 3-4 months they all decided they hated each other. The one she still has HATES all male dogs and does fine with the 3 bitches he lives with. His litter mates live with other males in harmony. Every dog is different!!

I had many people suggest that I get a female for my second dog. I prefer boy dogs and I still lived at home and my parents didn't want an intact bitch. This was my 3rd dog from the same breeder and he didn't hesitate to let me have another male. You have to do what's right for you and work with a breeder you trust!

[Nancy Berry]

@CrazySenji I've always prefered females over males, I don't know why but I do! But since I've had this little fella' ... he's changed my mind! Males aren't like I've always thought they would be! I've found that they are just as lovable as the females, maybe more lovable! But actually, I realize now that it doesn't really matter if they're male or female, they're still a Basenji! Males are just as much fun as a female! Yet I agree with all of you...it just depends on the dog you want to get a playmate for...it's their choice & they might just change their mind in a couple of years! We do it!

[eeeefarm]

@Nancy-Berry said in Two Female Basenjis??:

Males aren't like I've always thought they would be! I've found that they are just as lovable as the females, maybe more lovable!

After three females I had two males in a row and found out what my breeder said was true. To quote her, " the boys are very sweet, but the bitches can be such bitches!" I did love my girls, but I found the boys were actually more "lovable".

[DebraDownSouth]

@Nancy-Berry said in Two Female Basenjis??:
I've always prefered females over males, I don't know why but I do! <<

I have ALWAYS preferred females. We adopted a male toy poodle (people had the dog TWELVE YEARS and when daughter started college, were going to take to pound! Fortunately co-worked called me, we picked him up and ended up keeping him til we put him down at 18) and I kept a male from my next to last Rottweiler litter. I loved loved loved my Rottie, but he didn't endear me to males. I had to watch him like a HAWK or he'd pee on me. He also was the only dog in my line that was taken sheep herding who didn't like it (he peed on me there too! Sigh.). I swore no more males, but then we got Merlin so that dog-aggressive Cara might like him. Now, I truly want another male Samoyed.
Leora and Richie

Connor with Sayblee (tshirt on due to surgery on side)

[Nancy Berry]

@DebraDownSouth Oh Lordie Beee!! I know it's not really funny but.. the way you put it...it IS funny to a point! lol That was one thing I was always worried about if I had a male, either pee'ing on me or in my bed!! So I just stuck to the girls but, honestly... my 1st. b ... trying to be dominant..waited & watched while I put clean, fresh sheets on the bed & got it made ~ yep! She got on the bed & pee'd down on the bottom corner, about where my feet would be! OOOOHHHH ~ I was just livid! Just as I started to reach for her to push her off the bed, she showed her teeth & growled at me! Instead of getting just a push off the bed....she got a firm swat on her back leg (man, it hurt my hand more than it did her) & pushed off the bed! I made her sit on the floor while I stripped the bed AGAIN! Each time I got to the wet spot, I showed it to her & told her she was a bad girl. Each time, she hung her head a little lower. I kept the bedroom door shut after that when I wasn't in there & she'd paw at the door & whine. I made her wait for about a week before she could go in the bedroom by herself. She didn't pee on anything or anywhere else after that either. We also had a "stare down" after I pushed her off the bed. She broke first & hung her head down so far, she looked like a vulture!! But, it made her see that I was queen bitch! She was a most lovable b & even more lovable after lines were established. I hated swatting her though, never had to again. A loud Att Attt did the trick after that.

[Nancy Berry]

@eeeefarm I can believe it..about the "bitches being real bitches" but once my girls knew that I was the Queen bitch & we got along great!! But this boy is very lovable & always has to be touching me or like when I fell asleep in the recliner, he was laying there with me. When I woke up ~ he was laying on top of my lower stomach!! He's a wonderful bed-warmer too!

[Rugosa]

IME, all of my female dogs got along well with both sexes, until they were 2. Then, I had to keep 2 females separate, forever. It's funny, my males were the same way, all changed when they were 2

I only kept 2 females if I realized they may have to be separated - was I willing to do the extra work if I did?

No matter how I tried to get 2 dogs to live peacefully together, if 2 dogs hated each other, they hated each other and I could not trust them to be together.

It really helped to neuter a dog, but that certainly was not a for sure thing.
The way I looked at it, I didn't ask the resident dog their opinion on getting the other, so I couldn't see them living together peacefully if they were thrown into the situation.

I had better luck with my kids. The rule was "You don't have to like each other, BUT you have to act like you do." It doesn't work with dogs.

[eeeefarm]

@Rugosa said in Two Female Basenjis??:

I had better luck with my kids. The rule was "You don't have to like each other, BUT you have to act like you do." It doesn't work with dogs.

I would say it can work, but takes patience and vigilance and probably you won't want them to be alone unsupervised. Most dogs can control themselves if it's in their best interest to do so, but catching a potential action before it occurs requires constant observation and most of us don't have the time or inclination.

I agree, it isn't fair to the resident dog to introduce a newcomer they didn't sign on for, but sometimes initial dislike can be changed to tolerance, if not friendship. Once two females have had a real fight, however, it can be a game changer......and two years old is typically when the hormones start kicking in. My one female decided at that point that she didn't like other females, and after a preliminary sniff, she didn't much like neutered males, either! She was, however, very flirtatious with intact boys.

[DebraDownSouth]

Having lived with Rottie bitches who never had issues (praise G-d for an alpha bitch who kept the pack in line... she literally would knock over and lie on the offender). Then I get Sayblee and I learn what dog aggression really is.

I tell people if you add another dog, and they hate each other, are you really prepared to handle running 2 packs? If not, maybe not a good idea.

LOL @ Vickie. Yeah we have a bit more control of the human ones... they understand consequences better.

[giza1]

I would have 2 Basenji males together before I would have 2 Basenji females. They don't call them bitches for nothing.
-Joanne

[Nancy Berry]

Here goes what many will call a stupid question (the only stupid question is the one that you don't ask) but, isn't a male dog called a Sire? Or is that only if they've been bred? And a female is called a dam? Does she have to be bred before considered a dam? I just dislike the fact that we call the female canines "bitches" but we don't call the male canines "bastards". Of course, in humans, a "bastard" is supposedly a child without a Father but yet, every child has a Father, it's just rather the "Father" is present in the child's life or not. BUT! When you get into the fact that a woman picked a "sperm donor" from a sperm bank, they "have" a Father but they don't have a "known" Father so that the child could try to find their "Father". Yes, maybe the female is married & her husband is not fertile so they decide to use a donor from a sperm bank, but the husband is typically called Father or Dad. I'm not trying to start any arguments but I wish we'd refer to female dogs as "females" or "dams" & males are called just that, males, in conversations. I'm really curious about the dam & sire thing! That's all I want to know about....is a sire a male dog who has been bred? And a dam is a female that's been bred?

[CrazySenji]

Sire and dam is like saying "dad and mom". You could also say "by" and "out of". ie "This puppy is by Mike and out of Lucy".

Bitch simply means female dog and males are refereed to as "dogs". At a dog show the genders are separated into classes. Non-champion animals are referred to as "class animals" so if you entered a girl in a show that wasn't a champion yet she would be a "class bitch" and the males are "class dogs".

The word bitch has been made into an insult unfortunately. I work at a vet and referred to an intact female as a bitch and got reprimanded. It's a shame because it is the correct term! It's not a "bad word" in the dog fancy.

[tanza]

@Nancy-Berry When looking at pedigrees or talking about the pedigree of a puppy, the Father of a puppy is called the Sire and the Mother is called the Dam. For example, my C-Me's Sire is DC Klassic's Tri-Riffic Tuff Stuff and the Dam is CH Stallian-Tanza Tri The Obvious

[Baba Bamidele]

The insulting version of the word dates to the 1400s and derives from the term for a female dog, which is older. I'm guessing dogs in Medieval England were not usually the companions they are today, so the term was probably analogous to calling a woman a sow or a cow today, with the implication being uncleanliness and aggression.

My guess is that when the dog fancy was gaining steam, the upper-class folks who were showing dogs weren't inclined to even acknowledge the vulgar version of the term, so they went with it!

See http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bitch

[DebraDownSouth]

Baba ... I agree except the "unclean and aggressive." I suspect it was more about aggression and willingness to breed and fight during heat. But regardless of why, a female unspayed dog is a bitch... that is the right word.

@CrazySenji .. unreal. Your vet needs some educations. It's like having a doctor call it your "wee wee"... come on folks, be an example. Hopefully otherwise your job is good.