Big Paws Only Dog Forums

That is awesome that you have the Newfs in training classes and that they're doing well! Good luck with it! I trained my two myself, and just having 2 pups to train at the same time was tough enough; can't imagine having 3 young ones! But I'm jealous all the same! 

Awww, thank you guys! So sweet!

I feel so weird today, I am 20 years old now! lol!

Thanks everyone! I was so proud of her!

I agree STRONGLY with the 90% attitude, 10% physical figure given here in figuring out the "dominant" dog. The dominant dog in any pack is the one that doesn't appear to be so dominant. They are often the ones that don't throw their weight around, that aren't constantly going around growling and snappig at other dogs. The "alpha" dogs don't need to PROVE their position, they simply ARE alpha, and it has nothing to do with how the humans treat them or don't treat them. Except that humans can interfere with this heirarchy, which usually has a negative and not a positive effect.

With my Alaskan Malamute female, who is older than my Saint Bernard female, the pecking order was not so apparent to me. I assumed that since my Mal was older and had lived here first and was a more dominant type of dog, she was the head dog. I was wrong. My Saint is EXTREMELY tolerant and patient with Zoey my Mal, even to the point of letting her take food or toys away from her. But when Dolly my Saint makes up her mind that Zoey has stepped over her boundaries too far, Dolly lets her know, and there is NO questioning that position by Zoey when Dolly does this.

My other bit of information is that if you think Malamutes are dominant and a bit dog aggressive, just wait til you study Akitas. DO YOUR HOMEWORK ON THIS BREED! Akitas are much more dog than a Mal is. They are more aggressive in many ways than a Mal will ever be. I assumed they were quite similar in temperaments too and very nearly ended up owning a Mal and Akita rather than my Mal and my Saint. I am glad I didn't make that decision of getting an Akita then because I would not have been ready for one. Study, study, study the Akita breed if you decide to get one. Get your hands on every book, talk to breeders, and have a trainer picked out if you do get an Akita.
 

Oh he's gorgeous! I love the two of them together! lol, I'm so jealous of puppy breath!

Your two are 2 months apart in age just like mine are. It's so much fun, my two are like twins and I'm sure yours will be like that too. 

Really you guys?  This is the advice you suggest?   I'm fairly new to the multi-dog household thing but is this the common approach to having a peaceful pack?  Is it because of the breeds you guys own that you let them fight and work it out for themselves?  What do they fight about?  This really has me freaking out of things to come since I have three males 6, 2 and 16 months.

I would say, regardless of your training methods, at some point, you are going to have a conflict occur probably between your 2 and 16 month old males someday. No multi-dog household is completely quiet and calm. Dogs can't talk like we do and the way they settle disputes is often through growls, posturing, a nip here or there, etc. The thing is to allow it and not worry about it unless someone is getting seriously hurt by the other dog. The more you break up small disputes between your dogs, the larger the conflict will grow due to their frustration of never being allowed to handle it themselves.

Now I never saw them do it, but I can probably promise you that at some point when I wan't home and my Saint and Malamute were home alone, they probably had some good squabbles to establish hierarchy and figure out what is and isn't okay with each other. Even now, my females will have minor disputes. I never break it up unless someone is getting seriously hurt. It is of utmost importance to let the dogs settle things is what I believe.

I can comment a little bit on this topic as well.
We have 2 female dogs. Both are only 2 months apart in age. Under the guidance of many large breed dog owners on a website, I waited until my dogs were 18 months old to have them spayed.

My now 3 year old Saint Bernard has mild hip dysplasia. I don't know if it would be worse or better if she were spayed earlier, but I just did what I had read and heard was best. So later-spaying does not eliminate all risk of HD, as evidenced in my Saint's case. But if I had the choice over again, and I thought it may help prevent HD, I'd still wait and spay her at an older age.

The costs of neutering/spaying a nearly full grown dog that can be 100+ pounds will be significantly higher than that of the same procedure in a 6 month old/50 pound pup, I will tell you that. So take that into account as well. Some areas have extraordinaril y high vet fees for neutering/spaying large dogs.

I did not notice a difference in either dogs' personality after the spays were done. I do know that it is hard to keep 2 energetic, playful, big 18 month old dogs from not playing too hard or running and ripping out stitches though!