Two Females 1yr apart

Question
Hello, just recently adopted a female boxer 4yrs old(Mercy) three months later my wife decides to bring home another female boxer 3yrs old(Grace). They seem to get along pretty good for the first day, however on the second day they showed their dominance and broke out in a fight. I guess my question is will they ever get along with each other, can we train them to get along? They are both spayed. I would hate to have to send one off. Can you help with some insight?

Thank You

Answer
Hello Larry,

Good question, and thank you for adopting grown girls!

Female Boxers are the dominate one in the breed. They are more aggressive than the male.

Even with litter mates having two females, there can be dominance issues, let alone two females not related as your girls.

They will vie for the alpha position, and there can be only one alpha in the pack. Two makes a pack- a small one, but still it's a pack.

They will play together and have fun, even sleep curled up together signaling all is well-- until...a fight breaks out over your attention, or a toy, or food, or anything.

They most likely will fight over food, toys, love and attention- and territory. Does one girl want to lay in a certain spot and another does too? That's a territorial fight. Something as small as that.

Sometimes, these fights can get ugly and very serious and physical, and sometimes it might be as simple as a growl, posturing, things like that where they are working out their alpha dominance between themselves.

But, are you willing to break them up when they do become quite physical and vicious toward each other? Will you be around them all the time to ensure they don't get physical? What happens when left alone together and you are at work? Are you able to keep them in separate rooms or areas while gone? If married, do not expect your wife to handle any physical situation that comes up, it usually requires a man's dominance; being strong and stern and a dominate figure (which is usually a male)...

Or, they might work out the dominance issue between them relatively soon and have minimal physical fights from then on... and I said "minimal." Which means there will be physical fighting occasionally.


A female and male co-exist well, even a male and male can because they know one is alpha and one the omega, and the alpha establishes his dominance early. But female and female is a constant issue. That is the order of things in the Boxer world- the female is dominate and stubborn and doesn't submit well to another.

Did your girls come from rescues? If so, a main concern is, do you know their previous histories? Were they abused and removed? Or were they surrendered due to circumstances, otherwise loved and treated well? It's important to know to discover their personalities and the way they will deal with issues in the family and to each other-- Their prior family history is a main key to their personalities and how they will react in the family dynamics and with one another.

Has one lived with other dogs previously and established the alpha position already? And knows her position already in the canine world? Even if she wasn't the alpha- dogs often continually try to become the alpha, constantly challenging the alpha to take the title and position away from them. Girls will do this more than then boys.

Some families have two females and have had issues, so they feed in separate rooms, keep toys separate, etc. but that is a hard life to have within one family. And double work. With younger litter mates, you can raise them together and teach them, and separate them once a day to give them their individuality and prevent separation anxiety. They most likely have their order of dominance already established from being with their entire litter mates early.

With two grown girls not related, there will be a constant struggle for the alpha position and unless one girl accepts that and is more timid and shy, less dominate by nature, and more subjective, and willing to become the lessor or the omega position- allowing the other to be the alpha- there will be fights and on the spur of the moment and sometimes- out of no where. They might be fine one moment and you're breathing easy, and then out of the blue- a fight breaks out. It's what's going on in the Boxer world that we can'ta see andren't privy to.

In my opinion, and it's simply my opinion, I would make a decision on which girl I want to keep for the rest of her life and that best suits your family dynamics, maybe the girl you've become most attached to, and keep her, finding the other sweet girl a good Boxer home.

This is entirely your choice and decision, and I appreciate your willingness and concern to seek out answers and information to make a sound decision. You obviously love Boxers. So if you decide to keep one and let another go, find a home with a family as good as you and your conscious can wear a Boxer medal!

Good luck on your tough decision and good luck with the girls!

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Other Boxer owners with female to female experiences
http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-129335.html

Other Boxers owners experiences, pro and con:
http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-8055.html

A New England Boxer Rescue will not adopt out a female with another female in your home (heading caption)
http://www.boxersinneed.org/available_dogs.htm