By the way, what is your experience with having 2 bitches, rather than bitch and male. I am hoping that they will get along fine, but have heard from a couple of people that 2 bitches means many bitch fights. Is there any way to know whether they will get on? Milou is quite dominant, from what I have noticed in her behaviour towards other dogs. Really could do with your advise....anyone?
This is just my personal experience with it, and by no means do I have enough experience to call it the standard...plus, my two girls are littermates, which might make a difference.
But...I am constantly having to monitor scuffles. A playful fight can turn into a coup very quickly here, and they're not just snappy towards each other but also with Boo (who quickly submits...maybe because they're pups or maybe because they're girls). Tilly will be chewing on a treat and Pearl will camp out close to her and just shiver, staring at the treat (despite having an identicle one of her own). Her shivering then sets Tilly off and she attacks Pearl to show it's HER treat. Pearl once attacked Boo because he wandered too near a treat she had previously abandoned in favor of another. They constantly growl and fuss over their "spaces." Boo is use to just piling in with other chis...he and Poppet were inseperable. While the girls still desire to snuggle with him, a wrong move by him can set Tilly to grabbig his ear (he freezes) or Pearl to growling. At which point he gets up and leaves, but then usually one of both girls find him again and snuggle up. It's the weirdest thing.
It's not 24/7. I don't want to paint a bleak picture. They play with each other too, and you'll more often than not find them in a warm ball together, sunning themselves on the back of the couch. However, I NEVER had this level of aggression and dominance when I had my two neutered males. It's easily 10 times what I experienced previously. Boo and Poppet would occasionally squabble over a treat, but it never became physical...just a little growling. They NEVER squabbled over spaces. Poppet NEVER tried humping Boo or vice versa (which is another thing I've already seen between the two girls). They would easily eat out of the same bowl with never a care or concern....even if it was wet food or a tasty treat of unseasoned rare steak. I had to monitor and teach the girls that it was unacceptable to fuss at the dinner plate. Pearl and Boo can now eat together, but for a while, she wouldn't even let him near the doggone water bowl while she was there. Tilly prefers to eat by herself. All share a water bowl in harmony now. Nothing has ever gotten ugly but the constant power play is annoying and you get tired of always playing referee...especially if you have a boy (like I do) that just wants peace and quiet.
Oh, and Pearl was just recently spayed at the 6 mos. mark, and Tilly is scheduled for one at the end of this year.
