two bitches more likely to be trouble?

[sununu]

still sadly dogless but hoping to put that right in the next few months.. I have an open mind about a boy or girl, but one thing that is essential is that any dog we have gets on with my in-laws Patterdale terrier. We spend a lot of time there, and also hope for holiday dog-sitting! Molly is 4, she's sweet but not well socialised with other dogs tbh as she never leaves their farm. She gets on OK with another visiting family dog, also a bitch, who is very submissive, but bosses her around. would it just be a better bet for us to look for a boy as I gather there is less likely to be friction? if we found a puppy and Molly met it early on is gender not so important?
it would not be realistic to take her to meet any rescue dog since she's not ours and as I say never leaves home or goes in the car.
Thanks!

Hmm.

You'll probably get mixed opinions on this.

Some people say that two bitches are more likely to argue; and that if they do, that fights tend to be nastier and that bitches hold grudges far more than males do.

Apparently, if two bitches don't get on it's more likely that one has to end up rehomed than if two dogs don't get on, or a dog and a bitch.

My experience: I got a bitch puppy 4 years ago and ended up bringing her dam home at the same time. They MOSTLY get on; but I've noticed that as the younger dog has matured, they've had the odd scuffle - especially over chews/my attention etc (younger dog can be a bit "guardy" at times).

Senior dog ALWAYS backs down. If she didn't, I can well imagine their scuffles would be quite nasty.

I've had 2 very dominant bitches, both of whom would beat up other dogs the worst semi serious fight was with a dominant male rescue we got of a similar size to our first bitch - neither would back down and it took a bucket of cold water to separate them. This same bitch lived all her life with another bitch only a year younger than her and they never had a cross word as the younger bitch was the nearest thing to a saint you could meet in a dog and she never went for the 2 other males we had (a rescue mutt who respected her authority and one we got as a pup) :)

I would say that with a dominant bitch you would be safest to get a puppy (either sex) where it would grow up respecting her authority.

I would say definitely get a dog if you can to avoid potential problems.

I am an experienced owner. I have four dogs, three bitches one dog. The dog and one bitch don't get on great, but can be together for periods of time with only the odd minor incident. He is basically bolshy and rude and it annoys her eventually and he won't back down. Same bitch doesn't get on with one of the other bitches. We can never let them together. They fight instantly and as I wont rehome it has meant a lot of changes to our household.

Lots of people keep bitches and they get on fine together, but even though problem aren't very common, they're even less likely with a dog and a bitch.

Charlearose, you aren't likely to experience any problems at all while they are still puppies. You probably won't get any problems at all. However, when two bitches do decide to fight they tend to bear grudges and it becomes an ongoing problem, rather than just fighting then forgetting about it.

Are we talking about un-altered female dogs? Does spaying matter in terms of female dogs ability to get along?