Hello.  This was probally discussed numerous times on here but I was hopeing to get thoughts on 2 males in same house.  I currently have a 5 yr old male nuetered GSD and have been looking for a female to add to the family and do S&R with.  I have not been able to find that right female yet.  I have come across many males that are suitable but I havent proceeded with them because I fear what would happen with 2 males.
 Friends have told me that I would need to seperate the 2 males and I wouldnt want to live like that.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

I've had 4 males in my home without any real troubles - and with females in heat, new females coming for breeding and even with a bitch and her puppies......

Hero, Quandro - intact 3 year olds
Ruff - intact 2 year old
Bravo - intact 6 month old.

You must have obedience trained dogs and you must be alpha.....

Always feed in crates, do not have toys inside the home for them to compete over. ALWAYS supervise and NEVER let them escalate into a fight. When we're away from the house or too busy to supervise, they go in crates.

Our favorite time is when the pack goes out back to play fetch, its a beautiful sight to see 5 or 7 adults running after the ball..... trick is that every dog has a ball and only one dog is actually chasing... With their mouths full, they are happy to run and play without incidence.

I'm not saying this can work for everyone, but it does for us....

Right now we're down to just one male and our home is much less dramatic. If you are looking to live an easy and quiet life with your pet shepherds, I don't suggest adults of the same sex..

 You need to be the boss with both dogs. If trouble starts show your displeasure and nip it in the bud. They need to know that fighting is not acceptable. However, the best made plans etc get a young dog less than a year old and allow the older fella to lead him. Make sure your old fella feels secure in his position but dont let him overly disciplne the youngster. I  have two dogs and three bitches and yes of course there are some disagreements but there are  no blood fights because there is only one boss in the house and its not them.

I would avoid getting an older dog though as there will be dominance issues which can be stressfull and expensive.  My Dutch dog is two and my old fella a Greyhound Staffy mix is 12. There were fights at first but with patience and leadership they are now resolved. Even so they are not the best of friends unlike the bitches who are all around the same age and were introduced together as pups

Good luck

I have had lots of males thru the years (37 years of showing dogs) and have been able to run maybe 4 males together;  have always had to separate them;  was fortunate to have yards that were split up separately so everyone could have a good sized yard to run in maybe with a female or two, but never with another male once they hit about 6-8 months old males always had to be separated.  I currently have a father and son that run and live together;  that is 2 of the 4 listed above.  Really I do not recommend this at all unless you constantly want to be breaking up fights and have to stand on top of those boys all the time.  It is not fun.  My current boys are great but I did have to spay my young female, otherwise they had to be separated before, during, and after her seasons.  My older female (almost 13 years old) could care less but is the alpha in the household of dogs.   So NO, I would not do it.  Nan

Interesting read.. but one thing stands out.  The OP is unwilling to "do the crate thing" after it was suggested to feed the dogs in their crates. 

You don't need to feed the dogs in their crates but you DO need to feed the dogs in separate places (like separate rooms).  I don't care if it is two males, two females or one of each or several dogs.  It is just plain sense to NOT feed the dogs next to each other in the open.  Doing so begs trouble.  I know lots of people do this and have no trouble for years.. but it only takes ONE TIME.  Why risk it? 

In my house one dog does eat in her crate and the other in the open in a separate room.  One dog inhales her food and the other eats slowly.  The slow eater is crated to keep the fast eater from stealing her food AND to keep the cats from stealing her food (we have no resource guarders in this house!). 

I have one cat who will take the food right out of her mouth and she lets him (they are buddies).  He will also take the food out of the fast eater's mouth but she eats so fast he gets little time (and he is usually eating at the same time she is so they both finish about the same time). 

I don't even feed the five cats next to each other (all separated by space and walls). 

BTW the dogs never steal the cats food if they are not all fed at the same time.  Both dogs sit and watch the cats eat and do not bother them or offer to clean up their bowls after (not that the cats leave anything to clean up). 

I have two unrelated female GSD's (one 5 years old and t'other 17 months old) and 5 cats and a peaceful house.  I expect it is because we all obey the cats.....

I also want to add that I never allow dogs and cats loose in the house together unsupervised and I do not allow the dogs loose together unsupervised even in the fenced yard.  Why set up a circumstance for Murphy and his law? 

GSDguy,

 I do occasionally walk all my dogs together, but for the most part I excersice and train them individually. The two siblings won't be here much longer and having a big happy pack isn't high on my priority list. I won't tolerate fighting, so if two dogs can't get along they aren't going to spend any time together, it's as simple as that.