Two males constantly trying to mount each other - Page 1

I have 2 large male shepherds living in my home together that are constantly trying to mount each other. One male is new. I adopted him about a month ago. The other male has been here for 6 yrs. They are about the same age -- 9 and 8. I have had other males living together in my home with no problem and was hoping the same for these two.

Instead these 2 males are constantly trying to jump each other. It starts off friendly but will quickly turn into a fight. So I keep them separated as much as possible. They take turns going outside. I know, or at least I think I know its a dominance thing. They can't even pass each other on the steps without one of them mounting the other.

So what canI do, if amything, to try to get these 2 males used to each other?

Separate, or play by their rules. Prisoners need a warden.

Let me guess...............neutered? 

Nope. neither dog is neutered.   At least I don't have to worry about puppies?

But it can be a little embarrassing when company stops cver.

In my years of experience with dominant working lines, I have never had two males I could run or even put in same room together.
I do not intend to use 2 x 4's or spend months playing the name game with them

I play by their rules, and only run a male and female together.

I would never even try to have two older males together.


 I like my life to run smoothly and I want to breathe calmly while I tend to my work and life to have to worry about two males not fighting.

THe one you adopted may  have been bred so he will naturally be  KING OF The ROAD..

NOT A WIN WIN SITUATION IN MY BOOKS..LOL

KEEP THEM SEPEARATED and just pretend one is your   child and the other is your butler.

YR

I don't know how skilled you are with dogs, but do you walk these two together? And how do these two walk on leash?  I have three un neutered males who live together....And of course it's easier when you raise them from day 1 or 8 weeks, but I walk all four of my dogs together (structured).....daily.  It helps a ton in having control over them.  (regardless of what anyone on here would say)  I also have a puppy coming soon,  and it may be the fourth male of the pack if I decide on a male. It will be raised up with my other dogs as well so I don't end up with a situation like yours later on, (placing an adult with an adult).   Regardless of whether you separate them or not, I think they would benefit from long walks with each other.

Two intact males can live together if they are provided with structure by the owner/"pack leader"
I would not trust those 2 males loose unsupervised though- ie: no running to the store and leaving them loose.
If you add a female to the mix, well, thats a whole new dynamic.

We have 3 intact testosterone filled males running together, a senior, a "middle aged", and a puppy from hell. They get along super, there are some scuffles, but no one is allowed to "badger" anyone else. We have clear cut rules and they all abide by them.

I was asking if they were neutered before waging my guess. It's good that they're not, actually, imho, as I've had far more success managing inappropriate behavior in intact dogs than neutered. I have known far more neutered males to display inappropriate sexual behavior than intact. However, this isn't about sex at all. This is pure and simple rank. 

You brought a new male into a house w/a male who had thought he was king for how many years? I think you're quite fortunate that someone hasn't been killed yet, actually;-) The only thing worse would be 2 females;-)   If you feel like working that hard, you can try to get them to knock it off and live peaceably, BUT you will have to micromanage everything they do. When I have this situation and they come in the house, I put them each in a place and they lie there and don't move. That's about the only way I allow 2 intact males or females to lounge around together in my house or yard. I have gotten extra diligent in preventing any kind of fights since my son was born, as I know he would immediately jump in to stop it or they would fight at the drop of a hat because they are all so possessive/protective of him. 

As YR said...I now prefer the easy road w/less adrenaline and I simply separate and rotate. I have to say, they sound far more mild-mannered than mine though, if you've had multiple stints of this mounting behavior and no serious injuries yet. You just might be able to make this work to where you can at least have them in the same room, but you need to really, really, watch every move, every ear flick, every lip curl...it's a lot of work. 

Good luck and Happy New Year!

Oh boy, sounds like I'm in for loads of fun -- NOT!!   lol

If I had it to do over I would still adopt Bear. I found him on Craigslist ready to be dumped at a shelter.He has paperwork but the people wouldn't share it with me. I have no intention of breeding him, just would have been nice to get a name and do some research. Bear has been trained but I'm not sure for what. He waks off leash and will sit/stay for extended periods of time as long as I stay in his line of sight. But then he gets together with the other male and it's a free for all of bad behavior.

I guess its on me to gain some control. I busted up a few fights in the last month but I do stay close when the dogs are together and was able to come away without losing any fingers :) I would never leave them alone together.

Thanks all for the advice. I do cherish peace in my life but am not ready to give up. Both Trigger and Bear are easy dogs to fall in love with  --  when they are not jumping on each other. I think I'll pass on those long walks......at least for now :)

Actually, often the fights start when you ARE there. They can battle for #2 if you're viewed as #1, or they can fight for you as they would like territory or possessions. This is why the diligence is so important. 

It can be done. Truly,it can. It's just better to overstate the danger than let you think it's going to be a walk down Easy Street. I would concentrate on keeping them at a good distance from each other, in an active command setting- like put them each in a specific place. My friend has a bunch of dogs who fight and we can still hang out in the living room with them strewn all over. They simply stay where they were told to stay.