male/female vs female/female

[JoaoMP]

Hello!

I currently have a wonderful female white schnauzer (Viki). I fell in love with this breed and thus decided to get a second one, a black and silver that will come to my house in January 2025. Viki will turn 3 years old in January as well.

Now for the big question. Should I pick a male or a female? I have read conflicting information about this, on the one hand some people say male+female is always better, on the other hand some say it is a recipe to disaster.

Regarding Schnauzers what is your opinion?

Thanks

[zeta1454]

We have had male and female mini schnauzers in the family with no issues between them. We currently have 4 female and 1 male (all related).

Sometimes female dogs can be competitive with each other but also they can be very bonded together.

As with many things, much is down to the breeding - a well raised healthy puppy from a good breeder is likely to get on well with an older dog of either sex, and older dogs almost always accept a puppy and can become great friends as they mature.

The main issue I would see as regards getting a male puppy is hormonally related: if you do introduce a male dog you will need to be sure that either one or both of your minis are neutered to avoid any accidental matings.If Viki is spayed already, you would not need necessarily to have the male puppy castrated (which should only be when he is over a year old) and there should not be any problems anyway. However if Viki is still entire and you don’t want to have her spayed, you could choose to have the male puppy castrated when he is over a year old but you may well find that he will ‘hump’ her or become excited when she is in season, even after being neutered. This is manageable but you need to be aware that it might be the case and would need managing even if a mating is not possible.

If you get a well bred puppy from a good breeder I don’t think it will matter whether you choose a male or female other than as regards my comments above

[JoaoMP]

Hello zeta.

Thank you very much for your detailed reply

Viki is spayed so that solves one issue. My main concern with a male+female pairing is the potential for "uncontrolled" barking when walking outside. Let me explain... I have had many dogs but never a male so I am bit clueless as how different their behaviour might be, however I am assuming a male might be more dominant and when outside will try to assert himself or to protect Viki so he might bark a lot and that will for sure trigger her. Is this something I should worry about or it might happen despite being a male or a female?

Any other positive or negative experiences someone would like to share?

[zeta1454]

There is always the possibility when walking two dogs that one may start barking for a number of reasons including as you say trying to protect the other although I would say that if you are walking a puppy with Viki it is more likely that she would feel protective towards the puppy. Male dogs in my experience are no more likely to be ‘barky’ than female dogs and the more self confident a dog is, the less likely they are to bark at other dogs. It is the dogs who are nervous and lacking confidence who are more likely to be barking at others in the street.

I would walk the puppy on its own until you know it is confident on lead and to assess whether he or she is nervous or reactive towards dogs they meet outside. If there is an issue around barking, you should work on this before walking the new puppy with Viki. Of course, the behaviour may change when you walk the two together for the first time but if you know that both of them are fine with other dogs on their own, it is less likely to be an issue. If there are problems with one or the other barking when they are together it may be that you will have to walk each one separately or do regular short training walks together to try and resolve the issue.

In my experience there is no difference between male and female dogs as to whether they will be protective or barking when out on walks, though.

[JoaoMP]

Hey again Zeta,

Very valid points that you bring to the table. thank you for taking the time to reply

All the dogs I have seen from this breeder are super chill and confident when walking outside so that is probably a good sign (future puppy father is a "lord", he exalts charm and is super confident). Noted, walk the puppy alone 1st and assess is behaviour before taking both outside together.

Also, over the weekend i met a neighbour who has 2 female schnauzers, 0 issues, best friends.

All in all, I am leaning towards another female

[zeta1454]

That all sounds good

I am sure two females will get on just fine and the new puppy will be a wonderful companion for Viki and for you too

[JoaoMP]

Hello!
Quick update

1 - Deposit paid and the new puppy already has a name, she will be called Zoe!
2 - Viki is already eagerly waiting for her sister.
3 - Got some pictures of Zoe´s mum and dad to share. Their black is very deep, they look stunning in my opinion.

[zeta1454]

Lovely dogs - Viki and the parents of Zoe

Exciting times ahead - look forward to seeing a photo of your new puppy when she comes to live with you too