male and female chow getting along

[BJBotsko]

2 months ago, my wife and myself decided to get a companionfor our 2 year old male chow (Osito). We chose a female (Chiquita) and brought her home at six weeks of age. That was two months ago. At first they got along great, Osito was very gentle and loves to play while tolerating Chiquita biting and pulling his hair. He still tolerates her well, but as Chiquita turned 13 weeks Osito finally figured out she was a girl. This is driving him wild. He used to only show interest when she wanted to play, but now 24/7 he wants to be with her. We keep Chiquita in the kitchen with baby gates and Osito will just sit by the gate all day and cry. At night Chiquita sleeps in her crate and Osito now falls asleep after he finishes his ritual of licking her cratee door for hours. Over the last few nights we have been putting Chiquitas crate in the hall and this seems to have helped Osito calm down at night. The vet said that now is the time to get Osito fixed because we do not wish to breed the two of them, so today he will be off to the vet.
Any insight on if this will help or if this is just a phase, we have never owned two dogs at the same time. We want things to mellow out between the two of them like they were a week ago so they can go back to playing together without worrying about Osito trying to get on top of Chiquita.

Thanks in advance,

Brian

[Zhuyos mom]

Welcome!

I think it will help. Chiquita will also need to be fixed. You may not want her to go into season...can get messy and that won't stop any howling from any neighborhood dogs. Their sense of smell is so great. Fixed male or not, the urge may still be there. At least you'll know you won't be having any unexpected grandchowlings. Also, you think that they are working out the "dominace" role in your household since Chiquita is now more in her teen years and your older one knows it is time for her to grow up and learn the rules? Our original family chow, Suntzu, asserted himself on my chow, Zhuyo at around the same age Chiquita is now. However, both are male. The other thing to think about is that perhaps Osito just loves the companionship of Chiquita. My two (Zhuyo and Pooh Bear) love to snuggle next to each other. They are both very affectionate. I find them whispering in each other's ear and they kiss each other's face alot (not lick, but kiss) when they pass one another.

Keep us posted.

[Judy Fox]

We have two chow girls and they have both been fixed. However, our daughter used to live with us and she had a male Schnauzer and he and Milly and Mabel loved each other. He was also fixed but he still got little ideas in his head sometimes!
This used to really upset my husband as he was shocked to think that his precious girls were being propositioned!
We found that an "Oi! Pack it in Hector!" would stop him. It didn't happen very often and Milly and Mabel were not interested - in fact Mabel used to beat him up a little.
So I would agree that your chow girl be fixed too as even though the boy is fixed, her coming into season will drive him scatty!

[BJBotsko]

Thanks fo the feedback. Osito has been home again since tuesday morning and he is behaving much better with Chiquita. My vet says to wait until at least 4.5 months to fix the little girl so in a month she will be going in. It amazed me at what a diference Osito has gone through. At first he went right over to the baby gates and cried for about 15 minutes, then he went around the house to his favorite spots and just relaxed. We can even let the two of them play together again.

[Judy Fox]

Well done!

I think you are wise to get the little lass fixed too. When Hector was done, he was fine until Milly came into season and then it drove him scatty - the thing was Milly was a saucy little madame and kept inviting him into the hall, the bathroom, the garden - anywhere away from us.

Well, we spoke to our vet about it and she wanted to wait about three months after the season was over i.e. half way to the next season. However, it did not work out that way because Milly developed a pyometra and needed an emergency hysterectomy so the problem was over. This was followed quite quickly with Mabel needing the same.

So peace was restored.

Also, if you have no wish to breed from the lassie, you will stop any troubles with her womb before they even start and you will have two happy companions.

Purple kisses to them both from Milly and Mabel.

[Victory]

I have a male and female chow, Darkwind is the male, 5 years old, Firesong the female and is 3 years old, They both are neutered and spayed. They play well with each other and are constant companions. However like in most canine male/female relationships, Darkwind is the dominant, he proves this by "mounting" Firesong when she gets on his nerves or oversteps the boundries. A lot of people don't understand that "mounting" is not just a *Censored Word* behavior but one of establishing "pack" order. It is important for them to exercise this behavior. Female chows tend to be a bit more outgoing and affectionate with their humans and others than the males, so this behavior is the male's way of saying "enough".

I only interfer in this when Firesong doesn't back down and Darkwind begins to get irratated, then I make HER go lay down. Remember that as pack leader one of your jobs is to maintain pack hierachy. We has humans have a tendency to protect the smaller and the weaker; this isn't always a good thing in the pack. Your male is older, bigger, stronger and he was there first, he out ranks the female and that's just the way it is. You can never make them equals in their minds because they simply aren't. By supporting his rank you will actually stop any real conflicts as she will understand that the alpha, (you) supports the beta(the male) in his opinion that she is the omega.

Getting them neutered is a good step; but as she moves into that time of "teenage hood" where she will try to assert herself over him, you have to remember that the relationship between those two is not based on human rules but on canine ones and work to help them develop a close and stable relationship. My two are so close that I can no longer seperate them, and this past weekend when they had to stay in the bathroom while we moved they remained together for hours without a noise, and were perfectly content with each other.

This is the relationship you are working toward. Good luck, I think you'll be fine.