# Does it matter male or female?



## clare

I am seriously thinking of getting a buddy for Dizzie.My breeder recommends that we go for a female now as generally there is less rivalry between male and female.Dizzie has been done,but as the breeder says,that doesn't stop him from being a male,and that 2 males even if both are castrated can still fight to be top dog.All this sounds reasonable to me,but I was just wondering what you all think?By the way we have never had a girl before,and have in the past had 3 male Tibetan terriers all living happily together.


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## whitBmom

To be honest, I think any dog can fight to be top dog if their personalities are not complementary regardless of their sex. Many people here have two havanese that are the same sex and do not have that issue. IMHO if they have complimentary temperments it should all work out.


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## Lina

I have two boys and they get along perfectly well. All the breeders I've spoken to think that in general females are more dominant than males so adding a female to the mix could work but only if Dizzie is not that dominant... again only speaking with stereotypes.

It should all come down to *personality*, not gender, IMHO, unless you are willing to wait for a specific personality in the gender that you do want to come along. I was so careful when getting Hitchcock that he and Kubrick would get along well. My breeder (Kimberly here on the forum) was aware of Kubrick and had met him, so she knew what I needed in a second dog. She was sure that Hitchcock would be a perfect match for our home and though that meant I had to wait until he was 7 weeks old for his temperament testing it was SO worth it! They are best buddies and go everywhere together. I was so glad when Hitch came that it only took one day for Kubrick to warm up to him! I've heard of stories here on the forum and elsewhere of it taking weeks (if ever) for dogs to get used to each other so I was so glad that we waited to really make sure that they would get along before jumping in!

And if Hitchcock wouldn't have worked out, I would have waited for another male to come along in another litter as I have never wanted a female - just personal preference, not because I don't like them!


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## pjewel

Once Milo got over the "is this puppy ever going home" syndrome, they became best buddies. They did everything together. When Milo took off a couple of times, Bailey would stand at the back door and try to talk to me. He was agitated and clearly upset. In our case it worked out great. 

OTOH, when Ruby came along, they all looked at me like I was nuts and had to determine what this little brave and occasionally bossy lady was all about. Fast forward a few months and they're clearly a family. They all appear to get along very well.


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## Brady's mom

Brady was 2 1/2 when I brought home Dugan. Brady loved playing with him for the start, but he got a bit jealous and possesive and wanted him to go home when they were done with the fun. I had to inform Brady this was now Dugan's home. Brady is now 4 and Dugan almost 2 and the boys would be lost without eachother. They play hard and have a lot of fun together. Every now and then they fight, but it is never ugly and never for long. Dugan is the guy in charge around here. With Cassie (my foster), she is the bossy one. She puts those boys right in their place. My breeder always said if I brought a girl into the house, she would take right over.


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## Havtahava

Lina said:


> It should all come down to *personality*, not gender, IMHO, unless you are willing to wait for a specific personality in the gender that you do want to come along.


I so agree!

In general terms, two neutered Havanese seem to almost always get along well. Likewise, I don't know of many male/female pairings that have trouble, so long as the male is willing to tolerate the leadership of the female (ha ha!). The combination of two females is the one that seems to bring out more rivalry (or two unneutered males around a female in season). However, make sure the personalities work well together and the gender probably won't even matter.


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## mellowbo

I hav one male and 2 females and they are a happy little unit. Every now and then one bosses another around but who it is changes.


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## Pixiesmom

Pixie is 2 and MiG is 3 months, and it took about a week and a half for them to get along like peas and carrots. I think Dizzie should be sent to me, and I'll report back on who he gravitates toward-Pixie or MiG!!


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## mckennasedona

I have two female Havs and they are best friends. McKenna is 11 months older than Sedona and thought we brought her the best play toy ever when we brought baby Sedona home. Two years ago we adopted a female Sheltie, Rumor. 
Nine months ago, my father-in-law moved in with us and he brought his two female Yorkies. 
Yes, that is 5 female dogs in my house. McKenna let everyone know, as they arrived, that she is top dog. (Oddly enough, she's the smallest of my three and only a few lbs larger than the Yorkies) Only one of the Yorkies ever challenges her and it's a pretty weak challange to be honest.  99% of the time they all get along just fine.


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## Lilly'sMom

I had heard that that it isn't good to have 2 female dogs, but I really wanted to get another female. Things are working out great.
I also grew up with 3 female dogs and they got along just fine.


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## clare

Hi Lena,Did Kubrick meet Hitchcock before he came to live with you?

Kimberly,how can you check that their personalities will work well with each other,before they actually meet?


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## clare

Oh another question,what are the main character differences between a male and female Havanese?[or are their any?]


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## hav2

From what I have seen so far, Fergus has a little bit higher energy level than Izzy. Izzy is more independent and Fergus wants to be with you every moment. I do have to say Fergus has been easier to potty train than Izzy was. I think Fergus might be the more curious and Izzy is just more laid back. I appreciate the nice balance we have with them.


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## hav2

BTW~ looking back at some of the other posts, I do have to say that Izzy is definitely the boss. They do get along fine but every once in a while when Fergus needs to mind his doggy manners, Izzy will get him back in line Hope all this helps you decide, when are you looking at adding a pup?


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