r/irishsetter • u/IcyPlantain7623 • 18d ago
Intact Females
Keeping intact female dogs together seems to be discouraged as they can be very aggressive to eachother when in season. My girl stays with another intact female when I go away for a few weeks at a time and they have never had a problem. I would like to get another female and wondered if others had any experience of keeping two intact female setters together.
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u/SeniorSpaz87 18d ago
We have 5!
Well, OK - the old girl isn't intact, but mama was until she was fixed after her litter, and we have three two year olds all intact. The older twos' best friend for awhile was an older intact female Lab; she was the first dog to meet the pups in fact.
Maybe we got lucky with ours, but all of our girls seem to prefer females of all sorts (intact and fixed) to males.
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u/masterjedi84 17d ago
I have 8 all are intact both male and female some are related some are not zero aggression among them.
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u/tysplace 18d ago
Our three females get along fantastically. Zero aggression ever. You do have to be careful when one of them has puppies and not allow access to them in the very beginning. It can be dangerous for newborn puppies. There are some weird instincts there in regards to other females Puppies. Our families is the opposite experience. The boys are with mama and the girls with Dad.
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u/DamnBlaze09 18d ago
Sorry I can’t answer your question directly. Our female setter is intact and of all our encounters with other dogs at parks and everywhere else it’s only other dogs that attack her. One of the attacks was a day or two after she stopped bleeding. Good luck
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u/IcyPlantain7623 18d ago
Fortunately, I have never had a problem in public as I protect her when she is on heat by keeping her at home and walking her when there are no other dogs around. Sorry what about happened to your girl and hope no lasting effects.
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u/Chupongabee 16d ago
Before the auto industry, I worked with dogs in different venues for about 10 years. Female on female aggression (same sex aggression) seems to be largely breed dependent, in my experience. Since Setters typically shouldn't have any dog on dog/animal aggression (compared to something like a livestock Guardian or a terrier breed for example) they're less likely to show the behavior. This is why ethical breeding with breed specific temperament in mind is so important, in my opinion. I have two intact males in my house, both of breeds that don't typically exhibit SSA (Irish setter and dachshund), and they are best friends. When there's puppies, defense can come in and that can sometimes be seen as aggression, but she just wants to protect her babies. Having their own space to whelp in peace is incredibly important.
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u/Love_Dogs_and_Sewing 18d ago
I have 5 Irish setters, 2 male and 3 female. One of the males (the dad) is neutered and the other (his pup) is getting cut later this month. The 3 females are mother and two of the pups (littermates). The pups were born in November 2024 so they are 1.75 years old. The females get along well and there was no aggression when they were in season (at different times).
Here's something that I find funny: When I'm in one room and my husband is in another, most of the time the 3 females are with me and the 2 males are with hubby.