You just visited a local breeder and felt in love with two puppies. They are two adorable female pups that seem to love to play together. You inquired about adopting one but your heart is split in half between the two. You finally decide that you want both, and the breeder seems quite content of doubling the profits.

If you ever would find yourself in such scenario, think again. As cute and playful such puppies are, chances are that once in their teens and adulthood, they may engage in some serious discussions that may even turn bloody.

Thinking that both ladies may work it out together is not a good choice. Very likely, the fights will escalate, and the cases where one dog was killed to death are not very uncommon. This seems to happen most often when the two dogs are close in age and when one dog is older and a newer dog is introduced to the pack.

When two females are close in age, there is a lot of competition. They will fight over rank and continuously try to establish alpha status. Such fights seem to occur the most in the presence of the owner. Because the owner is the ultimate pack leader, they may fight over who gets attention first. Owners must be knowledgeable on which of the two is higher in rank so he can pet her first every time and avoid conflicts.

Fights will also occur over other issues that tend to prove rank. They may fight over who walks first up a ramp of stairs or through the door, they may fight over sleeping areas, foods, treats and toys. Sometimes a cause may not be completely visible in the owner's eyes but it any case the dog higher in rank may have felt challenged by the other dog and felt the need to send her back down the ladder.

Adopting a female younger dog when owning already a female senior dog as mentioned above is also high risk. The newer dog may perceive that the older dog does not have what it takes to be a pack leader because of sickness or weakness and may try to take over the alpha role. The senior dog however, usually will fight with all her  strength to maintain the top rank.Unfortunately, such fights have a history of having a sad ending, with the younger dog often killing the older one.

However, not all female dogs tend to have such fights. There are cases where owners are able to allow them to peacefully co-habitat with no problems. A big role is played by the owner, establishing leadership and applying a strict "no fight" policy. Such owners work hard in keeping the relationship in harmony and discouraging every chance for a fight.

However, should a fight still disrupt, owners must be very careful in their attempts in separating the two fighting dogs. The chances of 'redirected aggression" are high. In such cases, the fighting dogs will get confused by the fight and over excited up to a point where they may attack the owner attempting to bring peace back.

It is best therefore, to separate the two by startling them. This is accomplished by tossing a blanket over them, watering them with a hose, making a sudden loud noise or grabbing one by the rear legs and pulling away.

While many female dogs do get along peacefully, adopting two puppies of the same sex is like playing the Russian roulette, their future may be a question mark and the risk is truly not worth it. As cute as they may be, please try to consider that in the future one of them may have to be rehomed simply because they do not get along. If you are purchasing from a responsible breeder, he or she will not allow you to adopt such combination. If you really must adopt two, a female and a male is a much savvier combination, however ideally consider they should have a few years in between to avoid excessive bonding betwen each other than with the owner.

Dogs are pack members. They lived through history continuosly establishing rank and fighting over leadership and mates. Thinking that dogs have changed and that  'they will get over it" is pretty naive when it comes to raising two female dogs. This may specifically apply the most to certain dogs of certain breeds. Please do your homework seriously and do not make decisions lightly. It may cause you to give up a dog  or worse it may cost another dog's life...