I am very excited to have a new puppy coming home soon. It will be our first ever dog/male. Up until now things have been easy, the girls had the run of house and big fenced yard. I want things to get off on the right foot, so would appreciate any input on training this new addition to act like a gentleman, esp. when b*tches are in heat and all other occasions that I have not thought of yet. Any input would be appreciated.

I think you should ask the breeder that you are getting your male from.

It honestly depends on the pedigree how males act. You might have to separate him from the girls when they are in heat. Or you might not.

Speak with your breeder is what I strongly suggest.

Congratulations on your new pack member! In the beginning, my pack consisted of males, both intact. I have to admit, I did it all wrong when I bought home my intact chocolate boy. "Oh, they'll work it out." And they do, but was a process.
Check out: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/introducing_new_dog.html

I have since neutered the 2 older boys and my newest addition is still intact. Be patient and encouraging to your newbie and the other members of your pack.

They now run and play and snuggle together! Heaven!

I have asked for the breeders suggestions, I was interested in some different perspectives, thanks for the input.

I can understand asking other breeders who have both sexes if you haven't before. I currently only have girls so I can't help you with this.

Overall, I think using common sense and seeing how everyone reacts to each other would be a wise move. Take it day by day, he's a youngster yet. I'm sure it will all work out, just remember who the Queen of the Castle is, that's *You*.

As things progress, ask questions of the breeder, other breeders and on here, no reason you can't have different points of view.

Wishing you good luck with your new addition as well as enjoyment.

In my opinion, if the OP doesn't want an oops litter, she is best separating the boy from the girls, or the opposite, as he gets old enough to possibly breed a bitch.

No matter how well trained a dog or bitch is, hormones can wreak havoc from either or both. When that happens, sometimes no command will stop a breeding no matter what the lines are. Better safe than sorry.

Also, a bitch that doesn't want to be bred can get a little testy at times before and after when a breeding would have taken place. Just as the boys *know* so do most girls, especially when it's not the right time.

With only 1 boy, it should be easy enough to separate him *if* that's her decision. I feel for the breeders with several boys and some girls. Sometimes it's tougher than others, it depends on how much control you have over all of your dogs. I still feel separation is better than even the smallest chance of an oops litter. JMo

Your life will now be complicated. Boys are wonderful, pets. Nothing better than a male pet.
But once you add an intact boy to a group, you now have turned your life upside down. Sleep will be at a premium when the girls are cycling. And just as a side note, my Repro Vet said the worst thing you can do is to allow a male to be constantly exposed to intact girls. It cause their prostate to be in constant upset, and can , not always, but can affect sterility. So if you do not have the facility to seperate the boy for the girl, you are creating a nightmare. Living together under the same roof as the girls , is the worst thing for his health, not to mention the peace you now have ! HAVE FUN !

Thank you!! Well said & very realistic! There's also the noise factor with some intact males around cycling females......earplugs are a definite must at times! Would it be possible for your boy to go on a "vacation" back to his breeders when/if necessary???

Where is this coming from??? If you don't separate them, be sure to have a whelping box at hand. The pedigree won't make one iota's difference. Sheesh.....

It does complicate things at home. I don't believe there is any training advice to keep your boy acting like a gentleman when the girls go into season. Yes you can keep them separated and it works to keep them away from each other, but that does not stop the boys from barking, whinning and acting up. My advice would be not to get the boy unless you absolutely have to have him for whatever the reason might be. You can always use a stud for breeding your girls without having to keep the boy yourself. I have boys and girls myself and they all run together and get along fine. Once the girls go into season and they usually do all around the same time, it gets hectic to say the least. I have to shuffle the boys around and move the girls in and out. Keep the boys away from them and then the boys are barking and whinning to see the girls. There is no doubt that you can have them living together and make adjustments during the heat cycles, but don't think you are going to be able to teach your male dog to behave around the females during those times.

I have both males and females and all my dogs are house dogs. It does help that I have a back room with its own exit to the garage and dog yard where I can isolate girls in season, but I didn't always have that option. Mydogs are trained to be quiet while they are crated. The boys are noisy at the times when they expect to be let out, but not during the night or even the evenings while the girls are having their turn to be out. They can be turned out together without serious quarreling. They do often bother the other girls, and they mount each other. The rule in my house is that a girl is allowed to put a boy in his place if he gets fresh, and I will back her up as long as the response isn't inappropriately forceful, which it seldom is. But yes, you do need to keep them separate- no way could you train an intact male not to try to mount a bitch in peak season! Watson and I discovered just last night that he could open Cece's crate from the outside. Fortunately I was right there when he did it! A panicky moment ensued, and I am now keeping the door between them shut. None of my boys are loose in the house in my absence. I do let the boys run with the girls for the first week or so in my presence because my girls won't put up with any monkey business at that time and the boys don't try very hard. So the period of separation is only about two weeks. I have only two or three intact bitches at any given time - I wouldn't want to have more seasons that that to deal with!

Thanks for all the comments. Maybe the breeder will refund my deposit I guess I should have posted here before the deposit.

"But once you add an intact boy to a group, you now have turned your life upside down. Sleep will be at a premium when the girls are cycling. And just as a side note, my Repro Vet said the worst thing you can do is to allow a male to be constantly exposed to intact girls. It cause their prostate to be in constant upset, and can , not always, but can affect sterility. So if you do not have the facility to seperate the boy for the girl, you are creating a nightmare. Living together under the same roof as the girls , is the worst thing for his health, not to mention the peace you now have ! HAVE FUN !"

Since most popular stud dogs are kenneled with multiple bitches I bet there are a lot of us who would like to see the data to back up the "fact" that keeping intact dogs with bitches causes sterility. So people should only have one or the other - you either have a few girls or a few boys?

This post is way over the top and several others are discouraging to someone who wants to add a boy and they should be encouraged more since boys are terrific. I started with an intact male and an intact bitch and adjusted my schedule fairly easily to accommodate them when she was in season. Now I have three intact girls and two intact males that are housedogs and find their seasons to be a mild inconvenience and not a "nightmare" by any stretch. I have to separate them of course for 5 - 6 days and I find for me it works better to keep the girl in season away more and allow the boy to keep a normal routine - if I put him in an x-pen in the garage or basement he barks and barks and barks and barks whereas two girls there are quiet. I make up the time away from us by playing with the girls a lot in the yard and allowing them in the house in the afternoons while I listen to the boy sing a voice losing song for a while whether downstairs or outside. A few days later and everyone is back to normal.

Always good to hear about different experiences, good, bad and in between. Hopefully the OP can make an educated decision and then decide if it's right for them.

Boys will be boys. No way to keep boys/girls together. It lasts 21 days. Just when you think you can't take it anymore, it's over.