Girls vs Boys

[Linds]

So I know we've had this thread lots of times before but we have new people so I thought it might be fun.

Which do you prefer? Why? Or do you even have a preference? Does that vary depending on the breed? Would you get a girl/boy if you were looking for the opposite? Do you go into puppy/dog looking with a sex in mind? What are the biggest universal generalizations you see between them?

 

[Cali Mae]

I prefer females in general when it comes to pets.

However, in my experience, I haven't noticed a big difference between girls and boys, when it comes to dogs. Cali would be just as happy to run off with a stranger, and is incredibly loving and goofy... as much as I wish she was a one person dog, she's the exact opposite. Moses isn't a "one person dog" but he would certainly choose my family over anyone else, and is very reserved and timid with strangers... particularly men. Whereas Cali seems to prefer men to women upon first meeting them.

I've always read that males are goofy, love everybody, and are eager to please whereas females tend to be more aloof, handler-oriented and 'serious' when it comes to working. I've noticed the same stereotypes for horses as well, and it seems pretty accurate in my experience compared to my experience with dogs. I think it's really an individual thing. However, when it comes to horses, I would take a mare over a gelding any day. I'm set on a female Australian Shepherd as my next dog, but I wouldn't turn down a male if he was otherwise perfect for me.

 

[OutlineACDs]

Ahh, errr.... before I had my boys I would have said girls all the way.

My girls have always been serious, more mature, slightly stubborn, when you win them over though, you have a shadow for life. And not a silly, goofy, needy shadow, like my boys, but a constant, silent shadow.

I like both sexes, and if it weren't for wanting to breed my own, I'd probably own more boys. I got Zen because I knew it was going to be years before I had time for another litter and I didn't want a super nice female sitting at my house potentially wasting away her reproductive years. He's been awesome. He's quite a challenge though, just silly and needy, and 55lbs of lap dog.

My next dog will be a female. I'm finally done with school and can dedicate more time to showing a dog and finishing her/training and trialing and then potentially doing a breeding in a couple years.

At least that's the plan.

 

[JessLough]

Girls. Because no balls.

But yes, for the right dog I'd entertain the idea of a male.

 

[sassafras]

This is really hard for me to answer. My first trio of dogs were all girls, and I never really had problems between them. I didn't even know about bitch fights and stuff like that until long after. But when I got Squash, I specifically wanted a boy because Maisy is more likely to get along with males than females.

I guess my females have been less likely to naturally orbit, more likely to have their own agendas/blow me off, a little less "what you see is what you get." But also they were all along a spectrum with regard to those traits... my boys act more consistently like each other, if that makes sense.

I don't know that barring a specific individual issue (like with Maisy) I would intentionally seek out either gender in the future. I think I have a slight preference for boys in general, but it's not overwhelming.

 

[k9krazee]

I don't think I have an overwhelming preference between the two.

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

So I know we've had this thread lots of times before but we have new people so I thought it might be fun.

Which do you prefer? Why? Or do you even have a preference? Does that vary depending on the breed? Would you get a girl/boy if you were looking for the opposite? Do you go into puppy/dog looking with a sex in mind? What are the biggest universal generalizations you see between them?

I have always sought out males and yet every female I have had/fostered/worked with has always been my favorite. Females, ime, learn more easily and are faster to mature. They tend to be more balanced, aware, and careful. I plan for my next dog to be a female. It helps because my bitches are pretty dog friendly and my males are kind of antisocial dicks who'll tolerate females but I am actually worried about pressing my luck with adding another male to this house (Denis plans on a male to be added when Arnold goes several years from now).

I love my goofy, needy, giving, males but my next dog will be a bitch.

 

[ruffiangirl]

I am drawn to girls, I don't know why, when I think about getting a show dog I always think it'll be a girl, even though males tend to be easier to point. Now I'm leaning more towards a male though.

 

[Shakou]

For some reason, I've always preferred males over females. In my experience, females always seem to be a bit more snarkier than males when it comes to other dogs. That doesn't mean I'm closed off to the idea though should the right female come along.

 

[Shai]

I have preferences but there are so many exceptions it's hard to pin down hard and fast rules lol.

 

[Laurelin]

The more dogs I'm around, the less strict rules I see in male vs female... Generally I prefer females. All my personal dogs have been females, actually. Nextdog is probably going to be male.

 

[Oko]

Which do you prefer? Why? Or do you even have a preference? Does that vary depending on the breed? Would you get a girl/boy if you were looking for the opposite? Do you go into puppy/dog looking with a sex in mind? What are the biggest universal generalizations you see between them?

I like girls, I've just always owned girl animals. Just speaking from what I've seen, I like how they're more quick to mature, have a little bit of snark, and...I don't know, I just get on with them better. Which is not to say I don't love boys. Wesley also is in love with female dogs, and I'd like to make this turn from 1 to 2 dogs (Cleo doesn't count lol) go smoothly. I'm in the situation where the litter is gonna be small, so yes, I'll probably take a boy if that's what comes up as available or are personalities match better than an available girl when the dust settles.

What I always hear is boys are goofier, slower to mature, and want to please you, girls mature faster, are more serious, and want to know 'why' when they're told to do something, haha. Boys also seem to think less before they do something, lol. As far as I've seen this is a pretty accurate generalization, but obviously there are going to be dogs all over the spectrum, because they are individuals.

But yes, in short, I don't think they're really all that different.

 

[BostonBanker]

My two defy the stereotypes, at least when it comes to interactions with people, so it is hard to say.

Meg, who is obviously female, adores all people and is the one likely to go work the room for loving. She very clearly loves me, and will choose me over others if she is forced to choose (ie if I leave the room, she's coming with me), but if I'm in sight, she's the one sitting on everyone's feet, shoving her head onto their lap, and looking for love. She's maybe the more "complicated" to train, in the way that she thinks about things, but she's far more focused on me and on work rather than the environment.

Gusto, who is male, is such an aloof twit in public. He will very, very rarely seek attention from anyone, and will usually just stare at people if they reach a hand down or call to him. He doesn't even like touching or snuggling from me in public, and I regularly threaten him with "You be good or I'll kiss you in public!". Now, he's very snuggly in the house - maybe even more than Meg. We shared a room a week ago with an agility friend who has known him since he was 6 weeks old. She sees him probably at least once a week, in classes and trials and practices, and she was shocked when he jumped on her bed to visit her! He was curled up on my chest and snuggling like she'd never seen. He's very distracted by his environment, and is just as likely to blow me off as work with me, but he isn't "complicated" to train.

The one place they do fit stereotypes is in their interactions with other dogs. Meg is all female, very selective, and mostly would prefer other dogs don't touch her or bother her. Gusto is sweet and respectful of dogs who don't want to be bothered, but will joyfully play with any and every dog who wants to. He's gotten dogs whose owners claim won't play, to play with him.

Which do I prefer? Something in the middle I don't think I'll ever choose based on gender, other than making decisions like 'I won't have another female in the house with Meg'. The right dog for me can be either gender.

 

[Kootenay]

My family always had female dogs, so when I went to get "my" first dog, I decided it was going to be a male (I don't know if I had any particular reason or was just wanting to try something different). I didn't really have a preference after that, Yarrow happened to be a boy too just because that was the option.

Neither of my boys really fit the "stereotypical boy"...Jasper is kind of aloof and not cuddly at all, pretty independent. Yarrow is totally goofy and lovey/cuddly but he also doesn't just live to please (but this is more because of the breeds in him than gender I think).

Nextdog is definitely a girly, so we'll see what I have to say after that! Don't really have a preference at the moment.

 

[JennSLK]

I dont really have a preferance but any dogs I buy from a breeder will be females. Simply because I plan on keeping a male from my own breeding sometme in the future and male Dobermans are incredably same sex agressive. If I was going to get a male form a breeder it would have be be drop dead gorgeous stunning with exactly the right lines to make setting my sel fup to crate and rotate worth it

 

[stafinois]

I only keep boys. I'm afraid to spay too soon or spay too late. Also don't want to deal with heat cycles. I'd rather deal with boys that hate each other.

 

[Southpaw]

I don't know, I've never had a boy!

When I'm living on my own and get a dog, part of me wants to get a male just because it's "different." But I absolutely hate boy bits, especially on short-haired dogs. So that will probably prevent me from ever getting a boy.

 

[Toller_08]

I prefer females. Always have and always will. I was super excited to get to raise my first male dog, and after that I was like... "why can't you be more like your sisters?!". I mean, I do have a female currently that frustrates me and I would take a male over her inparticular to train with any day, but in general, I prefer females.

I find females just more task oriented, better thinkers and I like that they question me a bit. Granted, my only real male dog experience (that I've lived with) has been Dobermans, but I dislike the super sucky, push-button, overly pleasing and needy personalities that my boys have had. I like some independence and attitude. As strange as that might sound haha. I just find males too handler dependent much of the time. My girls are sucky too, but in a different, less needy way. Oh, and I love that females mature so much more quickly than males.

I also prefer the smaller size and stature of females. And in coated breeds, I prefer the less coat that females generally have.

I'm not sure how much it varies between breeds or not. But I know my male Dobermans have ruined me for likely ever wanting to try a male dog of another breed, just in case. And there does seem to be a theme of male dogs being overly in love with their people in general regardless of breed, and I think that's what I don't like more than anything. Of course I want a dog who loves me and wants to do stuff with me, but I don't like the neediness/affection craving temperaments that most male dogs I know have.

I do go into getting a puppy with wanting a certain sex in mind. It's been easy so far, seeing as I can't have another male anyway with Ripley in the house, and breeders have respected that. But even when he's not around anymore, unless I have a SSA female, I can't see myself ever seeking out a male. Or at least not for a long time.

But I must admit... it is kind of nice having both sexes from a multi-dog point of view. My girls don't play together really without getting a little fed up with each other. Where as all of them will play with Ripley and just have fun the entire time.

 

[Paviche]

I have only ever had boys. As a kid it was because my parents thought you had to let a female go through a heat cycle before spaying and they didn't want to deal with that. As an adult... well, it's just worked out that way!

When I was looking for a dog when I got Rowan, I really had no sex preference. The right dog happened to be male. When I was looking again six months ago, I actually wanted a female just because Rowan gets along better with girls, but then Riff came along and that was that. In hindsight I really should've held out for a female - not that I don't love Riffers to death (I do!) but they don't get along with each other nearly as well as I would've liked.

My experience in general has been that I like boys better. At work, I'd say at least 75% of my favorite client dogs are male. Probably even more than 75%, honestly. There are definitely girls that I'm head over heels for, too, but the vast majority of dogs I "click" with are boys. I couldn't even pinpoint differences really.

I would still like to own a female eventually but it's not that important to me. I will probably be telling my breeder that sex doesn't matter as long as the temperament is right.

For the record, people talk about how bitches can be moody, which I could see but I have never met a moodier dog than Rowan. He's as bad as a teenage girl sometimes!

 

[RBark]

I don't have a rigid preference. It really is situational. A good dog that fits is far more important than it's gender. But this would be the general guidelines.

It is generally based on what kind of pup I think would fit best with my own personality type, and the personality types of my dogs.

For whatever reason, I prefer my working dogs to be female. My last GSD, Priscilla, was female. And I am hoping my next one is as well.

However, non-working dogs (Huskies and Malamutes, in the rescue dog sense.. not those bred for mushing or adopted specifically for mushing) I don't care at all which their gender is. Kobe and Ollie were both boys, mostly by coincidence. I didn't put any thought into whether I preferred a male or female when looking for them.

If I ever got into working Huskies and Malamutes again, it'd depend entirely on pack dynamics, since they work as a group in mushing, so the dynamic is important.

But a dog to play fetch with, go to the lake, do obedience, competition, etc etc with? I definitely have a strong preference for female. I would be happy with a male too, if the litter is one I am strongly partial to and a female is unavailable.