So what do you like better (to own): male dogs or female dogs??

[Johanna]

What are the advantages to male dogs. We always had a female dog (fixed), but may consider a male dog. Though, all I can picture is humping and spraying :confused:.

But, i have been told that females and males get along better than female and female?

what do you think.

should i even consider a 2nd dog? experiences??

thanks

[beansprouts]

Are you planning to keep your dogs intact? Once they're fixed I really don't think it matters. Male dogs are generally less expensive, both to purchase and neuter. I think the female of a breed is usually smaller.

[Eleni]

I know some say there isnt a difference....but I love the males...mine have always been neutered. They are goofy and sweet and lovable. My females were sweet too....but there is a reason the term for them crossed over to refer to a uh..bratty woman.

BTW the humping is an equal dog gender thing...they do it as a sign of dominance. My females were always worse than the boys.

[BamaTanya]

but, of the two puppies we adopted, the male is the friendlier, the more responsive and affectionate, and the biggest baby. We had always had a female before, but he pushed his way into our lives at the shelter, and we're in love. (We love the female, too; I just wasn't sure I wanted a male!)

 

The SPCA worker said (and I don't know if it's always true) that, if they're neutered before they learn those behaviors, they aren't likely to do them later . . . Ours were both altered before the adoption.

[Johanna]

So, how soon can you get them neutered??? We definitely would do that.

How hard is it to have a "2nd" dog?

[Tammy]

And....regardless if they are neutered or not....they still feel the need to pee on EVERYTHING to mark their territory....and they do have a discharge that, of course is worse with bigger dogs....than smaller.

 

Tammy

[WagsWife]

I won't own another female dog. Now, I know this was an extreme case, but we had a female bulldog. We got her as a puppy, and she grew up to be crazy! She was *very attached to my husband, and would not allow me or our other dog (male yorkie) near my DH. If I even slightly raised my voice to him, she would come after me. She was moody, she would attack our yorkie...and then stalk him the rest of the day. It was insane! When I was pregnant with our oldest DD, we decided that we could not take a chance of her hurting the baby, so we gave her to a rescue. We were able to bring home a male bulldog from the same rescue...and he was fabulous! All of our male dogs have been sweet, goofy, and easy going. I like boys :) I have never had a problem with male dogs marking things...but we have always gotten them fixed before they learned that.

[astrid]

So, how soon can you get them neutered??? We definitely would do that.

How hard is it to have a "2nd" dog?

 

 

Neuter at six months.

Second dogs are wonderful. Really. Dogs are pack animals, and do better with a companion of the same species with whom they can hang. Male/female combination (neutered and spayed, respectively, of course!)

 

JMHO, YMMV,

Astrid

[nukeswife]

I have a female sharpei/lab mix who's 11 years old and a male pug who's 3 years old. I had the Pug neutered when he was about 6 months old. We have never had a problem with him peeing on anything except the usual puppy accidents. He learned to go outside quickly, much more so than our female dog (she was a shelter dog so came already fixed) he is very lovable and a real clown although I'm told that's a character of the breed. My parents always told me to get a female, they won't hump, pee on things, and wander off. Well I've had the exact opposite problem. My female is the wanderer of the bunch and she's always the one to try humping the male, although neither have ever done this to a person. My male does pee on things outside but very rarely and when he is just going to the bathroom and not marking something he actually squats like a female. It's kind of funny.

 

We're definitely happy with our male.

[Gamom3]

We do not ever want a male dog! We have always had female.

Male dogs hike their legs and pee all over things..YUCK

 

Funny thing just happened..yesterday dc found a dog..it was a male! They were begging to keep him and we said NO. We ended up putting him in the backyard until today. I was afraid he would get hit by a car and I had posted on our subdivision yahoo group that we had him in case he just happened to get loose.

This morning dd comes running in and tells me that one of our plants we just planted is dead. I did not understand because I just was outside and didn't see any. I asked her which one, she said that one the dog peed on would be dead by morning!

 

Unfortunately, animal control came and picked him up this afternoon.

 

 

Female have their times where you have to have them in a doggy diaper for about 3wks. That is the only time that I can't stand having female dogs!

[Rose in BC]

We loved him. He was a basset hound. We got him a year after we first brought a female basset hound home. He was much friendlier than she and very, very lovable. He was a bit more territorial with his "home" but overall a nice dog. We did not have marking problems. He marked, but only when we were walking outside.

 

I think each dog is an individual case. You can have good males and bad males. Good females and bad females.

[Lucy in Australia]

always male. I've seen too many female dogs of different breeds act crazy & unpredictable. We have 2 male dogs now, a Norwegian Elkhound and a Golden Retriever. They are totally different in personality but they are both wonderful, especially with kids (both our and visitors).

[RhondaM.]

What are the advantages to male dogs. We always had a female dog (fixed), but may consider a male dog. Though, all I can picture is humping and spraying :confused:.

But, i have been told that females and males get along better than female and female?

what do you think.

should i even consider a 2nd dog? experiences??

thanks

 

I've had male dogs before and as long as you get them neutered before all those raging hormones come in they will always squat and pee like a girl dog. No hiking the leg and peeing all over everything in site.

 

(At least this has been my experience with the males I've had...and this is what I've heard from others. I'm sure there are some dogs out there ready to make a liar out of me though.)

 

I'm not sure that 6 months old is early enough...if you talk with different vets, you'll get different answers. Some are ok with neutering them earlier. It depends on the breed of dog too. (Smaller dogs seem to mature earlier than larger breeds.) Vets also want the pup's testicles to have both come down.

 

Just don't put off getting him neutered and you should have no problem with a male.

[Kathy in MD]

I'd want to wait until the dog was full grown or nearly full grown before neutering him. So for the smaller dogs that might be 6 months. For larger breeds, that might not be until they're 12 or 18 months.

 

As far as marking is concerned, I had a male that wasn't neutered till he was 4. Prior to that he'd mark inside only in new places. Afterwards, he'd only mark outside. My other neutered male, neutered at 11 mo, only marked outside. My 5 month old puppy still stretches like a horse. I understand that he'll never learn to lift his leg even though we don't plan on neutering him before he turns 2, unless he sees other male dogs doing it.

[Vida Winter]

They are cousins, from the same breeder. The female is a bit larger than the male. They get along well. The female dominated the male when he was young but that is turning around a little now, and she is the less dominant. The breeder thought that a female/male combination would work better than a female/female combination.

 

I have to say that the male dog is the love of my life. He is an exceptionally great dog. The female is a wonderful dog as well, but the male and *I* have bonded like no other pair. The female is a bit aloof and likes to be by herself a lot.

 

About "humping" behavior - the only time it has been a nusiance is when the female tries to hump *me*. The male has never tried that although I have seen him try it with the female. FYI they were both "fixed" at 6 months.

 

Take this for what it's worth, my experience with my two beloved dogs.

[umarider]

Male or female, we've had both. Either is fine, and both have their quirks. Males lift their leg to pee, but females pee can burn nasty brown spots in your lawn. It's possible to train dogs to go in a specific area, so either problem can be solved by training or limiting the dog's area of access.

 

From my experience, male dogs tend to bond more with women while female dogs bond with men (Just ask DH who has returned from deployments only to have to fight to reclaim his side of the bed!:))

 

We started out w/ a male pound-puppy and two years later adopted an abused female pound-puppy. Both did very well, although the female was much shyer (probably a result of having been abused). Two years after losing the male to cancer (I still cry about this), we adopted a male Belgian Sheepdog who was a rescue, but hadn't been abused. He and the female got along great as long as he recognized that she was in charge! She wasn't mean or aggressive, she'd just stare at him until he moved and gave her the choice spot in the room!

 

Dogs are individuals. You can't lump them into categories and say "all males do this" or "all females are like that". It's that individuality that makes them a joy to have around. Best advice would be to research the breed before you get the dog. Some breeds have behaviors that are better suited to certain situations than others (aggression, trainability, bonding, etc.)

[Kelly on the prairie]

We have three dogs and I consider myself a tried and true dog woman! Any combination of dog can work...or not. They are a lot like humans in that their personalities play a huge role in how they treat one another. I will say that male dogs tend to treat female dogs with more respect than other males. In part this is pack mentality. You gotta get in good with the girls!

 

Our two males (Lab and Lab mix) are both strong personaltied and from time to time they will go through a week of fighting more to test for Alpha. However, in the end me and my shoe always come out on top:glare:! Yes, I am the Alpha...coo, coo, cachoo!

[Trivium Academy]

I've never had a female dog, but I've had two loyal, hearts of gold male dogs. I doubt I will ever have a female dog, when we looked for a new puppy I only wanted a male. I don't know for sure but I think the primary owner needs to have the opposite sex, like a man should have a female dog and a woman needs a male dog to create that special bond between them. Like I said, I've never had a female dog though to know for sure, I'm just voicing my inexperienced opinion that is really based on nothing but instinct.

 

Oh and our 8 month old g.retriever has not been neutered yet, that'll happen after we move. Our vet recommended waiting until 9 months to 1 year of age.

[Soph the vet]

Neutering should be done around 6 months if you want to avoid some of that humping and marking behavior in males. I'm not sure where some of the older recommendations are coming from as behavior/aggression issues may be a problem if you wait until 12-18 months to neuter your dog. Larger breeds will still get to their full size, may take longer, if neutered earlier according to studies I've read.

Spaying a female needs to happen around 6 months as well, before her first heat. This will significantly decrease her risk of breast cancer. Even before her second heat there is a decrease in risk but after that it doesn't really change.

[Kathy in MD]

Neutering should be done around 6 months if you want to avoid some of that humping and marking behavior in males. I'm not sure where some of the older recommendations are coming from as behavior/aggression issues may be a problem if you wait until 12-18 months to neuter your dog. Larger breeds will still get to their full size, may take longer, if neutered earlier according to studies I've read.

Spaying a female needs to happen around 6 months as well, before her first heat. This will significantly decrease her risk of breast cancer. Even before her second heat there is a decrease in risk but after that it doesn't really change.

 

My initial distrust of early neutering came from a friend's cat that was neutered too young and his head was abnormally small. My roommate, a vet student at the time, told me early neutering was why his head was too small.

 

From my limited experience, aggression is more a function of the individual dog's personality, breeding and upbringing. My intact male was less aggressive, though more dominant, than my male that was neutered at 11 months. They were of the same breed. I've also recieved reports from others with intact males from this same breed that the dogs are not unnecessarily aggressive. (Both the males and females are territorial, but they are still a working breed bred to be territorial. As a result, they will drive off dogs and other animals that don't belong on *their* farm and will guard against humans that are behaving strangely.)

 

Here's also a link to a summary report of the literature on the health effects of neutering and spaying. http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

 

Personally, I'd be neutering my current dog at about 1 year if we weren't considering breeding him. The gene pool for this breed is rather small.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I notice more of a difference in individual personalities not associated with whether they are male or female. Some of mine have been spayed or neutered but many have not. I breed and showed Shelties and Italian Greyhounds for many years. I have never had a problem with dominance since I make sure they know I am the pack leader. I have had both males and females I would clone to have their personalities back in my life. If I had to give a slight edge to one of the other I would same female but this is do to a reason on my part. We love to give our dogs belly rubs and well the female offers a shall I say a smoother surface to rub :blushing:

[Danestress]

It seemed to be the concensus that a female will accept a male puppy more easily than another female. For whatever reason, male puppies are more willing to let the older female be dominant.

 

I'm sure that, as with people, every dog is different and these are generalizations, but that's what I was told over and over, and so I made sure I got a little boy puppy.

 

I don't think there are really clear differences between male and female dogs. My female was more energetic, less snuggly, but also more focussed on me (with her eyes and attention during training - the male is more focussed in terms of following me everywhere and wanting to sit RIGHT next to me). I've heard others say similar things.

 

Both are good. I always thought females were preferable, but I adore my male dog and there is no spraying problem. My humping isn't a male dog activity - it's dominance activity. You will see female dogs humping too. Both will protect your home. I've read that male dogs are more likely to attach to multiple family members, whereas females tend to pick one person, but all my dogs have always "picked" me, much to my children's chagrin.