puppiluv Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Well, still talking about our hypothetical dog, but we're now thinking about which gender to choose. Given that our future puppy will be speyed/neutered probably around the 6 months mark, is there much of a difference in behaviour between males and females afterwards? Are there any particular concerns or behaviours regarding either sex that we should be aware of before making a decision? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 We tell all our puppy owners that its far more important to pick the right pup for there home not just sex. Open minded is the best way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoodleNut Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 We tell all our puppy owners that its far more important to pick the right pup for there home not just sex.Open minded is the best way I understand what you are saying but I have to agree with settrlv .. we told our breeder that we were not interested in gender only temperament and which puppy the breeder felt would be most suitable to our family/home. Mind you we spent quite a bit of time with the breeder and so she was able to see the children's responses and watch ours towards other litters (and full grown) she had before we got our Noodle. I think she made a great decision with our pup. Mind you both my husband and I had only ever had experience with males so this is a learning curve for us. We are not an 'us' of two anymore but and 'us' of 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puppiluv Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 Ok, so you're saying that the individual pup's temperament is more important than sex? Which I take would mean there's not a huge difference in the part gender plays in a puppy's development and behaviour? Is that only true for altered dogs? Does the age they're being speyed/neutered make a difference at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 spaying doesnt change the temp ,make them fat etc etc. The dogs nature is moulded by its owners.Breeders can sell a well rounded puppy but what the owners do with it after it goes home has the biggest influence . We personally do select or inform puppy owners which ones will best suit there family,etxended family,activities & expectations & home life. Afterall nothing worse than living with a dog for 15 years when it was obvious from day 1 it wouldnt be the right pup. We have had a few owners who pulled out as they felt another pup was prettier than the one we felt & that is fine with us as we have to live with our placements & we have been spot on so far If they for example they want a female but they pups(females) in our belief will not meet that criteria but the male will we will inform those waiting & give them the choice.If they are set on the sex then there is no guarantee because we would never place the wrong pup in the wrong home purely because of the sex. We are very particular with families with children especially young children that we will shortlist those pups we now will survive the children more so than some others.99% of the time all pups are suitable but any good breeder is fully aware that some pups will best suit a mature family than 4 kids under 6 etc etc. The other reality is no one nows what sexes there will be so we suggest be open minded but with a preferance but it truley is very important that the right pup is selected. Again a breeder will be aware of the pups that would suit an experienced previous breed / dog owner compared to a first time owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissindra Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 no real pluses or minuses between de-sexed boys and girls, some people just have a gender preference (for instance my mother always owned females) but those with a preference can have to do a bit more searching to find the perfect pup (if I'd been set on a girl when I looked at Boo's litter we would have had to decline because she was shy where Boo is outgoing) so yeah, you can pick a gender if everyone is particularly set on one over the other but more important than that is personality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielle Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 I agree with the above posts, its more about the personality of the individual puppy than the sex of it. In my experience as a groomer, I have found that the sex of the dog has no baring on how the animal will behave. (Of course its different with a whole male who thinks he is King Kong!). Out of my 4 dogs, two are male and two are female. One girl is really full on, and one is like a teddy bear. One of the boys is full on, and the other (recently passed) was a big sop! You cant rely on the gender to determine personality. Id suggest to spend some time with your breeder, talk to her about what you want out of your pupppy, because she is the best person who can advise you. Play with all the pups and let your children with them too. If you have no kids, keep in mind that one day you might and that it is important that the dog be well adjusted and good with little ones. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puppiluv Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 Wonderful! Thanks everyone, that's one less thing to have to think about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyB Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 I think it's all well and good to have a gender preference, but it should really come down to the individual pup and the temperament. I would prefer a male pup for my next dog, but that is because I already have a female and I've heard the dynamics are better with a male/female mix, but if there is a pup better suited to us I will not turn it down because it's a girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennyw74 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I always wanted a female because generally (but not always) they're a bit smaller than the male. Being a Cavalier, they're pretty dogs, too. When we spoke with the breeder, she also suggested a female would be better for our lifestyle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 In my experience, males tend to be snugglier and females are more independent. There will always be exceptions though and you need to consider the dogs on an individual basis. I have a preference for males now (always wanted females until Cody opened me up to a whole new world). If I was to add a third dog it would be a male but that is more to do with pack dynamics. Marking every tree on the walk can be annoying though, thank god Charlie doesn't do that, Cody used to drive me insane with the marking and he was desexed at 5months (started cocking the leg at 9months). Owning 2 females is usually the riskiest combination so if you intend to get a second dog down the track then perhaps a male would be better as you could go either way for the second dog. Once again always up to the individual personalities of the dogs and your pack leadership though. I would just provide the breeder with as much information as you can and let them match you up with a puppy, regardless of its gender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papi_Searcher Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 This is a really informative thread. Has put a few things in perspective about gender choice for my up coming pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldiesRgr8Poodles2 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 (edited) spaying doesnt change the temp ,make them fat etc etc.The dogs nature is moulded by its owners.Breeders can sell a well rounded puppy but what the owners do with it after it goes home has the biggest influence . I have to disagree on my personal experience with your first comment... My golden boy was 16months when I had him castrated and I saw a huge change in his personality adn he didnt gain weight but he was able to maintain it after that. Up to then I had real trouble keep his weight constant hecould ddrop kilos in a day or so just from being over stimulated following his manly duty. He sniffed the ground constantly and I couldnt break his scent and he started developing dominant agressive behaviour over other large breed males. Im not an inexperienced handler and I have pack leadership but still this continued. He was the best most relieable dog to walk for so long but he got the point where his behaviour was uncontrollable because his hormones were running him not his sence to list to his mum. Got him done forst week of jan now he is grade 4 obedience since feb because he is such a good boy.. he listens and is not trying to hunt on the ground all the time. My bitch however i saw no differnece in... She's a standard podle andShe is just as hard to keep weight on now as she was before i had her speyed so in that i will agree and her temperament was no different either. But my boy was a huge difference. But as i said this isnt a rule for everyone this is just my experience. I was dissapointed that id exhausted all the other options with my goldie because there was a possibly good show career for him that what i bought him for but what was most important was that we enjoyed eachother and we werent before the snip. My best friend however has a 8yr old cocker ex show and ex breeder who is the most well behaved dog all round... never dominant with other males, never gets out of his mind about females his worst attribute is that he cocks his leg in the salon when he comes in if we turn our backs. But he is a perfect example of a dog that it wouldnt change to have him castrated. And her bitch has lost weight after spey because when she first got her she was 8 weeks out of pup and just desexed and was still carrying alot of weight from the pups. Edited May 16, 2008 by GoldiesRgr8Poodles2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charli73 Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 We chose a female for our first puppy as they are smaller than the males (GSD) and we had been told that they were easier to train, less dominant although Im not sure if that would be correct, If your not fussed one way or the other let the pup pick you, whether it a boy or a girl! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOE Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 First you get a puppy that is from good breeders with good temperments, and fully tested for what is needed to be tested within the breed. Then you make the puppy to what it will be, humans mould animals into their end beings. Males are cheaper to desex and do not appear to get incontinence like females. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOE Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 We chose a female for our first puppy as they are smaller than the males (GSD) and we had been told that they were easier to train, less dominant although Im not sure if that would be correct, If your not fussed one way or the other let the pup pick you, whether it a boy or a girl! Good luck! I am sure that is not correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charli73 Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 (edited) Yes I didn't think so, we have only ever had Zoe so I wouldn't know... Next time though we will let the pup pick us, boy or girl.. Size was our main concern. I think it just depends on the temperament.. It was sure harder to name a girl thats for sure, we had heaps of names for boys! Edited May 18, 2008 by charli73 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyliegirl Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 I have noticed with dobermans that if you desex a male puppy at 6 weeks compared to 12 months, you will notice a big difference in conformation, male dobermans desexed after 12 mths are alot stockier while male dobes desexed at 6 weeks and very leggy and tend to have smaller builds. I haven't noticed it as much in females but I have noticed it alot in male dobermans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valby Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 What is the best age to desex a male pup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 (edited) What is the best age to desex a male pup? That question sparks a lot of debate here on DOL. There are a lot of other questions to ask to assist with the age decision What breed/size of dog What will dog be used for How responsible/capable is the owner of dealing with the responsiblity that comes with owning an entire male. If you search for 'desexing' here you will find a lot of threads that discuss it. As a dog sports person, I'd not desex a male before 14 months.. but that's me. Under no circumstances would I want to see a male desexed before about 6-7 months unless it came via a rescue. Edited May 28, 2008 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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