Male or female pup?

[Whichpup]

Hi, we’ve spent a looooong time researching puppies. We have decided on a cocker spaniel and are all set to pick up our pup when the kids break up from school in July.
Thing is we can’t decide whether we want a dog or a bitch. Basically we don’t mind either way but today some one at work mentioned that dogs spray. This has made me wonder if we’ll be better off with a girl.
Any thoughts on which is best?

[MultipleMum5]

I wanted a girl because they don’t mark, less chance of humping everything and as a breed females tend to be easier to train (not sure this is the case for cockers though).

I’m glad I went for a bitch

[Jaz32]

We always had boy dogs when growing up, my parents said they were easier... however I've heard lots of people say the opposite and that girls are easier!

When we get a pup in the future I plan to go for a girl though as I think in general they can be calmer....

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I have a strong suspicion that individual personality and upbringing will have more of an effect on a dog and behaviour than their sex.

Boys don't spray as such, but they do tend to scent mark - lots of little pees on walks to mark their "territory" (they usually keep trying even if the bladder is empty) whereas girls do fewer bigger pees.

I've got a boy (and had both sexes growing up) but if I was looking for another dog I wouldn't have any real preferences for male or female.

[DramaAlpaca]

I've no real preference. I've had three spaniel bitches & one male over the years. The only difference is that the male has been the most cuddly & affectionate.

[plantingandpotting]

We got a bitch mainly because of previous encounters with humping dogs.

[Floralnomad]

We’ve got a boy because that was what Battersea had on the day we went however even if I’d been selecting from a litter I think I’d have gone for a boy because IME of family dogs the boys have always had the nicest temperaments . My dog has never marked indoors and actually only cocks his leg on walks in the garden he doesn’t bother . He was a rampant humper pre neutering but was easily redirected onto more suitable pastimes .

[BiteyShark]

I wanted a boy dog because I really didn't fancy having to deal with a dog in season (e.g having to avoid other dogs for at least three weeks).

He has never humped anything nor marked anything in the house. I would choose a boy again.

[villainousbroodmare]

One relatively minor reason to choose a dog over a bitch in this breed is that it's much more straightforward to leave them entire if that suits you in other respects. Neutered cockers tend to get dull, candyflossy as opposed to silky coats.

[ContadoraExplorer]

We've got a male cocker spaniel and I could count on one hand the number of times I've seen him hump and its all been other dogs, whilst playing, for dominance.

He did look like he might hump a cuddly toy when he was a pup (it was like his body wanted to do it but his face said he had no idea why!) but, as a PP said, we redirected him to something else and he hasn't tried since he grew up. Our friend has a bitch who humps frequently, so it's not guaranteed based on their sex.

He also never marks, even when he was intact, he did start marking on walks but it was right before we had him neutered and he stopped immediately afterwards.

I think his behaviour is partly nature but also the amount of work we did when he was young and have continued throughout his adolescence.

Good luck choosing, getting a dog was definitely the best decision we have ever made!

[GCAcademic]

I've no real preference. I've had three spaniel bitches & one male over the years. The only difference is that the male has been the most cuddly & affectionate.

I’ve had a male and a female cocker and would agree with this.

[Whichpup]

Thanks for replying everybody. I think we’ll just choose a pup we fall in love with and then see if it’s male or female. Soooo excited!

[BiteyShark]

One annoying thing is my cocker has never cocked his leg. He still pees like a girl which means he destroys the lawn as it's so concentrated in one area 😭

[LizzieMacQueen]

I have 2 cockers, one each sex and out boy pees like a girl too! Pleased about that because I'm not keen on the leg cocking.

Bit of humping from both of them and I can also confirm the boy is by far more affectionate. Girl maybe was easier to train.

[Frannibananni]

We have always had male dogs but have had them desexed before they were adult as we were never going to breed from them. My parents had working dogs that we bred from growing up which has me always one want male dogs - the females were so messy.

[RaptorWhiskers]

I couldn’t have a boy dog. It grosses me out when their little “lipstick” comes out of their privates. I don’t want to see that.

[MissShapesMissStakes]

We got a male. Though Yahya by chance as I luckily got first pick of the litter and asked about the one with the temperament we most wanted rather than male or female. I’m glad we got a male. My friend had a female and had lots of issues with seasons and then the op is more major than the male neutering.
Also another friend with a female says her wee marks the grass as a pp said, males less likely - not sure if it’s because leg cocking is less accurate or to do with what’s in the wee

[Branleuse]

I would only have a bitch, as I cant bear it when boy dogs hump, get their lipsticks out, or get mega interested in women who are on their periods (ive had this happen with two seperate male dogs and its completely freaked me out)

[Spidey66]

My parents old dog was a female (as proved by having a litter of pups.) Didn't stop her humping legs though......

[Nesssie]

I've mostly had dogs- never humped, lipstick doesn't come out often and he has never been interested in women on periods - i'm pretty sure that not a specific dog thing. The bitch ruined my grass whereas the dog pees up the fence so saves it.
The dogs have been more affectionate (but that could be down to the breed/temperament of the individual)
Bitches you have to deal with seasons/phantom pregnancies until they are spayed. And I know lots of bitches that hump.

[SuperheroBirds]

I have one of each (golden retrievers). The boy dog never sprayed indoors. He did hump, but only his own dog cushion (which then got given the nickname “humpy cushion”), he never showed any interest in anything else. However, every evening, after his dinner, he would perform very enthusiastic oral on himself, and “finish” on the floor. It was both impressive and really gross. However, it stopped as soon as we had him done at 18 months old.

The bitch will have seasons until we have her spayed, and that is inconvenient and gross too.

In terms of personality, the boy dog is very gentle and calm. He is loving, but also likes his own space.
The bitch is more “spirited” aka energetic and loopy, but she is only 6 months old so she should calm down (he is 3 years old). She doesn’t much like her own space and is a proper cuddler.
But I do think the personalities may just be down to individual dogs.

This was a really long way of saying I would have either!

[Cherylshaw]

Bitches are easier to toilet train, but we got our male dog neutered at 6 months and have had no marking or humping (he is 11) he also pees like a girl.

[adaline]

Never had a female but our male is 15 months old.

Easy to train - he was dry in the house by 16 weeks - no accidents since. He's not neutered yet but we will be getting it done when he's a bit older as he goes to daycare. We're waiting until he's fully grown before we go down that route though.


He humped for maybe a fortnight when he was about 5 months old but we trained him out of it and he's never done it since. He does mark a lot on walks but it's not really a massive problem.

[SwimmingintheDeepBLUESea]

I have two male entire spaniels (1 show type cocker and 1 cavalier).

Marking- Neither mark indoors. Cavalier marks in garden and on walks. Cocker wees like a girl if he is desperate and marks in garden and on walks. Both went to do it once in the house around adolescence a sharp "ah ah" and straight outside - never happened again.

Humping - The cocker once tried to hump my leg - I pulled away and said "eurgh, yuck, disgusting" he looked sad (he is very sensitive to how happy people are/aren't) and never tried doing that to a human again. He did then once try to hump the cavalier - cavalier had a right go at him and cocker never ever humped anything again.
Cavalier had a stuffed duck that he humped every evening between the age of 9/10ish -18months old. Then just stopped.

Bro had a girl - the seasons are hard - so he neutered her. She marks worse than any male I know - has to wee anywhere other dogs have and if she goes in another dogs house will go and wee in that dogs bed!

With spaniels neutering really does ruin the coat. It's far easier to have an entire male than female (most entire males are no trouble). It was on that ground that I asked to reserve a male.

One thing you say is that your going to pick the puppy yourself - good breeders generally pick for you based on your family and the individual puppy temperaments (which really show from around 6weeks) and whether you reserved a male or female. Be cautious of a breeder letting you choose a puppy yourself.

[bluebluezoo]

II have a strong suspicion that individual personality and upbringing will have more of an effect on a dog and behaviour than their sex*

This. I have a boy dog who does none of the things in the o/p. Doesn’t even mark.

I chose a boy for the simple reason the neutering process is easier, and no having to go through a season if you don’t get them done beforehand- you have more time to schedule the appt.