… to think that correcting people about the sex of your dog is idiotic?

[Snuffalo]

Me to other woman at park with fluffy dog similar to mine- ‘aaah it’s so cute!’ Woman- ‘ACTUALLY he’s a boy. What’s yours?’
Me ‘um... female. Ok, well, must find the bin! ’ (Waves with bag of shit in hand)

Some things to say back I thought of later:

‘Surely it’s a man not a boy, he’s got a bit of grey in the muzzle!’

‘No idea what the sex is, never checked’

‘Don’t worry I’m not going to try to get them to breed here in the park’

Seriously though unless you are actively trying to breed dogs the sex is utterly irrelevant and I hate the fact that gender roles are so endemic that people try to push them on animals to the point that they get ANNOYED if you ‘misgender’ their pets.

Are you sure they're not just worried that your dog is going to try and hump their dog?!

Surely it’s a man not a boy

Love this!! 😂

silly woman , unless she was looking to sire hers?

Dunno, all dogs and horses are male, cos mine are. 🤣 I don't really care, but if someone corrects me, I'm respectful enough to then say her or whatever.

Jeez i think you are reading into this way too much honestly, i think calling a pet "it" is pretty rude. That just makes them seem like objects instead of living beings.

WTF are you on about?

Why are you even talking about gender roles?

Of course the sex of the animal is important, some dogs behave differently with other male dogs and with bitches, they have different health issues.

‘No idea what the sex is, never checked’
Really? You’ve never checked what sex your dog is? You have had to neuter it, so presumably you would have known then, at the very least.

Honestly, WTF?

Your come backs are odd but then so is this whole post

If you just call all dogs "puppy" there's no issue. I don't speak to owners, only the puppies. That way nobody can correct me because puppies couldn't care less if you misgender them so long as there are treats in your pocket.

I wouldn’t even give this a second thought.

I’m unintentionally sexist with dogs. If it’s a tough breed (Rottweiler, Doberman etc) I assume it’s a bloke. If it’s a small teddy bear type thing I assume it’s a girl. But then I don’t put much thought into it!

I usually ask if someone’s dog is a he or a she and their name. It’s a bit impolite to call a dog “it”. However I wouldn’t have reacted like the person you met

Why wouldn’t you correct them? ‘Aw, he’s so cute, what’s his name?’
‘Oh, her name is Flossy’
This happens all the time [shrug]

People are always mistaking my female dog for a male - I rarely say anything regarding her gender other than when they ask me what ‘his’ name is.

How can a dog even have a gender?

Someone once asked me if my dog was a dog, I was totally confused and my dh was laughing at the look on my face!!!

I nearly said no he’s an elephant but my dh chipped in with yes he is a dog. As in not a bitch

Chardonnaysprettysister of course I know the sex of my dog, it was a joke. And the health issues of either dog are clearly not in play in a 20 second interaction in the park. ‘Gender’ is such an ingrained part of society that people gender EVERYTHING including dogs. It fucking pisses me off. Female dogs don’t prefer pink collars and male dogs don’t prefer balls to stuffed toys but people like to pretend they do. The dogs are an example of an endemic societal problem, not the problem itself. I understand abstract concepts are hard for some people but please do try to keep up.

I thnk she was just correcting you because you called her dog IT

Lol. How DARE you not notice my manly dog, are you saying my dog is effeminate?

I get where you are coming from OP and enjoyed your too late comebacks.

You do add to the societal problem you talk about by trivialising them.

And while health issues might not be immediately relevant, even though having a bitch in season definitely is, behaviour very much depends on the sex of the dog.

It can be very important though if a bitch is in season or like my old dog they have a problem with unneutered makes.

I find it weird when people start saying ‘bitch’ a lot and find it hard not to laugh “yes she’s a bitch, I find bitches far easier to deal with, always had bitches” I might be a bit childish

My MIL on holiday called every single creature ‘he’ to my toddler dd when we were on holiday, e.g. oh look at the cat he’s back, he’s a big fish isn’t he, peppa pig was he, our new female dog with a female name, he, I bit my tongue, as I know she meant well but why does the default have to be he all the time??

My dog is bi. Or gay. He went nuts over another male dog in the pub tonight, trying to get to his bits etc. Really straining every time I pulled him back. So embarrassing, no bloody manners at all. The other dog just stood there and let him do it and the owner and I just laughed.

Actually I assume he was a bit confused and thought it was a bitch in heat or something, perhaps the other dog was giving out weird smells, I don’t know. Never seen him keep leaping back at a dog like that.

Scafell

"It" - how very rude.

I have butch bitches, they're always being mistakem for boys by strangers. I don't think they're offended.