… 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.

Two of. 🙄

Is this post going to turn into one of these gender neutral things but for dogs ? This is a strange thread.

People always assume my bulldog is a boy. Gets annoying having to correct them all the time tbh. Especially when I have done it 20 times before!

DD at 6 was very annoyed at me when she realised that there were such creatures as male cats and female dogs. Apparently I’d never corrected her calling all cats ‘she’ and all dogs ‘he’! My bad!

@LarryGreysonsDoor - Cats are all female and dogs are all male. Fact.

I agree with you, despite the fact I have 2 bitches😁

I did once correct someone who referred to my dog as he. There were a few of us standing near her stall at a community event. She had a box of books on the ground and said to me that she hoped he wouldn't wee on them.

As I was chatting to someone else, I wasn't paying too much attention so just said "oh, she's female". She repeated that she hoped she wouldn't wee on them and I realised she thought I was being ridiculously precious about my dog's sex. I apologised profusely and explained that females squat to wee (generally) so she would have had to climb on top of the box of books to wee on it.

If they're spayed/neutered, they don't technically have a sex anymore

I think that's quite the way it works. They just don't have sex anymore.

The sex of my child isn't relevant to any one but if someone called him and IT I'd correct them. I guess it's the same thing in essence

I always ask the sex of a dog if it's not terribly obvious when meeting a new dog owner (I exercise echtpooch in a big off-leash area so lots of dogs). It's just polite.

My own dog is very pretty and his coat means his sex is not obvious, and he doesn't cock his leg yet. He is invariably called she by strangers, I think because of the prettiness.

Rabbits are androgynous? Have you seen the size of a Buck's bollocks?

If they're spayed/neutered, they don't technically have a sex anymore

So a woman who is sterilised isn't a woman?

They just don't have sex anymore

Apparently they do:

www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/mounting-and-masturbation

I previously owned a big dog, that some people find scary. She was always referred to by strangers as "He" "could you keep him away from me" or "are your controlling him?"
I know have a "handbag" dog, and she's universally considered a "she".

I don't care, but if I'm asked a question, I'll answer it:
"what's his name?"
"her name's xxx"

When my DD was a babe, she looked very much like a boy (mostly bald, and what she had was white-blonde). PLUS we inherited loads of clothes from a male cousin (think LOTS of dark blue). Didn't bother me one iota, but it drove DH to distraction went out and brought lots of clothes that made her look like a miniature hooker! Now THAT upset me!

now

So a woman who is sterilised isn't a woman?

Yes, that's exactly what I said and meant. Because people and animals are exactly the same. 🙄 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

I’m only concerned when she’s coming into heat then it becomes more of an issue. I also am attached to my dog and as sex ( to me) is part of her identity it would pee me off if someone called her it! I don’t expect anyone to guess her sex though and most people think shes male.

Why don't they have a sex any more? It's a hysterectomy, they're still female. (Don't know what the male version would be. Eunuch? It's too early to think logically about dog balls.)

Although it's not a huge deal, it's not very pleasant to refer to someone's dog as "it". Someone's pet is a part of their family, so using he or she is more agreeable and humanising than saying "it". And yes, people humanise their pets. That's pretty normal.

Personally I always refer to my cat as "she" and would do so even if someone referred to her as "it". I wouldn't really care that they had said it, but I would continue to use "she".

My dog has chosen to wee like a girl, what should I call him/it? (Other than a messy smelly fluff ball I have to bathe weekly)!

I understand abstract concepts are hard for some people but please do try to keep up

You sound charming OP. Bet you're a right laugh in real life 🙄

Well this thread is getting interesting. Came on to say I was surprised when a neighbour said of my very small, delicate, pretty little female cat “he’s a friendly little chap”. Everyone else (correctly) assumes female.

My dog has a pink collar with her very feminine flower name spelt in diamanté letters and people still call her a boy. She's deaf though, so she doesn't get offended.

but my bitch prefers dogs so in that scenario it is good to know.

My dog often gets mistaken for a bitch, I imagine for the reasons a pp said - thinking of cute, fluffy dogs as female and tougher dogs as male. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, but if I'm having a chat with someone I will correct them (in a friendly way) just because it would feel weird for me to talk about him with female pronouns.

"I understand abstract concepts are hard for some people"
Not sure what's abstract here - either it's a male or female dog.
What generally works for me is if it has a dick, it's a he. If not, she. Easy.

My DDog has the biggest pair of 🍒no fecking plum emoji anyone who called him a bitch is rather blind (huge honestly).

I would be slightly offended at by dog being called “it” I would be going home and moaning to DH that someone called poor geekdog “it”.

Strike out fail