Tell me about your boy dogs....

[RaggieDolls]

I've just found out that my new puppy will be a boy due to mix of litter, my position on list etc. I grew up with bitches, as did DH. Our only shared dog was a bitch. We've never owned a boy dog!

Please tell me about your dogs... especially if you've had both. I'm fascinated to know if we will notice much of a difference.

This isn't a 'gender disappointment' thread. I think we would have chosen a bitch because that's what we've had before but I know DH is really excited that we are getting a dog this time.

I have one - he is amazing and I love him! I have only gone for male animals (previously 2 male cats) I just like male animals (I don't mean I don't like female ones!) I do prefer their physical simplicity. Compared to all the things that can go wrong with female dogs. I imagine female dogs can be a bit tricky - moodwise?? My sister, like you, was expecting a female dog and also ended up with a male. He's lovely but he is so, so timid and seems to struggle with separation anxiety. I don't know if that has anything to do with his sex.

Ha ha. You've just described my DCs there @Dontfuckingsaycheese. DD is definitely trickier mood wise than DS

We've always had bitches, but have a dog this time.
He has totally got his own personality and quirks, but I presume that's individual not sex related.
He obviously doesn't have seasons though, which is a plus.

We have a four month old lab and he's great! He likes to hump his bed occasionally, but other than that he fits in well with my four DS's and husband!!

PS we will be getting him 'done' at 9 months and the vet told us that this does calm down make dogs - although he's pretty chilled anyway!

They pee all over their front legs sometimes

I've only had boy dogs and I've wondered if you have to check more careful for stealth poos with girls, if ddog squats you know you need to pick up, with girls do you have to check!?

My dog squats, has never cooked his leg.
Wee squats are a totally different pose to poo crouches.

Mine has never humped anything and pees like a girl which means my lawn has lots of pee burns on it.

Only have had boy dogs so can't compare.

I think it depends on the breed of dog but boy dogs seem a bit more protective.

Nope gender makes no difference beween boys and girls apart from the obvious. Male dogs may be a bit bigger in some breeds.

I have bitches that hump and males dogs that never cock their legs, bitches that are sweethearts and very caring and the same with boys.

You get clever girls and clever boys, energetic boys and energetic girls, etc

Sex makes no difference to trainability or temperament.

@Parkandride

They pee all over their front legs sometimes

I've only had boy dogs and I've wondered if you have to check more careful for stealth poos with girls, if ddog squats you know you need to pick up, with girls do you have to check!?

Something tells me that you've experienced that fairly recently

My long haired cat had diarrhoea the other day so I can sympathise!

I've got both and there's not a great deal of difference tbh, they are both as loving, the obvious seasons, weeing differences. To castrate a boy is a much simpler operation. I find the female is more 'boss' so you may find the male will be less dominant and more protective towards the female. My male dogs don't take too much notice of the female when she's in season but they were castrated at an early age and she's younger. Males are noisier and more territorial, they bark at the postman more than she does

@PollyRoulson

Nope gender makes no difference beween boys and girls apart from the obvious. Male dogs may be a bit bigger in some breeds.

I have bitches that hump and males dogs that never cock their legs, bitches that are sweethearts and very caring and the same with boys.

You get clever girls and clever boys, energetic boys and energetic girls, etc

Sex makes no difference to trainability or temperament.

This is what I know must be true on a logical basis, I've just never really given it much thought before.

I can't say there is much difference between my male and female cat. If anything he is more affectionate and a bigger personality but that is more likely to be the way he is than down to his sex.

I love my boy dog, the only downside is sometimes he cocks his leg for a wee but then decides he needs a poo so craps all over his leg 🙈🤣

@PollyRoulson

Nope gender makes no difference beween boys and girls apart from the obvious. Male dogs may be a bit bigger in some breeds.

I have bitches that hump and males dogs that never cock their legs, bitches that are sweethearts and very caring and the same with boys.

You get clever girls and clever boys, energetic boys and energetic girls, etc

Sex makes no difference to trainability or temperament.

This.

I’ve had a mix of male and female dogs over the years and would say any differences have been down to individual personality, rather than gender.

Incidentally, none of my male dogs (all different breeds/mixes) has ever humped. I have also had a female that lifted her leg to wee and two males that never did.

If pushed, I suppose my personal preference these day would be for boys, but only because I would rather not have to deal with seasons. However, our next pup is going to be a breed that has very small litters and I will be over the moon with either gender when the time comes. I think our breeder matches specific pups to the right families anyway and having seen and been in contact with the families of successful matches of pups from previous litters, I would definitely trust her judgement.

I’m amazed any vet would say neutering will calm a dog down. It doesn’t, it’s growing up which calms them down.
A dog’s personality has very little to do with its sex.

I’m amazed any vet would say neutering will calm a dog down

It does, by castrating a male dog, the testosterone levels will fall over the following 6 months and stay lower than a dog who hasn't been castrated. This will usually result in less aggression and a calmer nature

Boy dog pees on his belly sometimes
Boy dog is needier than the girl
Boy dog is far more loving than the girl
Boy dog is a soft touch
Boy dog is a mummy's boy

Girl is the boss 🤣

Thank you. You are all telling me what I suspected... it is all about the dog's personality rather than it's sex.

My boy pees up the fence which means my lawn is in perfect condition.

And he’s never peed on his legs either.

Potentially when out walking you may notice they stop to sniff/mark more often.

Morgan took a very casual pee up DP's leg (poor guy was in shorts, too) about a month after I brought him home. That never happened with DP's lady-Labrador!

He also never humps anything physical, but does have an involuntary air-hump of up to about 15 seconds when he's particularly pleased about something –also not anything we've experienced before with ladydogs!

VERY entertaining, though, all of it

We have two boys. Both daft as brushes and very loving. My parents had bitches, but I've only fostered puppy girls and couldn't really pick out a consistent difference between them tbh.

When do most dogs start cocking their leg? Pugpup is 4.5 months and does a cute little forward bend thing to wee. He always looks us straight in the eye when doing it especially when doing it indoors

We specifically picked a boy, I'm not entirely sure why but I have 2 DS and 2 boy cats so it felt like we would always get a boy dog. I did a bit of reading about boys/girls specifically with that breed and there was a few mentions of training potentially being slightly easier longer term as they are less strong willed but that females may pick stuff up quicker. We have been lucky as actually he picks stuff up really quickly, toilet training has been slow but there are a number of reasons for that.

He has a lovely, cuddly temperament.

Just watch where they cock their legs.... we had several embarrassments including a trouser leg and someone’s car. Our female seems more anxious than our male who would happily sleep downstairs and stay home alone.

We’ve always had girls but picked a male rescue dog.
He’s amazing. So loving, playful. Loves my dh to bits but also loves and cuddles me. Protects me on walks. Loves his ball games. Seems more affectionate then a girl dog.