Puppy picking and which sex should I go for?

[Pipsquiggle]

Hello I am hoping for some advice. We will be picking a puppy in the next couple of weeks.

We get 2nd pick after the breeder. The litter is 5 boys and 2 girls. At this stage I am assuming the breeder will pick 1 of the girls. As part of the puppy contract, we will neuter whichever puppy we get at the appropriate time.

I live in a house with DH and 2 DS (age 9 & 6), we want a great family pet who will be the boys buddy and great companion for the adults too.

Any advice on whether we should go for a boy or a girl and what characteristics should we look out for. Thanks in advance.

Please please please check this with your breeder. A lot of Aussie doodle breeders will have them neutered before they are 9 weeks old.
They will give you some BS as to why it’s best for the puppy and help with welfare but it’s a load of crap!

I’ve worked in the vet industry for 20 years and I can assure you it’s barbaric and unethical! It can cause temperament and physical problems with your dog in the future.
The vets I work at only see this in AUSSIE DOODLES!

No idea what vet is agreeing to do it but it goes against vet code.

Have a look in the breeders terms and conditions or ask them

Please don’t support any breeder that does this. They’ll say their pups all turn out wonderful but please don’t fall for it!!

In my head I would like a girl as I am in such a male dominant household and I think I could cope with the mess until we got her spayed

Are you going to sit around wearing pink, painting your nails and go shopping together?

What “girlyness” do you think a female dog will bring to your male dominated house?

Sex makes bugger all difference. Some people will do the usual girls are x and boys are y, but generally the dog is going to eat, shit, run about and sleep. You aren’t going to get a boy dog that finds farts funny or a girl that sits nicely and watches tv.

The only difference is the biology. A girl dog will have seasons, a boy dog will be on the hunt for a mate. Neuter and those issues go away.

@Popchips neutering at 9 weeks! That sounds horrific. I can assure you that absolutely doesn't at my breeder. In fact I have to sign a puppy contract to say I will neuter whichever puppy I choose at the appropriate time. Never heard of this kind of awful activity

@MsAwesomeDragon he is absolutely gorgeous! So happy for you x

I’m glad your Aussie doodle breeder doesn’t do this- I’ve not come across one yet that doesn’t. Google Aussie doodle ESN If your interested.

Good luck with your pup

I have a girl, she loves a good hump - so no guarantee it won't happen if you avoid the boy pups!

@bluebluezoo yes that's exactly what am planning to do

Seriously though, when I tell people we're getting a puppy, they immediately ask 'Are you getting a boy or a girl?' then they ask about the breed.

Even the breeder asked if I have preference. We have spoken at length with her and she has said that there wasn't a single puppy she would worry about placing in my family unit. There was 1 puppy who was slightly more boisterous and a quieter one - both of these were boys.

neutering at 9 weeks! That sounds horrific. I can assure you that absolutely doesn't at my breeder. In fact I have to sign a puppy contract to say I will neuter whichever puppy I choose at the appropriate time. Never heard of this kind of awful activity
I don’t know if they still do, but the RSPCA definitely used to do this!
On puppies and kittens as young as 6 weeks.
I have never heard of it being done to puppies (RSPCA aside) but I early neutering has been popular amongst cat breeders for quite some time.

I have an Australian labradoodle. He is a very chilled and cuddly boy. We didn't get to pick as all the other pups were spoken for but I have had girl dogs before and he seems much more easy going.

We just got a male puppy. Our female dog left those yellow dead grass wee circles on the lawn so I'm hopeful this won't happen with a male.

... but the RSPCA definitely used to do this!
On puppies and kittens as young as 6 weeks ...

I have only once come across this about 20 years ago. This was a local rescue - greater London.
Naturally, I walked away from a lovely puppy as it didn't feel right.
Got my one in a million doggy friend from Battersea Dog's Home instead, including a voucher for neutering "when the time is right".

@aurea what a handsome boy

@frogswimming

We just got a male puppy. Our female dog left those yellow dead grass wee circles on the lawn so I'm hopeful this won't happen with a male.

Definitely does happen with male dogs. If I want a nice lawn I water the area immediately after.

@frogswimming

We just got a male puppy. Our female dog left those yellow dead grass wee circles on the lawn so I'm hopeful this won't happen with a male.

Sorry to disappoint you but it happens with our male dog but he does pee like a girl having never cocked his leg and he is 5 years old this year.

@DiddlyWiddly

neutering at 9 weeks! That sounds horrific. I can assure you that absolutely doesn't at my breeder. In fact I have to sign a puppy contract to say I will neuter whichever puppy I choose at the appropriate time. Never heard of this kind of awful activity I don’t know if they still do, but the RSPCA definitely used to do this! On puppies and kittens as young as 6 weeks. I have never heard of it being done to puppies (RSPCA aside) but I early neutering has been popular amongst cat breeders for quite some time.

Neutering for kittens can be done as soon as 2 months/2lbs, and its totally safe. I've done TNR in the ME for 8 years and seen kittens as young as 14 weeks pregnant. Why anyone waits until 6mo+ to neuter their cats is beyond me.

You can’t compare neutering cats to puppies.

Again our clinic only see early neutering in Aussie Doodles

Neutering for kittens can be done as soon as 2 months/2lbs, and its totally safe. I've done TNR in the ME for 8 years and seen kittens as young as 14 weeks pregnant. Why anyone waits until 6mo+ to neuter their cats is beyond me
We will have to agree to disagree on that one I’m afraid.

The research (on dogs) suggests that early neutering can have disastrous consequences, particularly for large breeds.
I suspect that early neutering is actually similarly detrimental to cats but not enough research has been done yet.

14 weeks..?
I don’t think that is actually possible, are you sure you don’t mean 16 weeks?
The very earliest cats can go into heat is 16 weeks (4 months) and even then, that tends to usually only be seen in the oriental breeds.

@DiddlyWiddly

Neutering for kittens can be done as soon as 2 months/2lbs, and its totally safe. I've done TNR in the ME for 8 years and seen kittens as young as 14 weeks pregnant. Why anyone waits until 6mo+ to neuter their cats is beyond me We will have to agree to disagree on that one I’m afraid.

The research (on dogs) suggests that early neutering can have disastrous consequences, particularly for large breeds.
I suspect that early neutering is actually similarly detrimental to cats but not enough research has been done yet.

14 weeks..?
I don’t think that is actually possible, are you sure you don’t mean 16 weeks?
The very earliest cats can go into heat is 16 weeks (4 months) and even then, that tends to usually only be seen in the oriental breeds.

Well, all 6 of my pet cats were all neutered at that age, and they're all at least 7 years old now, and they're fine. Same as the dozens and dozens of kittens in feral colonies in compounds that I've lived in/TNRd on since 2013. You can disagree of course, but the 2 vets that I worked with (one from Germany, one from New Zealand) have no concerns about neutering kittens that early. And they've been at it a lot longer than me. And no, I'm not mistaken on the 14 weeks kitten. Yes, USUALLY, it's from 4 months, but it can and does happen earlier. No idea what breed the kitten was as she was a feral kitten. I was surprised as well. Now I don't take any chances. 2mo or 2lbs, whichever comes first. As well as my anecdotal evidence, there has been plenty of research about pediatric spaying and neutering, all positive.

I don't like males I'd personally go for a female.

Neutering for kittens can be done as soon as 2 months/2lbs, and its totally safe. I've done TNR in the ME for 8 years and seen kittens as young as 14 weeks pregnant. Why anyone waits until 6mo+ to neuter their cats is beyond me.

Not all vets will neuter at such a young age. Ours won't neuter until six months.

@cupsofcoffee

Neutering for kittens can be done as soon as 2 months/2lbs, and its totally safe. I've done TNR in the ME for 8 years and seen kittens as young as 14 weeks pregnant. Why anyone waits until 6mo+ to neuter their cats is beyond me.

Not all vets will neuter at such a young age. Ours won't neuter until six months.

I know. I just don't get why those vets are so against it with the benefits it brings.

We chose a male as the research I did specific to the breed said whilst females may pick stuff like toilet training up a bit quicker they can be quite stubborn with commands etc. Also it said that boys were more cuddly. Obviously the downside is the cocking the leg/humping but pugpup has only ever humped my leg (although he has cocked his leg up a few people which is mortifying). He has just been neutured so will be interested to see if any of that changes.

There was only 1 boy in the litter anyway but we specifically looked for a fawn boy. When we met them he was the only one of the 3 pups that came over to us to play and cuddle so it was perfect. He is a live wire but super cuddly (clingy). Luckily he's really clever so training has been relatively easy, we had issues toilet training that were really our fault but as soon as we got our act together he picked it up really quickly.

We went for a male puppy, I specifically wanted a boy for the same but opposite reason to you op, it's all girls in our house otherwise!

I think if I got another dog I'd probably go for female tbh, our dog (as perfect as he is 😉) can be grumpy with other male dogs and does cock his leg constantly on walks.

I'm not sure whether this would improve on neutering but because he can be nervous I'm not keen on neutering him yet (he's nearly 2 yo.)

When I first met the litter of puppies they were 3 weeks old and the personalities were already apparent. I liked my boy as he seemed the calmest and quietest however in hindsight I can see that some of that was nervousness.

I agree with going for the middle temperament pup (not the most excitable but not the quietest either.) if in doubt go for the one that appears confident and sociable.

I personally think regardless of what sex or personality you go for the biggest factor in terms of the dog you'll end up with is how well you socialise the puppy. Even with my nervous puppy we really worked hard on socialising him every day and now have a dog that will happily go anywhere. He does get grumpy with other male dogs but we've trained him now to ignore and walk on.

UPDATE - we chose our puppy today! It was wonderful. The whole litter were very content and the mum was just amazing. We went for a girl but to be honest I think any of the puppies would have been a good fit for us

Wow, that's some mix! Personally I'd go for a girl as give for a whole host of neurotic dogs in there and if you're needing to neuter on schedule this can make a nervy make worse if done at the normal time. I'm sure there are some downsides off females though too so I really it's just whatever you fancy. You're never going to know what your getting with that combo anyway