Do you prefer male or female dog?

I guess I got lucky. I prefer females as mine are usually calm and cuddly. My males are usually the pistols. And that includes a toy poodle, a yorkie and numerous male shelties.

For a MS dog though, I'd probably go with a calm male. Males tend to feel what you're feeling more than females. As in, if I'm crying they wonder what's up.. a female usually doesn't care.
 
UPS should be bringing Shay's brain soon -- today's his 3rd birthday and I am just seeing glimpses of "not a kid anymore" in him. However, he is very clingy and very intuitive.

Melli is much more about business -- her business!

If Melli were the ONLY dog in the house, I would have a vastly easier time and would call her perfect. She is great with the cats. She just bullies Shay during feeding frenzies. Only flaw. But yes, she has waved that middle toe at me a few times.
 
The best dog I've ever had was a beautiful male sheltie/briard mix (looked like a light blond golden retriever with sheltie ears). He was sweet, loyal, loving, gentle, could be both energetic and calm, and was extremely smart. He could also be very stubborn at times, but that was a little more the briard than the sheltie in him.

My current male sheltie (9), while smart, and sweet to us (and has become more affectionate with age), is neurotic when it comes to people who visit our house. He barks and paces, and backs away from them. It takes forever for him to get used to them. He also barks at other animals he sees (as long as he's protected by a door, fence, or car - open them up and he's a coward). If we take him somewhere like the vet, he's a complete angel once he's inside, lol. It's basically something he does on his own territory. We got him as a puppy, like all our other dogs, but he was from a BYB (didn't know any better at the time) and my guess is genetics factor into some of his problems. He's very docile otherwise and sleeps/rests most of the day, only getting up every once in a while to "protect" the house or the yard from "intruders", lol.

I also have had three females - a sweet-to-humans/feisty-to-other-animals rescue terrier mix (but that's mostly a breed trait), and two very sweet, smart, energetic/playful shelties. My youngest (now 8 months) is less skittish around other people, but she's also got a little more spunk and very little sense of fear when it comes to canine personal boundaries, lol. She also loves to snuggle. My oldest female (4) is the sweetest girl ever (and the best greeter to her family) and given the chance, will eventually warm up to visitors and be very friendly. She loves to be petted, but isn't much of a snuggler. They both sleep on my bed at night.

I guess I think it all depends on the breed, lineage, upbringing, and personality of the dog. If they come from a good breeder and a good heritage (personality/temperament-wise), then I don't think it matters which gender you choose. They both can be great. My advice would be to pay close attention to the parents' temperament/personalities. They are what will give you an indicator of what the puppies will be like. Just my two cents.:smile2:
 
After 38 Shelties (No - I am not a hoarder, but I do foster Shelties for a licensed rescue), I don't really have a preference.

As stated before, I think it just comes down to the individual personality.

Yes, my experience has been that males are a little goofier and slower to mature . . . but they are so much fun! My male Tres, has turned into a very sweet boy, who will do anything I ask of him.

My females are a little more aloof (but then I am talking about rescues, so their past lives affect their ability to trust). Once the females learn to trust, they are sweet, loving companions also.

I have had some serious disagreements between some females in my house - higher intensity than I have ever had between any males. I suspect the females are just more protective?

Both genders have done well in obedience training, agility, etc.

So . . . I don't have a preference :biggrin2:

My only word of caution, which does not concern your friend who is considering an only dog, would be to watch two females very closely until they accept each other.
 
I've owned 3 girls and 1 male and I prefer males but sex is secondary to personality for me. My 'heart' dog was a male sheltie and, to me, he was about as perfect as a dog could get, maybe that has something to do with it. Also I think males generally have the most spectacular coats and are more 'owner focussed'. All my females have been very sweet/gentle, but they are much more about play and whoever will do what they want at the time is tops in their book.

Of course all that is based on very limited experience of my particular dogs. It really does boil down to personal preference.
 
Justicemom said:
All females have been pistols. They certainly appear to have there own agenda and they are lovely dogs but they need to know why on everything. Diva and Ember even sassed back. Diva told me on a regular basis what an idiot I was verbally. But here is the thing, explain what you want properly and the girls will work their hearts out for you, no backing down, no goofing off, deadly serious. It is just getting to that point that is the challenage.
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This. I think that I prefer females for this reason. It's challenging, but once you work through it, the relationship is that much stronger.

Of course, I only have two dogs (one male on female) so I don't have a big group to compare.
 
I like the feistiness of my females. My friends have males and those guys worship their owners. I'm just not into that. My girls can definitely have their own agenda, but I just consider it a challenge.

That said, My 2 girls could not be more different. Lexi is very feisty, demanding and gives me pause to wonder just who is training who here. Pyper is sweet, cuddly, quiet and very soft in the training department. I love them both for their individuality!!
 
I have always leaned toward the females but it's more because of looks rather than personality. Of course, you are talking to a terrier person here and we think bad is good :) I love the coat of a male but the expression is what always gets me. Good thing we have hubby who is definitely a male dog person or we would have had bitchy males running around. As for trainability and personality, I find the males softer in temperament and easier to screw up.
Speaking of miserable dogs, when I was at the vet on Monday there was a male lab, a male brindle something and a female boxer possibly pittie cross. The lab and the brindle things were nasty, nasty, dogs. The female gave them a look every time they acted out and they chilled. That's the other reason I love the girls. They have ALWAYS been the ones in charge around here!
 
I find it very interesting that the same comments are being said about males and females -- but it is the poster who prefers one or the other for that very reason.

You have the I love being a male dog's God and the I just tolerate that.

You have the I love the spirit of the female and the I just tolerate that.

In talking to this lady, she finally did admit that her previous two girls were very hard-headed and feisty and stubborn at times. Her main thing about a male is leg lifting. However, as the dog will be neutered relatively young (though not crazy early) that should be much less of an issue than they think. As a SD, I totally would take the male over the female, I think, especially knowing our area and how ignorant people are about an SD. Literally, people think your SD is there to amuse their kids in Wal-Mart. I have seen it and it is ugly. We shall see!
 
Sheltie4 said:
I have had some serious disagreements between some females in my house - higher intensity than I have ever had between any males. I suspect the females are just more protective?

Both genders have done well in obedience training, agility, etc.

So . . . I don't have a preference :biggrin2:

My only word of caution, which does not concern your friend who is considering an only dog, would be to watch two females very closely until they accept each other.
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That's funny because my issues have always been between my males. Granted, I have intact males and females. But the males tend to act ugly toward one another, and a fight is more likely to break out between them than my females. The females only tend to act ugly when they are getting ready to come in heat. Otherwise they tend to get along.
 
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