Poll Question: Another dog question to add to my research! I've always heard if you're a female, get a male dog, and if you're a male, get a female dog. Kind of a moot point since my husband and I are getting a dog, so if this is true it'll just prefer the other. And yes, I know each dog is different. Just curious! Please comment if you'd like to offer your reasoning. Choices: Same gender of Human and Dog is Perfect! Same gender of Human and Dog is Disaster! Opposite gender of Human and Dog is Perfect! Opposite gender of Human and Dog is Disaster! Since M and F Human, Get M and F Dogs Doesn''t matter whatsoever

Well I have 6 dogs 3 females and 3 males and my females love my husband and my males stick by my side :)

I haven't heard that the dogs prefer humans of an opposite gender. I just know that I prefer NEUTERED male dogs. Most of the female dogs I've met live up in someway to being a "female dog"(the "b" word). I've met some lovely females too, but my boys are momma's boys. None of them are markers inside the house, which I know is a reason many people prefer females - but my boys are fixed and training can nip that behavior quick if its caught early.

we have one of each at home and our girl MJ really loves my husband. I mean i get the "bitch get away from my man" look every time I kiss him. Our boy King Edward is the exact opposite and has a thing against men. If a man is in the yard or in the kitchen I have to put my hand on them and tell poor Eddy that the person is okay or he will stay in freak out mode. In the same breath, if a woman ever tried to break into my house with only him in the way I could be robbed blind without so much as a peep.

NayluBaby - what breeds are your dogs? I'm developing a theory involving the sort of characteristics that are bred into some dogs by human choice or naturally. Trying to decide if maybe this sort of opposite gender behavior is common to sporting, non-sporting, herding, etc. My sister had a female blue heeler that wasn't aggressive, but was indifferent to women and adored men. Then my childhood dog was a part shihtzu mostly mutt that hated everyone equally.

Theories?

sjones- you have a weimaraner which is a hunting dog and a german shepherd which is a herding dog, right? Is that all the breeds you own?

I am a female and I seem to like boy dogs better, and we bond easier. Girl dogs are fine, but I don't like them as much for some reason. My dad always bonds better with females, but he still likes males.

Oh see I don't mean to confuse the argument here but I prefer female dogs over males. I found it easier to train females because they were a bit more "grounded". BUT keep in mind, I like super calm dogs and the first few years are a twee bit harder with males in my experience. Not all males...and certainly easier if you neuter at a reasonable age before sexual maturity. That being said - either gender can be AWESOME. A good person to ask about this could also be Lori - she is a dog trainer.

I say you should go to your local shelter and ask them to walk death row. You find a dog (male or female) that speaks to your heart and save his/her life. I would also tell you to keep your mind open to older dogs. The puppy years are freaking HARD. The training...the messes....the vet visits....all of that is hard. There are lots of people that think that dogs past the age of 2 are PERFECT. Further, seniors...are AWESOME. People don't realize how mellow and sweet they can be...and still have a TON of life left in them. My 11 year old "something-or-other-heintz-57" mixed breed dog still runs and frolics in the yard with the younger dogs but is totally chill inside the house. It's a soft spot for me because some of them had a home life and then got dumped older and they are so confused and sad at the shelter...just waiting to die.

DoubleBogey- You're gonna make me cry. Most likely we will be getting our dog from a shelter. There is an amazing non-profit no-kill shelter called RUFF in our town we're actually going to visit today. Since we're not actually getting our dog til we get into our house, about two months from now, we want to tour around to the shelters and if they don't have the general sort of dog we're looking for we hope they'll take down our info and contact us if they do get one. I am all for an already trained, mellowed out dog, but my husband wants a little puppy he can hold in his hand and have a bond for its entire life. However, I also know he's a big softy and the first sweet dog that sniffs his crotch he'll melt and want to take home. We have researched breeders, but none have litters coming up any time soon so it'll be a shelter. I like that breeders get first vet visits done with, but I'd like to see what sort of dog it is when it's grown. It would be nice for it to already be neutered/spayed. But beggars can't be choosers, right?

Odds are you can find an already vetted dog for adoption. You will definitely get that with a reputable rescue outfit. In fact, you get a FULLY vetted dog from rescue where as you might get the first or second set of shots with a breeder. The whole spayed and neutered thing is important. I don't know where you live but here we have a program called Spay GA. You can get any cat/dog neutered for under $50 at a list of vets. Most of the time, your vet will also except it. Usually rescues will spay/neuter as soon as they are ready in foster. The shelter might not spay/neuter them before adoption but now it's become such a nominal cost, I wouldn't let that deter me. Especially neuters - they are significantly cheaper than a spay even at market rate.

Where are you located? When I was more active in the cat/dog rescue world, we had transports out of GA all the time. I swear you can find any kind of dog you want here sitting in a shelter. It's really really bad. In fact, if you want to tell me what you are looking for - I will see if I can help you if you don't find what you are looking for locally. Worst case, the dogs has a road trip. Mine LOVE road trips. On another note, "bonds" with dogs are not necessarily built as puppies. I have 4 dogs and only got one as a puppy. The other dogs are just as close to me. There is something quite evident in a dog that has been rescued. They have an unbreakable sense of rescue. The love starts for you the moment you open that kennel and say "I am taking YOU home." They know what you just did for them. It's something we talked about in rescue quite often. They know they were in a BAD place and now they are with you and it's so much better...and they are grateful. I have seen it time after time. You can't replace that. Good luck either way you go! And certainly let me know if I can help.

DoubleBogey- I wish spays were that cheap here! damn I called around and the cheapest vet was 225 without pain meds.-grrr One of my dogs didn't qualify as she was from a non- municipal shelter...

I know that if you adopt a shelter dog in Connecticut we have a population program that includes a $50 voucher that covers the spay / neuter and first rabies shot. Its a really great deal!

As for boy girl dogs- I have 2 girls that are 8 or 9 years different in age, We introduced them in a neutral setting- a park- they were fine, a few growls but fine.
I don't care for boy dogs as they mark every pole they cross.... This is of course my personal opinion. (one of the ladies that I work with will only have boys)

My brother and I have both always owned weimaraners. I prefer female dogs. Not really sure why. I just do. He prefers neutered males. But, we both grew up with first a female, then a neutered male - in a single-parent (mom) household, and both were excellent dogs.

I've never been more bonded to a dog then I was to Valkyrie. I mean - you have no idea. It is as if we shared a soul. Or she was my soul mate on some level. She was my partner - my human partner - trapped in a dog's body. People who knew us know that we had a deep bond, and we communicated with one another. I will never ever get over her passing.

I do not think it matters. I have never noticed any of my dogs favoring a certain sex.

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Originally posted by b.m.k

NayluBaby - what breeds are your dogs? I'm developing a theory involving the sort of characteristics that are bred into some dogs by human choice or naturally. Trying to decide if maybe this sort of opposite gender behavior is common to sporting, non-sporting, herding, etc. My sister had a female blue heeler that wasn't aggressive, but was indifferent to women and adored men. Then my childhood dog was a part shihtzu mostly mutt that hated everyone equally.

Theories?

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MJ is a pitbull dingo mix and Eddie is a grey hound mix

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Originally posted by waterburyk9

DoubleBogey- I wish spays were that cheap here! damn I called around and the cheapest vet was 225 without pain meds.-grrr One of my dogs didn't qualify as she was from a non- municipal shelter...

I know that if you adopt a shelter dog in Connecticut we have a population program that includes a $50 voucher that covers the spay / neuter and first rabies shot. Its a really great deal!

As for boy girl dogs- I have 2 girls that are 8 or 9 years different in age, We introduced them in a neutral setting- a park- they were fine, a few growls but fine.
I don't care for boy dogs as they mark every pole they cross.... This is of course my personal opinion. (one of the ladies that I work with will only have boys)

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I know you probably know this...but NEVER elect out of pain meds on a spay ( unless your vet says there is a medical reason not to have them). It's only like $10-20 anyway and worth it! Major abdominal surgery hurts!!! I averaged about $12-18 for most dogs in addition to the spay. The vouchers do not cover pain meds...not all vets tell you...which I find cruel. That's only happened a few times and I honestly think they forgot (volume setting)...but still!

Doublebogey- Great insight! Thanks for offering to help, but it's not necessary because we have found the PERFECT dog! I'm so excited about it. We visited RUFF and I was right, the stars aligned with this boy. He is a coonhound mix with something we can't quite tell, possibly a lab of some sort. He has been at the rescue since 2005! He is thought to be about eight years old, was found a stray. He is definitely deserving of a home and family! The rescue has great facilities consisting of several rooms and kennels and he caught our attention immediately. Though we were interested in some dogs that you could tell in their eyes they were sweet and jumped up and barked and said, "Me!" we walked up to his kennel and he looked at us with this, "What, I don't care if you want me or not" look. Then we turned around and he barked, turned back and he got all bashful. Ah! I love him so much! The rescue calls him Bullwinkle, but we hope to transition his name to something monosyllabic. "Bullwinkle" is a mouthful when you call to him.

If you're interested, here is his ad on petango:

http://www.petango.com/Adopt/Dog-Coonhound-Black-and-Tan-Mix-362611

You're completely right, I was so glad to be able to tell his personality and also he is neutered, up to date on all immunizations, and this amazing rescue has trained all their dogs to exceptional standards. We took him for a walk and he is very obedient and great on a leash, well socialized with other dogs, and though very shy at first with humans, warms up if you give him time.

Interestingly enough on this topic, he and my husband are instantly best buddies and he is still a little unsure about me. Possibly because I've watched a lot of the Dog Whisperer and when we were on the leash I was more commanding than my husband was, maybe a little more authoritative in his eyes.

We're going to visit him at the rescue a couple times a week until we get our house and can take him home. That will make it easier on him to be bonded to us when we suddenly take him away from what for seven years has been home. Such a sweet guy!

And if you want to check out this amazing rescue, here is RUFF's page:

http://www.911ruff.org/

Well, I certainly approve of his name!

(in case you don't know - my real last name is Bullwinkle)

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Originally posted by valkyriemome

Well, I certainly approve of his name!

(in case you don't know - my real last name is Bullwinkle)

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I certainly didn't mean to deride your ancestral heritage, but three syllables is just too much for my lazy vocal chords.

Depends on the job you want them to do (you expectations and the way you want them to fit into you life and their roll in the family), and the personality of your family members.

Ive had both and I think its more in the way you raise them than thier sex...

i Have both!!! but she is my third female dog the first when i was youngen my mom had sheba and the males then i had both and she was named angel and then she kept getting car sick so we had to give her away at to a guy that was asked to pet her at a truck stop who lived down the next exit and was on his way home from work who had lost his german shepard a month prior and he was almost crying petting her so we gave her to him bc she kept getting car sick and we were moving to florida and if she continued with the drive she could have gotten really sick and cause her to have health issues but the guy sent us pictures every month of her and she was happy as could be so im glad he went to a good home and their was deep questioning before giving her away it was heartbreaking bc she was my dog but it was for her benifit! anyways no we have sasha and buddy but thats inbetween we had males mostly!
but i think its a protection preference but my female would kill before my male thought of getting up