Prince

I've been thinking about getting a puppy, preferably something like a golden retriever mix.

However, here's the question: male, or female?

All the dogs I have ever had have been females. Male pups seem to be a lot easier to find, and I guess I am curious as to what a boy pup would be like. This pup is supposed to be "my dog", meaning that the wife will not spoil it rotten. We have one dog already, one that has no guts whatsoever. I miss having a dog that takes orders like a marine and makes you feel safe.

Anyway, digressing as usual. Male or female? Your thoughts, experiences, anything's welcome.

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StormBerlin

I would reccomend a female. First, she's not going to piss everywhere to mark her territory, second, she's the one that will be more protecting by nature.

Golden Retreivers are cool dogs, but I would reccomend a Black Lab mutt. I have a chow black lab mix and he's super smart and a cool dog, but mean and scary as hell when it's appropriate. If you want a dog to protect your house, get a lab mutt

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J.R.V.A.

I agree with Storm, I have had qutie a few dogs, and females seem to be easier, in a lot of aspects

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H12

I'd get a boy one...I dunno, I just like my boy-pups and boy-dogs better.

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lurkette

The sex of the dog is a lot less important than its temperament. If you want marine-level obedience and are willing to spend some time exercising a dog, get a middling-dominance border collie (not one that's so dominant with other dogs that it will terrorize your existing dog, but one that's confident enough to take some serious training). They're smart as anything and so trainable it's not even funny. But they need lots of stimulation to keep them from getting bored and destructive. If you want obedience you're going to have to be willing to trade off for forgettability. Our chow mix is independent enough that we can leave her at home alone for the day and she won't eat the furniture, but she's also not terribly motivated when it comes to training. She'll do all the basic obedience, but she'll never be a trick dog. On the other hand, my neighbor's border collie is super-well trained - does agility, search and rescue, flyball, etc. - but requires constant attention.

My recommendation would be to go to a good, reputable breeder if you want a purebred, and they'll fix you up with a dog that meets your expectations. If you want a mutt rescue dog, find someone to do temperament testing on any dog you're considering before you commit to it. Good luck!

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Peetster

Marking behavior is easily corrected. Male dogs will be more dominant, and tend to develop closer tighter bonds with a single person. If you are looking for "your dog", get a male.

Female dogs tend to be more submissive, and develop strong relationships with a larger group of people. If you are looking for a "family dog", get a female.

/broad generalizations

eribrav

Female golden retriever owner here. She is now a year old and we are thrilled we have her. I will give you some of my observations.

Our pup's litter was cleared to leave their mom at about 7 weeks. We happened to know about this litter through friends at work so we got to see them all before any were taken. There were 7 all together; 2 female and 5 male. Our initial inclination was to get a female because of their smaller size. When we first observed the litter we could see immediately that one little female, althought the runt of the group, was trying to boss around the other pups. So we picked the other female LOL. We got her home and she was the most adorable thing, just as snuggly as you can imagine. ( I won't mention the wailing at night, you'll find that out soon enough). At about 10 weeks, a little light went off in her head and she decided that she was to become the alpha bitch of our family. She turned into a little monster overnight. Let me just say that it took months to clearly establish our dominance. I've seen several of her brothers and none of them had such a bossy/dominant streak. So at least in this litter, it was the females that were clearly more strong willed.

I wouldn't worry about the house breaking part, that should be easy with either sex.

I also wouldn't worry about the defending the house issue. Unless you're defending it from squirrels, a golden is not going to be much use. It's just not in their disposition.

Unless you have a farm, preferably with animals on it, I wouldn't even consider a border collie. We have a large rescue farm nearby with loads of them, abandoned by owners who never should have had them in the first place. They are working dogs, not house pets.

bernadette

female dogs i think might be easier to have...

i have two males now. love them both.
the one has a disposition more like your typical female dog. (aside from hiking his leg on trees!)

i'll just add... don't get an australian cattle dog unless you research the breed temperment first & are prepared for trying moments! i love mine dearly (NOW!), but he's 2.5 yrs old & although he's outgrown most of the frustrating puppy phase, he is still a handful sometimes. great dog overall. lovable & loyal to us. not so good with strangers in our home. i would not suggest this breed for anyone short on patience.

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yakimushi

Male dogs are (typically) much much much more easy to train.

Females have a more stubborn and individual attitude and are less likely to adhere to strict discipline.

I dated a girl for several years that was a ranked obedience trainer (#2 in the state) here in Ohio for her age group at the time. I picked up a lot from her and the underlying theme was that male dogs are easier to train, less high strung, and overall better (ie, well behaved) companions.

Also, my family has had a chocolate lab for quite a while. He's a very good dog and was professionally trained when he was about a year old. He responds to spoken commands in two languages as well as silent hand signals. He's now 9 years old and still follows his commands.

When our lab was 3 or 4 my mom decided she wanted another dog and ended up getting a small mixed breed female. This new female was completely untrainable (although obviously very very smart), very stubborn, destructive, and tried repeatedly to bully our 115lb chocolate. It eventually got so bad that we had to give her away to another family. We have sworn off female dogs since that.

Additionally, last year we added another dog to the family when my grandmother passed away. We adopted her young male Bishon Frise and have had zero problems with him. He's cheerful, willing to please, listens to commands, and 100% compatible with our old lab.

To sum it up, female dogs (typically) do not have the disposition to be willing and obedient companions. They are stubborn and will serve themselves before you.

And whichever sex you decide on, neuter or spay your pet, you will have less problems with disposition.

splck

Had both male and female and I'd never get a male again. Females were WAY easier to train and more obedient.
I'd also recommend training with rewards rather than with punishment. Havening a dog happy to do your commands is better than having a dog do it's commands out of fear.

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nukeu666

go for male
females get pretty moody during heat, not to mention all the dogs of the neighbourhood are going to be after her
u r also gonna have problems if she gets pregnant

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Peetster

Whichever you decide..

Spay/Neuter. Right away.

'Nuff said.