# Male temperament and marking issues?



## Gsdmama79 (Mar 5, 2013)

Hello! I am brand new to the forum and wanted to ask a couple of questions. I get my new GSD male this week. I have an adult, female Golden Retriever and 2 cats, both female. I chose a male because I owned a female GSD with my GR and as Elsa grew, she became more dominant and the girls ended up having a few bloody fights!! Anyway, I do not know much about males. He is from WGSL and will be 9 weeks old. One thing I loved about Elsa is that she was very alert and protective but a drawback for me was that she was aloof and I could not really love on her much. She was definitely my girl but I would have liked more touch/Cuddle time with her. She was super easy to housebreak (was completely housebroken in a week). She was even easy in heat. My first question is this: Do males mark inside? I have heard that they are more territorial and I pray that he isn't marking territory inside. When should he be neutered? If marking is an issue, can I get him fixed at a young age? Will it make a difference? I hear about how so many GSD lovers adore their males and so many seem to prefer them. One thing I really want is the protectiveness and affection. I have read that males are typically much more lovey dovey than females. That's a plus. I am just concerned that I will get him and he will be a goof ball who would rather lick strangers than protect and will want to water everything in the house!  thanks for any input you can give


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I have had at one point, 3 males and 1 female, one male intact, none of them ever marked in the house. 

I found my males to be rather doofy, but very velcroey as in touchy feely velcroey while my females were velcro, but in a different way,,they knew/know where I am at all times and didn't have to be 'on top ' of me to know where I was..make sense? 

Neutering is up to you, I neutered two males later in life, both around 3 years of age. The other two, I did early just under a year. 

I have found my females to be much more 'protective' if that's the word to use, of "me", probably more like 'possessive', of me, than my males. Not that my males 'loved' everyone, a couple did, a couple were very aloof, my females much more aloof than most of my males.

It's not a "bad" thing to have a friendly puppy, in fact you want a friendly puppy, this gives them confidence , not all dogs are going to instinctively protect their owners, looks and a bark are always a good deterrent


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

My female is a velcro dog...wherever I am, so is she, but my male golden is right there to. My male golden and female GSD are two peas in a pod, they adore each other, which gives my oldest a break. I will be getting a male puppy next, so I'll be able to better compare how a male versus a female GSD is. Neutering is a personal choice...early, later, or not at all. All my dogs are fixed early on because I choose to do so and I've never had any issues. Please post pics once you bring your puppy home


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Have always had males and never had a problem with the marking inside the home. I don't allow marking on leashed walks.


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## Gsdmama79 (Mar 5, 2013)

wolfy dog said:


> Have always had males and never had a problem with the marking inside the home. I don't allow marking on leashed walks.


How do you tell if they are marking or just relieving themselves? That may sound like a stupid question, but I have never owned a male.


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## Gsdmama79 (Mar 5, 2013)

I want him to be affectionate and a happy little guy, don't get me wrong  What originally drew me to the GSD in the first place was their loyalty and protectiveness over their owners or what they perceive to be their pack. I just wondered if I have as good a chance getting that with a male as I do a female? I realize that it isn't a guarantee with any dog, but shepherds have a greater likelihood than most breeds. I just don't want to make a mistake by going with a male over a female, that's all.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Gsdmama79 said:


> How do you tell if they are marking or just relieving themselves? That may sound like a stupid question, but I have never owned a male.


 
My guy will mark every tree and post when we are walking (if I let him) and one hint is that he will sniff it a lot first and then pee but only a little - when he pees to relieve himself it is a much longer stream.

And he MUST pee over any dog that he sees pee if we are on a group walk! definetly marking then!


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Gsdmama79 said:


> I want him to be affectionate and a happy little guy, don't get me wrong  What originally drew me to the GSD in the first place was their loyalty and protectiveness over their owners or what they perceive to be their pack. I just wondered if I have as good a chance getting that with a male as I do a female? I realize that it isn't a guarantee with any dog, but shepherds have a greater likelihood than most breeds. I just don't want to make a mistake by going with a male over a female, that's all.


I have found (in 30+ years of GSD's) that there is a MUCH greater variance between individual dogs (males and females both) than there is between "males" and "females". Some are very affectionate and "cuddly" and others not so much. Same with active protectivness - some are much more visible at this than others (NO difference that I have ever seen between our males and females!).

I do believe that any normal temperamented GSD (i.e. according to the standard and not a "scaredy cat or timid or shy) will at least try to protect their owner if they feel there is a threat. 

Some will do it more effectively and some will react to a threat at a much lower threshhold than others of course and ALL have to be socialized so that they learn better what actually constitutes a threat!


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Gsdmama79 said:


> How do you tell if they are marking or just relieving themselves? That may sound like a stupid question, but I have never owned a male.


WD is a low key male and does not mark a whole lot. Relieving: standing on 4 feet to empty his bladder, peeing over at least on front leg .
Marking on leash: stopping when you are walking, sniffing, pulling towards a tree or anything vertical. I avoid walking too close to these objects and pull him along with "Leave It" when he tries.
My leashed walks are never long so he will get the chance to mark on his own terms. When on leash we are going somewhere and I don't want him to take initiative. This works well since I have another intact male; just imagine letting them mark randomly; I'll never get anywhere.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

wolfy dog said:


> Have always had males and never had a problem with the marking inside the home. I don't allow marking on leashed walks.


Same here.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I also do not allow my male to mark on leashed walks. I sometimes give him freedom to stop and sniff but not to mark. I have had 5 male GSDs over the years, 3 intact as adults. Never an issue in our out of the house. Easier to housebreak than the females, JMO. Though the females were not hard.


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

I also have to add my 2 cents which I'm not sure if someone else has covered. I think males usually begin 'marking' once they lift their leg to pee which varies from pup to pup. So if you have peepee accidents in the house and the pup squats he isn't marking, he's simply relieving himself.


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## Sarah~ (Apr 30, 2012)

I have a 1 year old male who is not neutered he is my first GSD so I don't have anything to compare to except my grandparent's female GSD and I remember her being not so cuddly but very tolerant so if you wanted to cuddle her she would just quietly let you. She was also very protective over her people once when I was really little I tried to run away and she pulled me home by my skirt. 

My male is all about cuddles, very goofy and much more outgoing than my grandparent's dog he loves everyone. But he is still protective, both of the house and his people. He has growled and snapped if he feels like things are getting too rowdy. Usually when someone smacks someone else on the arm too hard or someone gets pushed. 

He doesn't mark or hump or lift his leg to pee so I am waiting til he's 2 to have him fixed unless something happens between then and now that would make me have to do it sooner.  I prefer male dogs in general but I have known some very cuddly and sweet females


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