# Male vs. Female vs. Little Kids vs. My Lawn



## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

Hello, I have two little "human" boys, one who's 6 and one who's 3. After much thought , we've decided we'd like to bring a GSD into our home! The breeder we like currently has two male pups 6 weeks old, and another litter due in early december.

That leaves us with the choice of taking home a male GSD in two weeks, or having first pick female in 4 months.. Originally we thought a female would be best for our family. These two males, however, are so beautiful and seem to have such a great temperament, that it's causing us to wonder if a male pup would be just as great in our family environment.

Here are my concerns. I'm hoping you could share your experience, or give advice!

1. I'm told that males (while never intentionally) tend to walk through children, instead of around like like a female would. Having young boys this concerns me a tiny bit.. though, my boys tend to knock each other over quite a bit already.

2. I'm not crazy about the leg lifting urination (or marking) that goes along with males. I've read that if you neuter them before puberty that they continue to squat like girls, but our breeder advises against it for medical reasons like UTIs.

3. I'm also told by various people that the urine of male dogs will kill your grass. While I don't consider myself a big lawn and garden enthusiast, the thought of having a bunch of dead grass spots I'd have to dig out and replant every year is not appealing.

Any comment or advice on any of those topics would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

1. Sorry I have no knowledge of this.
2. Neutering early can cause some loss of masculine development, but some dogs will squat regardless even if they are intact.
3. Female urine will also cause your grass to turn brown, the only disadvantage of having a male is that they can pee on shrubs and tall flowers.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I can answer the last concern. I have owned mostly females for years and my lawn is a mess. Males tend to be hard on your shrubs, flowers and small trees. The girls can be rough on the lawn. 

Some males never mark. Other start marking very young and continue to do so even when neutered. 

I do not have small children, but many friends have had male and females and both were excellent pets with their kids.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

Hi right now I have 1 male 2 females.


> 1. I'm told that males (while never intentionally) tend to walk through children, instead of around like like a female would. Having young boys this concerns me a tiny bit.. though, my boys tend to knock each other over quite a bit already.


 We nicnamed our female Kiya "Tank" she'd plow thru anything.



> 2. I'm not crazy about the leg lifting urination (or marking) that goes along with males. I've read that if you neuter them before puberty that they continue to squat like girls, but our breeder advises against it for medical reasons like UTIs.


 Females also have the capability of "marking", my 10 yr old male sometimes doesn't lift his leg but will stand & pee.



> 3. I'm also told by various people that the urine of male dogs will kill your grass. While I don't consider myself a big lawn and garden enthusiast, the thought of having a bunch of dead grass spots I'd have to dig out and replant every year is not appealing.


 Pee is pee is pee I had a male Dobie kill a tree from lifting his leg on it every day.

Sorry if I was of no help. I personally feel my males have always been more playfull, higher "play drive" compared to my females which have always seemed to have a higher "prey drive". 
Both as loving and loyal but each dog is always an individual and with a puppy sometimes it's hard to predict how they will turn out.


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## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

Thank you all for the quick comments! Keep em coming, I'd love to hear what other users have to say..


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

My opinion is that if you're concerned about your yard/grass, then perhaps a GSD may not be the best choice. But it has little to do with urine, and more to do with you choosing an active breed that likes to run around chasing squirrels and such. 

When I bought my house five years ago:









And what it looked like last year (looks the same now):


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

My dog eats raw food, there are no dead spots in my yard/grass. No yellowing problem etc.
My dog to this day has not lifted his leg to urinate, I don't care either way.


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## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

Josie/Zeus said:


> My dog eats raw food, there are no dead spots in my yard/grass. No yellowing problem etc.
> My dog to this day has not lifted his leg to urinate, I don't care either way.


Really? Is he neutered? If so, how old was he when he was?


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## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

wildo said:


> My opinion is that if you're concerned about your yard/grass, then perhaps a GSD may not be the best choice. But it has little to do with urine, and more to do with you choosing an active breed that likes to run around chasing squirrels and such.


I'm not too worried, it's more about wether there was a difference between a male or female in this regard.. Love the pics though, pretty telling!


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

1. My female GSD walks right thru my other small dog like he wasn't there. In some rare instances that she does choose to see him, she'll jump over him like a hurdle. The little dog has learned to look back to check where the GSD is and to move next to the wall for cover when she comes charging through. I do think you can teach a dog to behave a certain way. I don't care too much about how she walks thru my little dog so didn't try to train her out of it. 

2. Don't think the leg lifting will be affected by when you do it. 

3. My female puppy was trained to go on a small patch of grass. That area were about 50% dead after 3 months of concentrated pee and poop. I got a new house, the backyard has no grass so I don't know how her pee/poop is affecting anything anymore.


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## Hillary_Plog (Apr 3, 2011)

1. Any dog, whether male or female, that is a larger breed like the GSD can unintentionally knock over a child, especially when they are young, gangly and uncoordinated. There is no evidence anywhere that suggests that a female dog will "walk around" children and that a male will "walk through" them. 

The best way to handle your concern over this is to make sure that your dog understands what is expected and appropriate behavior inside of the house around children. I would also make sure that you enroll in an obedience class so you feel confident in asserting these expected behaviors. It's also important to teach children how to behave around and treat the puppy/dog as well, so there is a mutual respect and trust developed. 

2. Some males squat, even when intact. Some males lift their legs, even when neutered. Some males, if they lift their legs, will pee on "items" such as trees, shrubs; and others will just lift their leg to pee in the grass, not "marking" anything. 

3. Pee, for the most part, is pee; no matter the sex of the dog. If you are overly concerned about yellow spots in the lawn, you can always walk your dog when they have to go potty, instead of letting them out in the back yard. 

My suggestion is to not worry so much about the sex, and focus on choosing the right temperament, personality and energy level best suited for your family.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

If you are worried about your grass burning there are a few things you can do. I have a female and have trained her to go in one spot, a small area with interlocking bricks. She will drop her beloved wubba and run to her spot, have a pee, and come back to play. 

If they do pee on your lawn then if you pour water over it immediately then it will not burn.

We allow our dog to play in the back yard, and the grass looks likes Willy's before picture. We do limit her exposure in the early spring and after a good rain when the ground is soft. We do not have any worn out sections, but there are a few areas where the grass has been torn up due to her fast turns, but a quick stomping fixes that.

I had two people tell me, this weekend, that you can train a male dog to squat and a female to lift their leg. Never heard this before, but both of them were convinced it was true. Something I never considered training for actually. lol.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Caledon said:


> We allow our dog to play in the back yard, and the grass looks likes Willy's before picture. We do limit her exposure in the early spring and after a good rain when the ground is soft. We do not have any worn out sections, but there are a few areas where the grass has been torn up due to her fast turns, but a quick stomping fixes that.


It's true, I don't limit my dog's backyard access after a rain or when the grounds soft. I also do (did- hoping to get back to it soon) a lot of agility back there, so "fast turns" are beyond common when we're in the backyard. And I also have to admit, this didn't help things:





But you can see even before the VW destruction, there was still quite a bit of fading of the grass. :rofl:


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

none of your concerns about male vs female seem valid to me. you can train your gsd to go "out" in one area, but if an immaculate yard is important to you, you most likely will not enjoy any dog. truth is, i would be more concerned about pups well being around to young active boys. now i could be wrong but it seems like you are getting some wrong info.


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## jmdjack (Oct 2, 2009)

1. Kids and dogs - I have two kids, ages 5 and 9, along with two GSDs - a 3.5 year old female and a 5 months old male. Both are excellent with the kids, as was the older male GSD we had before the current two. In my experience it does not matter the gender of the dog. It comes down to the way you raise the kids and dogs together - educate the kids, involve the kids, and always supervise! 

2. Marking - My male pup has not started marking yet. My old male, who was neutered at a young age (I regret that), would raise his leg on just about anything. I swear that dog had a hollow leg. 

3. Grass - our dogs have been trained not to go on our grass. They have their spots elsewhere.


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## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate all the insight thus far! What a great community you have here, I'm sure i'll have lots more questions in the future.

If anyone else has advice please chime in


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## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

My first german shepherd was a male and after having him(if I ever get another dog) it will be a male. I have fostered 4-5 females and I do feel there is a slight difference in attitudes. I could just be biased though....

If you get a female, she will most likelyend upbeing 15-20 pounds less than a male would (just a guess! some males are small and some females big)


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## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

x0emiroxy0x said:


> My first german shepherd was a male and after having him(if I ever get another dog) it will be a male. I have fostered 4-5 females and I do feel there is a slight difference in attitudes. I could just be biased though....
> 
> If you get a female, she will most likelyend upbeing 15-20 pounds less than a male would (just a guess! some males are small and some females big)


Interesting, just attitude in general? or.. Attitude towards children?


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-information/147090-female-vs-male-german-shepherds.html
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/choosing-puppy/189523-male-vs-female.html
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-information/171333-male-vs-female.html
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-behavior/135570-male-vs-female-characteristics.html
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/choosing-puppy/93150-male-vs-female.html

If I were you, I would pick the dog for what it is, rather than getting caught up with male vs. female.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

We've had females and males. It really depends on the dog and the TRAINING! If you want your dog to be gentle around our kids, then teach them that. 

My personal opinion on males vs females is that males are cuddlier. Females want to be near you but not as tolerant of being physically hugged, etc. They just tend to be a bit more standoffish.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Jax08 said:


> Females want to be near you but not as tolerant of being physically hugged, etc. They just tend to be a bit more standoffish.


This is definitely true of my female. "Near, but not necessarily touched or cuddled"


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## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> My personal opinion on males vs females is that males are cuddlier. Females want to be near you but not as tolerant of being physically hugged, etc. They just tend to be a bit more standoffish.


That's a pretty interesting observation!


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## Capone22 (Sep 16, 2012)

I have two kids, ages 5.5 and 4 months and two dogs. My pit is 3 and has severe hip dysplasia. He will allow kids to climb all over him. He's exceptionally tolerant (but that's because he's a pit not because he's a male.) Although its not allowed now, due to the HD. My daughter knows she needs to be gentle with his hips. All dogs have their own crates aka safe places and kids are not allowed in the crate nor allowed to bug them when they are eating. With young kids and dogs there has to be rules enforced for all of them. 

I personally like males more. They tend to be more cuddly and affectionate. I would take home a male  

My male was fixed at 6 months. He didn't lift his leg before. But he still marks now. (Not inside of course) And grass gets killed regardless of gender. 

I wouldn't base my decision on male vs female. I would ask the breeder if she thinks one of those males would be a good match for your family. If not wait. If you don't want to wait, I don't think you will be disappointed with a male. Good luck! 


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> medical reasons like UTIs.


I've never heard of this at all. I have heard supposedly goats get stones if neutered too young (under 8 weeks) and same with cats, which is what I've heard - but we have goats banded young and a cat who is 8 who was done at 7- 8 weeks and neither have had stones.

As for "marking", some females mark, even!

And as others said, if you want an immaculate yard, either give the dog his/her own yard or don't get a dog. Our yard is far from immaculate, but we don't have small kids that it's important to have a pretty green lawn. We have a pretty green lawn - out front - and the back is devoted to the dogs.

I would always advise a typical pet owne,r which it sounds like you are, to neuter your dog or spay it, pre-pubescently. You won't have to worry about the intact male/intact female issues then. 

I prefer the male personality of dogs much over the female ones, but it depends also on the individual dog. We have girls who are shamelessly affectionate and less "diva like" than other girls who've come along that we've fostered.


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

msvette2u said:


> I prefer the male personality of dogs much over the female ones, but it depends also on the individual dog. We have girls who are shamelessly affectionate and less "diva like" than other girls who've come along that we've fostered.


Yes, I'd say it depends on the individual dog and your chemistry (for lack of better words) with the dog. My female can be affectionate. She's more into letting me pet and touch her then my non-GSD male. When I play hide and seek with her, the extent of her happiness when she found me far exceeds my non-GSD male. She acts like I just came back from some far away land. When she was a puppy, she was very affectionate with my mom. She'd wiggle up to her every time my mom passes by and try to squish herself into my mom as much as possible.


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## Muneraven (Sep 4, 2012)

I'll just chime in that I think male dogs are generally more cuddly and huggable than females.I have two females and two males. My girls (a GSD mix and a greyhound/husky mix) are devoted to me, but their affection is expressed more in small gestures and by always being nearby. The GSD mix guards me and insists on being nearby. My boys (Golden Doodle and GSD pup) really want full body hugs and they will lie against me if that's available. The 80 pound Doodle would be a lap dog if he could. The GSD pup is very demonstrative as well. I love them ALL. :wub:


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## MonsterMomma (Oct 11, 2012)

We have both a girl and boy and both at were raised since puppies with my daughter and are great with her. She climbs all over them and hugs them tight and they are both wonderful. So, as long as youre open to either a boy or girl, I think you should make your choice based on what puppy your family has better chemistry with. 
As for the leg lifting, not all boys do that, ours is almost 2 and he squats.
I dont know about the grass though, we dont have any in our yard


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

1. i think any dog will knock a child over. that's not gender
specific.

2. i've never neutered my dogs. i've never had a dog
mark indoors and when they're outdoors i don't care
if they mark. why does it bother you that a dog lifts
it's leg to urinate? if i were going to neuter my dog
i wouldn't do it untill he was 2 yrs old or older.

3. i think female urine will kill a lawn also. you can fence 
in an area for your dog to use. you can also train your dog 
to use a certain area. i found it easier not to care about the
lawn.



Peter. said:


> Hello, I have two little "human" boys, one who's 6 and one who's 3. After much thought , we've decided we'd like to bring a GSD into our home! The breeder we like currently has two male pups 6 weeks old, and another litter due in early december.
> 
> That leaves us with the choice of taking home a male GSD in two weeks, or having first pick female in 4 months.. Originally we thought a female would be best for our family. These two males, however, are so beautiful and seem to have such a great temperament, that it's causing us to wonder if a male pup would be just as great in our family environment.
> 
> ...


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Either sex can be great with kids. (and cuddly or not!)

Much more important than sex is the individual dog!

How about people - which sex is better with kids?


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

We have a 2 year old son and we spend a lot of time outside, so I'll answer best I can. We have two males, two females. 3 GSD's and 1 Malinois

I don't know that I can say there's much of a difference in "walking through" my son and other kids based on gender. My older calmer dogs are more careful, my youngest is a 2 yr old male malinois who you'd think would be nutso but he's actually really gently with our DS and other children. My 5 year old oversized (95 lb) male GSD is the pushiest of the bunch, not in an aggressive way just not quite as aware of body size. That said, he honestly never really has issues with kids, it's more with adults when he wants attention. He'll push into you, push against when you try to nudge him away. It's annoying more than harmful, but luckily he doesn't do this with children.

Regarding marking, I don't speuter puppies so I can't help there. Mine were all altered older, though my malinois I did cut the youngest at 15 months (so not quite maturity) because I was starting to notice some occasional bullying behavior with my 5 yr old GSD and wanted to nip the problem while I could. He's a little over two now and the neuter did stop the issue. He was mounting the GSD, etc. So, all that said, they both do mark (not inside of course). It hasn't been an issue except for ONE thing I can not stand. My 5 yr old male will lift his leg on our big swingset slide. I am constantly having to go out there and wipe it down with lysol but I really have no idea how to stop this behavior. We have a huge yard, lots to pee on, but he likes the slide. Baring fencing in the swingset which i'm not going to do, I don't know that there is a solution to that. You could try to train the pup to potty in one area, but you have to be VERY consistant and remain so over the years for that to work.

My only other thought is that depending on your location, winter puppies are the worst. It is such a pain to try to housetrain puppies when it's freezing, sleeting, snowing, everythings covered in ice or muddy and a cold rain. It's just miserable. It's so nice the rest of the year to be able to run outside quickly without bundling up (which a puppy going potty on your floor can't wait for). So if the grass issue is your only complaint, then the male will be fine. Both genders can burn grass.

If we are talking cuddle factor, I have had a lot of rescues, many GSD's, over the years, and spent a lot of time in general around the breed. In the earlier years I used to think they were the same. But after spending so much time around so many, I can honestly say I do find males to be more cuddly, females more standoffish - want to be petted, but not cuddled.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

codmaster said:


> Either sex can be great with kids. (and cuddly or not!)
> 
> Much more important than sex is the individual dog!


I agree. Our male malamute and lab were we're both loving, but a little stand off-ish. My 2 GSD females are very Velcro & cuddly. Our female lab was in the middle, she was Velcro and loved to be petted, but still liked a little space at times. All of them were/are great with kids.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I have a 10.5 year old male who was neutered at 9 months old, and a 2 year old male who is intact. They both lift their legs to pee outside, and neither one has marked in the house once they were housebroken. Peeing inside is a housebreaking issue, not a male issue or a neutering issue.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

my female marks more than any male ive ever met she will turn a huge yard brown in a day lol


a lot has to do with her just going crazy and running around the yard for hours also playing ball, that takes its toll on the grass 

The grass is very ugly where she hangs out 


I had another shepherd back there before her and it was really ugly also people have even made comments lol Its their big huge feet combined with the pee and crap probably lol

someone asked me if i set the grass on fire once

my female doesnt care about kids she doesnt like or hate she just ignores she has smashed into people by mistake when running for something

My old male LOVED kids but he made them cry because he loved them too much and would just go bat crap insane when he saw them when he was younger but he was abnormal


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

oh and neither dogs have ever been cuddly, or cared to be hugged.


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

I have a male shepX, female Saint and an almost 23 month old human child. Both dogs, now they are mature are pretty good about watching the little one, not knocking her over, BUT when they get excited, I pick her up and get her out of it.

My male never lifted his leg until he saw another dog do it and it was like, I wanna try that, so he did and now he pees with his leg lifted. The only 2 times he ever marked in the house was once over an area I hadn't cleaned in a new house and once I had a bit too much vino and didn't want to get up and take them down (I was at my beach condo, top floor) he pee'd perfectly into a potted palm!

Lawn, LOL, my lawn was great when it was just my male, now it's a combination of a poop, pee and playing. There are things you can do, liquid fertilizers like miracle grow, specifically ones where the second number in the 3 numbers is higher, top soil, right now it's $2/bag, buy it on sale, top dress and seed in the spring and fall and as needed through-out the year. Keep your lawn aerated and rolled, watered when permitted and it's OK.

Depending on how your yard is set up, you can designate and partially fence off a potty area. Our current yard is a postage stamp, but the home we bought has actually 3 yards, it's a corner lot, so there's the front/side, the backyard will become a designated potty area, we'll seal it off as a dog run, we just need barn door gates for the one end and we'll do a picket fence up to the door with a gate which leads across the driveway to the lot/other side yard which is completely fenced. In time we can sever that lot, but for now, it will be kiddie land. Actually of the homes I saw Wednesday, they all had potential for potty areas separate for the dogs, another was a corner lot with two yards basically, the third had a very large side yard which would be partially fenced off because I wouldn't be able to see the kid anyways, so it would take a week of training and the dogs would be trained to potty there.

There are tons of options on here for yards, it's been discussed many times LOL. We all battle it!


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I currently have 3 GSD's, one of which is a male. I have had 2 males at a time. 

I have kind of always prefered females as I think they are more serious minded and as I compete with them I like a serious minded dog. But after having my darling Havoc, I might be sold on males. He is sweet, loving and very obedient dog.

And my yard is pristine. We do get some pee spots but they heal up. We usually will go out about once a month in athe spring/summer and sprinkle a bit of yard soil over the pee stains. This heas them up quickly. We spend a lot of time in our yard and like a nice lawn and flower beds. My dogs have never destroyed a yard.


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## Peter. (Aug 22, 2012)

Well, we decided to go with the male, instead of waiting for the next litter. The pup we chose was very chill, without being skittish, and we get to bring him home next week!

I'm very excited. Thanks everyone for your comments!

Here's a pic:


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

he's a cute little boy! So what are you going to name him???? and CONGRATS!


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## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

When it comes to dead grass, my female is worse. This is because the boys tend to pee on tree trunks or a fence or spray it farther, the female squats and it all comes out in one place. However, it's only yellow in the middle of summer during the drought. The rest of the year the rain takes care of it nicely,and it always comes back with the rain. The grass that was worn away on the "running paths" also grows back when I fence it off from the dogs.


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## Capone22 (Sep 16, 2012)

Congrats!!! You won't be disappointed! 


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## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

Cute puppy.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

Congrats ... he's a beautiful little fellow!!!


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

I had a feeling you wouldn't be able to wait.


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

Congrats! I too find female pee because of it's concentration in one spot to be worse, but there are a few members on here who wash the pee spots frequently and have success with that.


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