# Male vs. Female



## TimberGSD2

I'm sure this has been discussed before, and I tried searching and didn't find anything recently and I'm new so here I go. 

Is there really a difference in males and females when it comes to schutzhund? Is one better than the other or is it truly dependent on the dog. 

The reason I ask. I prefer females. That is my personal preference. The people I've been working with feel that the males work better in the sport. I am going to be getting my first puppy to be used in the sport this spring/summer. Of course I want a female but my friends are telling me that maybe a male would be better as my first dog that I will be training for schutzhund. 

Any suggestions? Clarity? Advice? 

If my puppy doesn't work out for the sport I will be perfectly happy with it as a companion. My current shepherd (female) does just about everything with me and she is a BYB dog who would not have been good at sport. 

Christina


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## hunterisgreat

I can tell you my experience. My female acts more on emotion and instinct. My male thinks more. My male is more aggressive/brings more anger with him. Female is faster/more agile as she's smaller. Male tolerates a poorly timed or unfair correction better than the female. Female's feelings get hurt easier. Female's behavior fluctuates more with her hormones


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## holland

Um...well my female thinks and I don't really think that her feelings get hurt all that easily and I don't see too much fluctuation with her hormones And sorry I just have to say it again my female thinks (it isn't just a male trait-sorry to burst your bubble)


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## Emoore

hunterisgreat said:


> Female's feelings get hurt easier. Female's behavior fluctuates more with her hormones


Hey hey *hey!* Easy there.  

OP: I don't do Schutzhund so I can't speak to that. However, if you already have one female, think seriously about adding a male. Chances for dog-dog aggression are highest between two females.


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## TimberGSD2

I have considered that Emoore. That is the reason I have not added a female. My female is old now and she has been fine with other females (I know that doesn't mean a new one wouldn't be). 

I have been leaning towards a male as this is what my husband would like. Of course I will be the one training, caring for and working with the dog. I lost my male in August and he was a fantastic dog. It's been hard for me to think of getting another male as I fear there will never be one that even remotely comes close to TJ. 

So I'm torn. This will be my dog, and I think I should get the sex I want, but I don't want to disrupt my household either.


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## lhczth

I have only titled bitches. I tend to like tough dominant females that define the word "bitch".  They are not easy to find nor easy to live with. Most females do tend to be softer and more sensitive than the boys. Females can be as hard, as tough, and as aggressive as males they are just not as common. The problem I find with bitches is they tend to think too much so you need to be on your toes. Trialing a female in heat is a pain and some females don't track well, can get squirrely in protection (mine tend to get meaner) or overly sensitive when in heat. 

Males are more reliable, bigger, and more powerful than females. They may not come into heat, but some males turn into absolute worthless idiots when they know there is a female in heat around. Males also seem to fit into a household with other dogs, especially females, better. A big powerful male can be harder to handle especially for a novice handler, they do tend to be more forgiving than most females, but also tend to have a bit more a of mind of their own. 

I am currently working a male (along with 2 females) and there are things about him I like and things I don't. He has taken longer to come into himself than his sister (littermate) and is farther behind in training. He is very big so physically much harder to handle. Luckily he is not an idiot when the girls are in heat and he is very easy to live with. He is very impressive to watch, very hard to corrections and forgiving (which my girls are too) and has fantastic tracking ability. He can get a hair too focused on what he wants and at times not as willing. 

I am not sure I will ever handle another male. I still like my nasty pain in the rear bitches (well, most of the time).


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## Liesje

My first dog was female (spayed) and she didn't work out doing SchH, but I don't think it had anything to do with being female, she's just too soft and lacks confidence which inhibits all her drive. Since then I've been going SchH with two males (intact) and will probably stick with males. I don't breed so I don't want to deal with heat cycles if I don't have to, nor do I want to deal with an intact male with a female in heat. So far I haven't had issues having three males co-habitating.

I don't have much to compare it to but I find both my males - though very different from each other - wear their hearts on their sleeves. No hidden agenda, no grudges. You always know what they're feeling or what they think of someone/something. My female is much harder for me to read.


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## hunterisgreat

holland said:


> Um...well my female thinks and I don't really think that her feelings get hurt all that easily and I don't see too much fluctuation with her hormones And sorry I just have to say it again my female thinks (it isn't just a male trait-sorry to burst your bubble)


Thats why I was describing my dogs, not yours or dogs in general. Sorry to burst your bubble but I know my dogs infinitely better than you do


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## onyx'girl

I think that females are very serious, and don't take any crap. I personally prefer to_ live_ with a male dog. My females aren't SchH material but the ones I see training, are intense and a force to be reckon'ed with. Dealing with the heat/hormones is an issue, trialing a bitch in heat would be a pain along with training around heat cycles/her moods.
It is all up to you and what you want in a dog and what you want to live with.
SchH is just a portion of our daily life....I prefer a male


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## BlackGSD

If YOU prefer females, get a FEMALE. There are females out there that can do the work and do it well. I've had multiple females that you couldn't "hurt their feelings" no matter how hard you tried! I will NEVER again have a male GSD. It isn't that I don't like male dogs, I just don't get along with male GSDs. 

The only reason I say that when you already HAVE a female is because of your current girls age. She is almost 12yo NOW. The puppy is apparently not even born yet. So by the time the pup is an adult, if you are lucky enough to still have your current girl, she will be 14yo. So if you do have to keep them seperated once the pup grows up, it isn't like you will have to keep them seperated for 10 years.


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## BlackGSD

onyx'girl said:


> Dealing with the heat/hormones is an issue, trialing a bitch in heat would be a pain along with training around heat cycles/her moods.


Not if she is spayed.  Don't know if that would be the OPs intention or not but that fixes the heat cycle issue if it is a problem for the owner.


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## hunterisgreat

BlackGSD said:


> If YOU prefer females, get a FEMALE. There are females out there that can do the work and do it well. I've had multiple females that you couldn't "hurt their feelings" no matter how hard you tried! I will NEVER again have a male GSD. It isn't that I don't like male dogs, I just don't get along with male GSDs.
> 
> The only reason I say that when you already HAVE a female is because of your current girls age. She is almost 12yo NOW. The puppy is apparently not even born yet. So by the time the pup is an adult, if you are lucky enough to still have your current girl, she will be 14yo. So if you do have to keep them seperated once the pup grows up, it isn't like you will have to keep them seperated for 10 years.


What makes you not get along with a male? Perhaps there are males you'd get along with?


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## hunterisgreat

*For the record, perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I described MY female, and MY male. I stopped typing "my", but was still referring to my dogs*


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## holland

Ok so you were talking about yours got it-we were talking about ours-mine thinks -and she does not fall to pieces when she is in heat-it is 2012 everywhere but the dog world-


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## hunterisgreat

holland said:


> Ok so you were talking about yours got it-we were talking about ours-mine thinks -and she does not fall to pieces when she is in heat-it is 2012 everywhere but the dog world-


Mine think too, and don't fall to peaces over anything


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## onyx'girl

BlackGSD said:


> Not if she is spayed.  Don't know if that would be the OPs intention or not but that fixes the heat cycle issue if it is a problem for the owner.


Of course it does, but if this female ends up being exceptional, breeding her may be a goal. Not saying that is the OP's intention, but many, many SchH females are not spayed.


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## LaRen616

Of my 2 dogs, my female would have a much better chance at Sch than my male.

She is more intense, more aggressive, has more energy and not phased by anything, she bounces back right away.

She is also more bitchy, more stubborn and more independent. 

My male and I work better as a team, calm and full of trust. With my female we are amped up and we butt heads. :laugh:

Although I am sure not all females are like her, I much prefer males and will only have males in the future. 

I am looking forward to summer with her, we are very active in the summer and she will be great for the things I want to do.


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## hunterisgreat

I will continue having males and females. I enjoy both experiences


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## BlackGSD

onyx'girl said:


> Of course it does, but if this female ends up being exceptional, breeding her may be a goal. Not saying that is the OP's intention, but many, many SchH females are not spayed.


Oh I know. My point was just that if someone likes females better, they don't HAVE to deal with heat cycles if they don't want to. Personally, having a female that is intact doesn't bother ME. But it is something you can control.

Where as if you have a male, you can't control other folks females coming in heat. Some males go TOTALLY brain dead when there is a female in heat in the general vicinity. When it is trial day, and there is a female in heat there, you have no control over that. More that a few males fail because of this.


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## Liesje

I agree the OP should get what s/he wants. We can all go endless rounds with the anecdotal evidence of why female-male or male-male or female-female combinations work or don't work. It really boils down to the individual dogs and how they are managed.

For me heat cycles are a major issue other than managing intact animals of both sexes because several of the events I participate in do not allow females in heat (SchH does, they typically go last). I've seen several friends lose money and be very disappointed preparing for things and then having to pull when the dog comes into heat.


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## BlackGSD

hunterisgreat said:


> What makes you not get along with a male? Perhaps there are males you'd get along with?


I've had several male GSDs over the years and didn't really like ANY of them that well. Yet have gotten along wonderfully with ALL of the females I've had. After almost 35 years of having GSDs, I have decided it just isn't worth it to ever get another male. Not only is it not fun for me to have a dog I don't like, it isn't fair to the DOG. Every dog should have an owner that thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread.

I don't like goofieness most males have. I want a dog that acts like a DOG, not a 90lb (for example) puppy!

I find females to be more serious in general, where as GSD males often tend to act like life is one big party. They remind me of teenaged boys.


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## mssandslinger

my male is a sissy la la as i call him, he gets his feelings hurt so fast, if i look at him wrong he will put him self in time out and act all sad. but i am not doing any extensive training with him, he is just my dopey family dog who plays dead and gets soda out of the fridge haha


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## lhczth

BlackGSD said:


> ....... where as GSD males often tend to act like life is one big party. They remind me of teenaged boys.


Or most adult men. oke:

Sorry, I couldn't resist.


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## Josie/Zeus

BlackGSD said:


> I've had several male GSDs over the years and didn't really like ANY of them that well. Yet have gotten along wonderfully with ALL of the females I've had. After almost 35 years of having GSDs, I have decided it just isn't worth it to ever get another male. Not only is it not fun for me to have a dog I don't like, it isn't fair to the DOG. Every dog should have an owner that thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread.
> 
> I don't like goofieness most males have. I want a dog that acts like a DOG, not a 90lb (for example) puppy!
> 
> I find females to be more serious in general, where as GSD males often tend to act like life is one big party. They remind me of teenaged boys.



Funny, this is the very reason I love having a male dog, I love their goofiness and happy personalities. :wub:


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## LaRen616

Josie/Zeus said:


> Funny, this is the very reason I love having a male dog, I love their goofiness and happy personalities. :wub:


Exactly my thoughts as well.


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## Packen

The way I see it is that pup selection is more important in females as compared to males. A male will overcome issues to some extent at puberty (dose of testosterone) whereas a female is what she is, if you see even a minor issue during development, it will not change over her life. Plus males are a ton more stronger


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## Emoore

Yeah, it seems that some people only like males or only like females. For us, females just don't fit well into our pack. Female fosters, friends' female dogs, even my in-laws' female that lived with us for a while. . . . just don't much care for them. 

I like the goofy, happy-go-lucky boys. After all, life really is one big party.

If the OP is someone like that who strongly prefers females, they should get a female. Especially, as BlackGSD said, their female is already older.


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## gagsd

hunterisgreat said:


> I will continue having males and females. I enjoy both experiences


Oh my!
LOL..... I think I read that in a way not intended!


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## Liesje

BlackGSD said:


> I don't like goofieness most males have. I want a dog that acts like a DOG, not a 90lb (for example) puppy!
> 
> I find females to be more serious in general, where as GSD males often tend to act like life is one big party. They remind me of teenaged boys.


I'm the opposite (prefer males) but I think your observations are correct. I think my problem is that I tend to be pretty rigid and serious myself. I need a dog that takes me down a few notches, not one as tightly wound as myself! Last night I was grumpy, trying to get to bed but already up too late, trying to shuffle dogs to bed and Nikon got the zoomies and started dancing around (literally) with his front legs in the air and it just cracked me up.


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## Gwenhwyfair

Interesting....

I was watching a show about adopting dogs that spoke to preferences...male dogs vs female dogs (sans schutzhund just in general).

The woman was helping a couple pick out the right dog for them and she said simply (and it seems to hold true for many people) some people are 'girl dog' people some people are 'boy dog' people.

I used to be a girl dog person. Now I have to say I love my 'happy goober dog' AND I love my girlie even when she's being all moody, bitchy and yeah she gets serious too.

We've trained while she was in heat too. She did very well. The problem was the people with intact males blaming her everytime their males didn't perform well, even after she was no longer in heat. *sigh*

BTW-sort of side question that still pertains I think... Has anyone noticed a change or impact in their females training after spay?


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## GSD07

BlackGSD said:


> Every dog should have an owner that thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread.


 I agree! I thought it's always so cute when we have those threads about correct earset, or coat, or social aggression etc and everyone posts their dogs and says they are ideal. I'm guilty myself 

To the OP, get the female esp. if you are the one who is training and mostly taking care of the dog. I had a female that was all about my husband, and I always felt that I was simply a caregiver so I couldn't help but spend more time and give more attention to my male dog.


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## abakerrr

When I was looking for my first ringsport/ schutzhund dog, I too was very torn on what breed and sex I should get. I was told that shepherds were crap and regardless of what breed i decided on, i should get a male at the very least because I'll go farther with it. I went with my gut, ended up with a gsd bitch, and love her to pieces. She's super social and approachable, drivey, and depending on how you work her, tends to be really serious in protection. I would say it mostly depends on 'which' puppy you pick and 'which' lines the dog comes from more than 'which' gender the dog is. Next time I might go for a male for some variety but as long as it has the right temperment and works well, I really don't care what sex it is. Everyone has their preference, so choose yours.

Good luck.


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## lhczth

Gwenhwyfair said:


> Has anyone noticed a change or impact in their females training after spay?


Treue yes. She sort of lost the little bit of edge she had in protection. Nike, no. Only age mellowed her.


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## qbchottu

If I was getting a dog for schutzhund, I would get a male. In my experience, they are easier to work with, can withstand stronger corrections and do protection work better. I like the type of aggression I get with males when doing schutzhund. I've seen one or two females that I would love to work in the sport, but I haven't been interested in most of the females I've seen. My next dog will be a male and I want one with enough drive to take a high 3 

Now this is just my experience so don't burn me at the stake :crazy:


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## sashadog

BlackGSD said:


> I don't like goofieness most males have. I want a dog that acts like a DOG, not a 90lb (for example) puppy!
> 
> I find females to be more serious in general, where as GSD males often tend to act like life is one big party. They remind me of teenaged boys.


This is why I love males :wub: I will probably always aim for having a male and a female though because I love both personalities. I've never done ScH so I can't speak for their ability in sport but having lived with three serious, bitchy girls for several years now, I miss my goofy boys... They help me laugh more


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## Ruthie

lhczth said:


> I have only titled bitches. I tend to like tough dominant females that define the word "bitch".  They are not easy to find nor easy to live with. Most females do tend to be softer and more sensitive than the boys. Females can be as hard, as tough, and as aggressive as males they are just not as common. The problem I find with bitches is they tend to think too much so you need to be on your toes. Trialing a female in heat is a pain and some females don't track well, can get squirrely in protection (mine tend to get meaner) or overly sensitive when in heat.
> 
> *Males are more reliable, bigger, and more powerful than females*. They may not come into heat, but some males turn into absolute worthless idiots when they know there is a female in heat around. Males also seem to fit into a household with other dogs, especially females, better. A big powerful male can be harder to handle especially for a novice handler, *they do tend to be more forgiving than most females, but also tend to have a bit more a of mind of their own. *
> 
> I am currently working a male (along with 2 females) and there are things about him I like and things I don't. *He has taken longer to come into himself* than his sister (littermate) and is farther behind in training. He is very big so physically much harder to handle. Luckily he is not an idiot when the girls are in heat and he is very easy to live with. *He is very impressive to watch, very hard to corrections and forgiving* (which my girls are too) and has fantastic tracking ability. He can get a hair too focused on what he wants and at times not as willing.
> 
> I am not sure I will ever handle another male. I still like my nasty pain in the rear bitches (well, most of the time).





> I don't like goofieness most males have. I want a dog that acts like a DOG, not a 90lb (for example) puppy!
> 
> I find females to be more serious in general, where as GSD *males often tend to act like life is one big party.* They remind me of teenaged boys.


I have never worked or owned a female, but I agree with these statements. They are all reasons that I love my boys. Don't think I would like working or owning a female. Both my boys are big lovable moma's boys. Even my Grizz who has a lot of aggression and is what I would consider a true protection dog is a mush with me. I think it is the best of both worlds. 

The only female I have seen that I think I would really like to own is really like a male. As it relates to the OP, that female is a tough as any male in our club. As a green handler myself, I would suggest that as a newbie, you aren't going to notice enough difference that it will really matter. If you like females, go with a female.


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## BlackGSD

Liesje said:


> I'm the opposite (prefer males) but I think your observations are correct. I think my problem is that I tend to be pretty rigid and serious myself. I need a dog that takes me down a few notches, not one as tightly wound as myself! Last night I was grumpy, trying to get to bed but already up too late, trying to shuffle dogs to bed and Nikon got the zoomies and started dancing around (literally) with his front legs in the air and it just cracked me up.


I'm a more serious person too. I think that is why I like the female GSDs. People that are all about being silly and joking 24/7 drive me CRAZY.{I just want to snuff their lights out! } And so do dogs that act the same way.

Don't get me wrong, I like to laugh, joke, and have fun too. Siren cracks me up multiple times daily. But as a whole, she is a serious dog.

Yet I prefer male Cattle Dogs. All of the ones I know are (for the most part.) pretty serious dogs.


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## BlackGSD

lhczth said:


> Or most adult men. oke:


:rofl: :thumbup:


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## justde

Having had both, my next puppy I'm picking based on best potential for sport. Gender is irrelevant. As I get older I'm thinking a female is just a little easier physically to handle. Don't care to deal with potential for female/female aggression issues though. My males were less concerned with the other boys. Each is different, each has their own personal good and bad. Correct temperament, drives, etc. matter most to me. I've had a few females with hopes of breeding a few litters if all else was correct. Each had their problems that made me breeding a moot point (soundness issues). I loved them all and enjoyed working them all. So this time around I'm not going to add that hope for breeding suitability.
Sue


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## TimberGSD2

Thank you so much everyone. This has helped me tremendously. It gives me a lot to think about. 

Personally I've bonded better with the females I've had. I LOVED my male, he was an absolutely fantastic dog, but, I felt that he didn't work as hard for me as my females have. 

Of course we may just have to end up with both. Make us both happy. 

And then of course when the litter is born (the bitch was just bred 2 weeks ago) I may fall in love with a male that has potential. Who knows. 

Thanks again everyone! 

Christina


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## Dressage Rider

What is the difference between males and females that are fixed and wanted for companionship?


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