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

[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

[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)

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by hunterisgreat

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.

[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.

[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).

[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.

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by 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)

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

[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

[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.