Best puppy choice - male or female?

Female puppy. Males turn into leg-humpers, and you can avoid early questions about manliness from your little girl.
Plus, female dogs don’t run away as often as males.

This is definitely a no leg humping zone – it creeps me out. Do they do that even if they get neutered fairly early?

Yup.

I don’t agree that all male dogs do that; I’ve had several males & none of them did. One of them, however, had a thing for blankets. Males do tend to want to explore more than females, in my experience. I think there are some general personality differences btw male& female but it shouldn’t be an issue for training at all. I find I have a slight preference for female dogs but we also have a male right now who is a big love sponge. I think what breed you look for would be a much bigger issue than sex; I’m assuming you would want a fairly calm dog.

One of each.

Have them both neutered at about 15mos.

Dogs are such great companions with each other, as well.

Dump the cat.

Initially when we were looking for a dog to adopt I wanted a female. Luckily I came across an add for a 1 year old male who was given only 48 hours to live at the shelter he was in. We immediately called and arranged to pick him up. He’s been wonderful from the moment we got him and I’m so happy that we did. Our second dog came to us unexpectedly and he’s a little more of a spaz, but he’s still a very loving dog. I still think that if we ever decide to get a third dog, it will definitely be a female.

Oh and for the record neither of my two boys are humpers.

Female! Though my one female right now is a total ditz, for years and years we’ve had more female dogs than males. The latest batch of puppies was mostly male, though, and our balance changed. Its a less friendly and a more competitive place in the yard now.

My female dog never picks a fight with any of my cats…I cannot say the same for my male dogs ;(

@Supacase So far every female dog I’ve had treats other animals in the home like a family member of theirs. My males have always “just tolerated” the animal community in my home.

I don’t have humping male dogs, either. However as pups my males dogs have always needed more training time. (more patience) Whereas the females seem to learn quicker and hate to hear “No!” so they’ve rarely been repeat offenders.

I’ve always had male dogs, and prefer male animals to female animals.

Also, I don’t recall any of them humping me, but they like to hump blankets…I thought all animals did that.

My female dog ‘ran away’ (i.e. several houses down the street) far more often than my male dog. Even into her adult years she has persisted in her explorations.

My male may have been an anomaly, I guess, but he was the nicest, tamest, mellowest dog I could have asked for. We’d leave him in front of the house all day and he’d just watch the world go by. He also never humped a leg in his life (he was neutered, though this doesn’t guarantee anything).

I guess I am partial to the males.

My observations on this: female dogs are much more discreet about grooming their privates, and I have yet to see a female dog masturbate. It seems most male dogs, whether neutered or not, tend to almost be preoccupied with that.

Training differences between the genders are determined by the natural prey drive of the breed, as is demeanor.

Both genders can be equally loyal and gentle. I rescued a black lab/ pitbull mix who would spoon daily with 2 female cats.

IMHO some important considerations for you should include: the dog’s natural temperament, and how much exploring the dog will typically get to do. Male dogs tend to need bigger exploration areas. They also tend to mark territory by urinating frequently on poles, trees, perimeters, etc.

Walking a male dog on lead can be a not so pleasant experience for that reason. I have had one too many male dog drag me to the nearest pole, tree, hydrant because they are compelled to mark it. In general, female dogs are much more happy go lucky on walks.

Good luck no matter what you decide, and congratulations!

I talked to the owner of the pups I am interested in today – she has one male and possibly one female (someone wants it, but has not committed). She isn’t a breeder; her two dogs just happened to have a little unauthorized rendezvous the day before the male was to be neutered.

My daughter desperately wants a poodle, but I want a cairn terrior. These dogs are a 50/50 mix of both (a cairnoodle – who knew?) Both parents are healthy, the mommy dog is more “frisky” of the two. I have always loved cairn terriors and it is one of the top breeds for our needs based on the dog breed selector.

As for the puppies, she said the female is more dominant (in fact, she had the male pinned down while we were on the phone) and the male is a mellow little love bug. I have really only considered a female, but this is causing me to reevaluate based on what she is saying.

@virtualist No way I’m dumping the cat. She is 13 years old and I’ve had her since 6 months. She’s family. :-) Plus, I love cats.

@Supacase Puppies are not always what they seem when you see them together. We thought my sis’s tea cup pom-a-poo was a docile creature until he came to our house to visit and started controlling our cats.

@Supacase I agree with Spatzie. The personality of each of my pups is far different when you get them alone than they are together. The older dogs are different too depending on who they’re dealing with and when you get them alone. If you have the chance, go and ask if you can play with either or both pups individually to see how they act when away from one another.

@SpatzieLover & @avvooooooo Thanks! I would not have thought about that. Will definitely do that.

I prefer females because they do not leg lift. Other than that I have had dogs of both sexes who were excellent. And I have never had a male who was a blanket or leg humper (thank goodness).

Poo and Cairn sounds like an interesting mix and I bet cute, do they look more like poo or cairn? hopefully the intelligence of the poo will tame the wildness of the terrier.

@rooeytoo I found two places that had some – one set looked more like poodle and the other more like cairn. The ones I’m interested in (because I trust the people more) look more like cairn and they are adorable!

My boy dog is a serious humper! Humps more than my boyfriend wants to! And that is saying something :D

Edited to add: And by that I don’t mean humping me… although… oh god, I can feel the hole below me getting deeper, LOL

@Rachienz The hole below you is getting deeper? Must be a big dog!