Do Tell: Did Gender Play a Role In Your Pet Selection?

October 8, 2009

When deciding on North, as the litter's ~~sole male~~ crown prince, I learned his sisters were all rather independent as pups where he would whine and cry until he got attention. Nothing has changed. What I thought was cute then . . . in the middle of the night now, not so much. Whether you chose your pet from a breeder or through adoption, how picky a role did gender-picking play?

Source: Flickr User 3Neus

Do Tell

18 Comments

alba 3 years 31 weeks

Yes it did. Only male animals, :)

Susanna 3 years 32 weeks

I've been told by people (breeders, vets) at dog shows that female dogs, regardless of breed, are generally more independent than males. And of all the Labs I've known, the males will follow their owners from room to room and get underfoot, while females won't necessarily. On the other hand, the neediest, whiniest dog I've ever known was female. So who knows!

tiff58 3 years 32 weeks

Not really. I chose my Saint Bernard because he was the runt and was in the corner of the barn while all of his brothers and sisters were getting fed by their mother. I saved his life! :)

3 years 32 weeks

I had no preference but my ex insisted on a female. My current boyfriend has a male and I have a female. They both get along really well. They definitely have distinct tomboy and girly girl personalities, but that may also have to do with their breed.

stellaRuby 3 years 32 weeks

Doesn't really matter in my family. I want the dog that will best fit my lifestyle. We currently have 3 girls, but it just worked out that way. They are all very sweet girls- no divas in our family :) Well except for my husband.

jenni5 3 years 32 weeks

...and yes he was neutered.

jenni5 3 years 32 weeks

As far as cats go...I find the males have sweeter personalities (in my experiences anyway). But for a dog we picked ours based on her sweet calm personality. Plus I remember our male dog constantly humping our legs as kids.

Happsmjc 3 years 32 weeks

I'm with KelliAnn, only male dogs for me. (But if I got a cat I think I would get a girl.)

kitkatherine 3 years 32 weeks

honestly - i don't care. my fiancee - on the other hand - was set on a girl. his family had a boy dog when he was young that was really bad and he just believes that girl dogs are "better." i tried to convince him at one point to look at a boy basset - but there was nothing of the sort. go figure our girl dog is the most dominant little thing i've ever met - but she is the sweetest thing ever. just with other dogs - well everyone assumes she's male because of her behavior.

psterling 3 years 32 weeks

Sex didn't matter for my cats but I really wanted a male dog since I've always had females. BUT...when my husband and I walked into the shelter and saw our little girl waiting to greet us at her kennel door, we just knew we had to bring her home. So in the end it wasn't so much of a factor.

Chrstne 3 years 32 weeks

I have a female cat, but sex didn't matter to me, I would have taken male or female, and happened to fall in love with her. However, we are thinking of adopting a second cat as her companion, and we are both fairly set on a male, since we have heard and read that female cats usually have a hard time accepting other females. My cat is very needy, and truly doesn't like anyone intruding on her time with her humans, so I want to make the transition as friendly as possible...since she does need a friend.

Yogaforlife 3 years 32 weeks

I was raised in a household that would only ever own male dogs and cats, still not sure why my mom feels that males are easier than females. So when my husband and I got our first dog, it was a boy, Benny. When Benny was two, we wanted another dog to keep him company. But Benny is an alpha dog and does not do well with other males, especially if they try and act dominant to him. A dog behaviorist told us he would do great with a submissive female. So we got a submissive female puppy and it worked out great. They are best friends. Benny is more attached to me but listens best to my husband, and Maia is just an all around sweetheart who is attached to me. I love those Berner puppies - I want one so bad. Next dog we get will be a big loveable Berner.

3 years 32 weeks

I completely did not look at gender at all with my 2 cats and ended up with 2 sweet girls (rescues both fixed.) With the dog I wanted a boy because I already had a house of girls and I have seen/heard that opposite gender dogs always bond better. If you're a guy, get a girl dog, if you're a girl get a guy dog, etc. And at 3 months he is so far so good :)

3 years 32 weeks

Absolutely, it did. I wanted a Siamese cat, but when you do the research...the females can be a little bit hard to take--especially when feeling amorous. So I got a male and had him neutered asap. He's been an amazing, loving pet for 8 years.

3 years 32 weeks

i usually always pick male dogs. i live on a farm and find that altered male animals are sweeter and more lovable. female animals seem to have that diva attitude and are pretty independent. although i'm not saying this is true in every case.

Kelli Ann 3 years 32 weeks

Besides breed it was the most important thing. Only male dogs for me :)

campfirekansas 3 years 32 weeks

I really wanted a girl dog, I don't know why, but my little girl was the only one left, so she is the one I got.

kiwitwist 3 years 32 weeks

It was a key player. I have only ever had female dogs and have heard a lot of negative boy traits. Which I am sure are not true. But at that time I didn't want to take the chance, so girl it was. Now that I have two dogs and know a ton of dogs of the same breed my main decision would be personality ONLY.

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