What is better, a male or female puppy?

The question I am often asked is 'what is better, a male or a female dog? "  My honest answer is that it is not the gender that makes one dog better than another.  But there are several important factors to focus on to assure yourself the best family dog.

The first is good genetics.  If the mother and father both have great personalities, then the puppies are also more likely to have great dispositions.  We have done that screening for you.  Both Dixie and Peter's Dugan are very sweet, compliant gentle dogs and come from a history of parents with great dispositions.

Secondly, good training is very important.   When you bond with your puppy and are consistent with expectations for him, you are setting the stage for a lifetime of reward.  Puppy Kindergarten classes are a great way to set yourself off to the right start for good training from the beginning.  Reading good books is another good idea to learn to train your puppy well.

Finally it is highly recommended that you spay or neuter your dog early!  Your veterinary will tell you what age he/she recommends for your puppy.  But certainly this is best done, well before the dog reaches sexual maturity.  If you spay/neuter your dog early, the problems that come with the breeding hormones in a male and female will not impact your dog.  The male and female will be very similar.  Both equally good companions.

Stereotypes:  Generally there is a higher demand in the market place for a female dog over a male dog.  For this reason we charge slightly more for females to encourage people to consider the question more seriously. People usually avoid a male because of problems associated with an untrained, unneutered male dog.  When the male reaches sexual maturity he will start lifting his leg to mark his territory, he will try to run away to find a mate, and other dominance issues can emerge.  If the dog was neutered early and well trained, he should not have any of these problems and should be an excellent pet.

On the flip side, people consider a female to be easier to handle, while in reality she will have her own set of difficulties if she is not trained and not spayed before she reaches sexual maturity.  An unspayed female will go into heat around a year old and she will have to be confined because of discharge for 10 days, after which she will have another 10 days where she will be seeking a mate and could become pregnant.  While she is in heat, stray dogs will come wandering to your yard from miles around.  Your unspayed female will sit at the door waiting to find her mate, and will pee frequently to leave her scent everywhere she can.  And because females are often alpha dogs in the pack, dominance issues could also emerge with an unspayed female.

There is one other valid rule of thumb, in choosing the gender of your puppy....If you already have a dog in your home, it is often recommended to purchase a dog of the opposite gender for best compatability with your existing pet.

So do consider this information when choosing a gender for your puppy.  Both males and females are excellent companions.  If you spay or neuter them at an early age, and train them well, either is a great choice.