Pets here, pets there, pets everywhere. You’re green with envy having religiously followed Instagram accounts chronicling the adventures of pets. They’re incredibly cute, seem to be able to do a lot of tricks and shower their humans with a lot of love. Before you know it, you find your cold heart warm and you feel like you want in on the pet owning experience. In this series, we will look at various factors to consider before becoming a pet owner. After all, pets - yes even so-called ‘low maintenance’ pets like cats - do actually include a lot of work on the part of the caretaker. Kind of like parenting, but switching a human baby for an animal. Unfortunately, however, countless pets are abandoned on a daily basis thanks to half or ill-informed first-time pet owners who didn’t bother to spend at least 10 minutes researching about it.

Choosing which breed of dog is best for you and your family can sometimes be difficult, but now you are faced with a slightly easier choice - whether you want to get a male or a female dog. The differences between male and a female dogs can be very apparent, and it is important that you choose the gender that best suits your family lifestyle. Make sure that you don’t choose the gender of your new dog because of availability, otherwise, you might be disappointed.

Pros and Cons - Male Dogs

In general, male dogs tend to be larger and can often need more assertive training. They are considered to be more rounded family dogs and more adaptable to all sorts of situations. However, you should always provide a male dog with an area to exercise that he can’t escape from, particularly when there is a female dog on heat nearby.

Good With Children?

Male dogs tend to see children more like playmates rather than their children and so can be a little boisterous at times. This varies from breed to breed and some male dogs can also be very loving and protective of children.

Temperament

Male dogs are most often more affectionate and seem to thrive on constant human attention. They are usually less likely to separate themselves from the attention and will take any bit of love you can give them.

Training

The majority of male dogs tend to remain rather childlike, and they seem to take a little longer to mature. It can also be a little difficult to keep their attention when training them, but if you can work out what pleases your dog you can make training much easier. On the other hand, more male dogs have won dog shows than females so perhaps if you invest time into training him, your dog will prove all the neighbours wrong.

Pros and Cons - Female Dogs

Female dogs (bitches) tend to be more responsive to training and are often less prone to wandering off. They are also better at socialising with other dogs, but be careful when introducing a bitch to a male dog that hasn’t been neutered. The male can be rather boisterous and accidental mating is always a possibility. False pregnancies may also occur in a bitch’s lifetime. During the dog’s two ‘heats’ a year she will bleed and should be kept in a room that you are able to easily clean.

Good With Children?

Some people choose a female dog over a male dog if they have children, because it is often thought that female dogs are naturally more protective of young ones.

Temperament

Generally, female dogs tend to be a little more independent than males dogs and mostly aren’t so demanding of attention. They love a big cuddle as much as any other male dog, but they tend to take themselves away when they want a bit of down time.

Training

It has always been said that female dogs are easier to train than male dogs because they are far less easily distracted and this might certainly be the case, but if you look at the history of dog show winners a larger percentage of them are males. You should also note that female dogs are almost untrainable during the times when they are on heat.

Should I Get A Male Or Female Dog If I Already Have A Male Dog?

Dogs of the opposite sex tend to get on better. When male dogs are together they often challenge each other's position in the pack and may find it difficult to agree on things. This isn’t usually as bad with two female dogs, but they can struggle to settle the decision of who is alpha female.