Do Female Doodles Mature Faster Than Males?

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I know this holds true for human females, but am curious if its true for dogs as well. We've only had 2 dogs, Lucy, our 3-1/2 yr old Labradoodle, and Oscar, our 7 mo. old Multi Gen Labradoodle. It has seemed that Oscar has been weeks, if not months, behind Lucy's development (when she was Oscar's age) in many ways... emotionally, mentally and physically. The exceptions are he's very food motivated making training very easy (EXCEPT for potty training, which took months! Lucy took weeks.). In some regards training's been even easier with Oscar because he has Lucy to show him the ground rules. AND, he listens the first time when we correct him, which is something Lucy still does not do consistently. In Lucy's case, I think it has to do with her being high strung AND stubborn. She has a much more stubborn streak than Oscar. Physically, Oscar is clumsy still, and he just seems to have a 'puppiness' about him that Lucy had lost by 7 months. (I'm not discounting the fact that maybe my memory is off! It has been almost 3 yrs since Lucy was 7 mos. old.) Could it be just the difference between females and males?

Don't get me wrong, I kind of like that Oscar seems like such a puppy still, and maybe he'll always be that way. Maybe its just his personality and physical make up. Maybe he'll always have that puppy clumsiness, and puppy enthusiasm, and will always pick things up from the ground while on walks (ugh!). He certainly is not as high strung as Lucy, nor as sensitive (emotionally and mentally). He does have a lower pain threshold than Lucy and can be a loud complainer when he's not feeling well. Lucy, on the other hand, keeps a lot of her feelings to herself and you have to be a good detective to figure out what's bothering her. I can see the differences in their personalities, but for some reason it strikes me Oscar is a bit slower at developing than Lucy at the same age.

So, for those of you with males and females (doodles preferably, comparing apples to apples), have you noticed a developmental difference between the sexes?
 

[Heather]

My Ellie DEFINITELY matured quicker than Oliver did. Ellie just turned "2" and Oliver just turned "1". He still has so much puppy in him!!! He is also my Mushy one. Ellie does things at her own pace. Both of mine are food motivated also. Not sure if that is amplified when you have two in the house?? Enjoy that puppy stage it is SWEET and males are just SO LOVEY All the time. It's FUN having one of Each~

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Does it ever make you wonder if Oliver will EVER lose that puppy part of him? That's what I'm curious about. Maybe Oscar will be like this all his life. He, too, is super 'lovey-mushy' and so easy going.  As Pat below says, Lucy is our elegant one (she's got that poodle prance and agility and has 'girly-girl' written all over her! Oscar is our soft, casual, clumsy one! Oh, btw, Lucy's picky eating habits haven't changed since Oscar's arrival. He's trained not to go to her dish while she's eating, but the moment she walks away, he's on it like white on rice!

[Heather]

Well I always say he is my clumsy Mush!!!! I have two boys also and they are the same way. Very easy going, no drama and not much alters their moods. Oliver is the same way. I swear it's a male thing. I always felt BLESSED to have the boys, they are just Simple!!! Ellie is also my dog and sometimes will lay by my husband, but Oliver is more Lovey with the whole Family. I am taking Oliver to training classes right now and the trainer has all males and swears that they are just more uncomplicated. Ellie has been very easy going, but I think she gets that from being in our family We are All easy going also~

[Sharae & Winston]

I am so jealous that you both have lovey dovey boys! Winston could not be more different. We are of no interest to him other than when he wants something lol... He chooses to sleep on the floor rather than by us on the couch, bed etc. When he does lay by us, its only for a few minutes and then he hops down to be on his own. And to think my #1 quality that I wanted was a sweet little cuddler.. I wonder if there's something I can do to make him more that way! :-/

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned is very aloof, Sharae.  Clancy and Gordie want to be near us and adore being petted, but Ned likes his 'space' most of the time.

[Sharae & Winston]

Aloof is the perfect word to describe him! I guess it really is just a personality trait... I'm crossing my fingers when he matures he will change into a mushball. lol

[Pat and Traveler]

I just love both Lucy and Oscar, but they do seem to have very different personalities!  Lucy is elegant, somehow, and Oscar is just a big, loveable goof.

Trav is the only dog I've ever had, so I don't have any experience with male vs female development.  I can say that Trav was very easy to potty train, which is especially nice since I didn't really know what I was doing!  He only pooped in the house once, the first night he was home, and was amazingly fast about learning to pee outside too.  Learning to walk on leash was much harder!  I tried keeping a treat down by my side to sort of lure him along, but had to drop it when he was in position because he would get my fingers too.  What he learned from this was to just suddenly stop and stare at me.  It took me a while to figure out that I'd accidently trained him that stop and treat came together.  lol 

 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Good for Traveler, and how nice for you! It sure would have made life a whole lot easier if Oscar had potty trained quickly. He was so easy in all other regards, but because potty training was so hard, it really overshadowed the positive. Now that its over we can really enjoy Oscar's unique personality.

[GBK]

My girl Kona is the younger, and yes, I think she is definitely an older soul than her brother Buddy who is two years older.  He potty trained very easily, but that was the only thing easy about his younger years :)  He has a lot of enthusiasm for life and I can still see that impishness in the way he steals clothes and waggles them in front of you for attention.... He is also a momma's boy, he will be 8 this year (hard to believe) and other people still ask if he is a year or two old.  I sure hope it stays that way for many more years.  Kona is far more independant, loves outside and doesn't need to be as "near" as Buddy does.  She is more sensitive all the way around and we use our happy voices with her, she melts, I love them so.  I love that they are different, but get along so well.

[Heather]

I LOVE the differences also, makes you Love and appreciate them for their own Unique personalities!!! :)))

[GBK]

I did so many things different with each of them, and they both taught me different things in life.  I think you really do get the dog your meant to have. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Its encouraging to hear this. Oscar is also a momma's boy (which I LOVE) and its hard to ever be mad at him. He melts my heart every time! Lucy is more her daddy's girl, but has an endearing quality all her own. I, too, love that as different as they are, both Lucy and Oscar get along so well. Lucy is all about play and is forever trying to engage Oscar for a round of wrestling and 'crock-a-doodling'. He has brute strength, but she is so very agile she can out maneuver him every time!