Boy vs. Girl

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

So not to start a debate, but the comments about boy vs. girl in the other discussion got me thinking and wonder what other doodle parents experience has been.  I was told by everyone that girls were easier than boys, definately get a girl pup etc when we were looking for our first.  And in fact most litters only had boys left.  When we went to get Rosey one of her brothers was still there and I was leaning towards him but my husband adamant was that we take the girl.  Then months went by and I craved another for Rosey to have a playmate.  From my earlier post, I was originally going to get a girl, but a last minute email from our trainer about the mixed/same sex relationships completely changed my mind.  And along came Bandit, who is by far an easier puppy.  Not that I don't love Rosey but Bandit was easier to train, minds his mama better, will potty on command, doesn't bark, is so much more calm overall.  He just doesn't need to get caught up in the small stuff!!  again, just curious what others experience is...

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have always had male dogs--I had either "inherited" them or, as some of you have said, it is easier to find a male puppy left in a litter. They all had their issues and were not that alike. NOW, I have two female LDs because I wanted to get a girl dog for a change. My older one is super devoted to me and very friendly and obedient. A good dog all around. So, i thought, "this is more like it!" and got a female pup last year to add to the family. Well, they couldn't be more different and my second dog is much more like the males I have had. She is more independent, more interested in guarding the house rather than hanging with me,has much more energy and is more likely to ignore commands! So, I think that the male/female thing may be a complete myth.
As for the "training" thing--I agree that they copy and follow each other--so If I say "come" my obedient little Mattie will come running and the more aloof Lyric will follow, but may not have come on her own. She doesn't want to miss whatever Mattie is going to get when she gets to me!

[Trowby]

We have a new puppy- a boy this time. I have always understood that it's best to have a boy and a girl rather than two of the same sex. Our new little guy is the calmest puppy I've ever seen. He just melts in your arms. His big sister loves him and they play hard. I'm also glad we got Sage first. Otherwise we would be tearing our hair out. She is much more high energy and high maintenance. Together they make a great pair. She is calmer with him and she also tries to keep him in line- like when he starts nipping toes! I love having the two together.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have grown up with all male dogs. My parents got a female for the first time 2 years ago. Peri was the 2nd girl in our entire family. Both girls were more difficult than the males....
I love them all, but I am just saying! There is something about the boys. Peri has a much bigger attitude though and is hilarious.

[Sofie, Maggie, and Luna]

I have to disagree about the second puppy being easier. Our first puppy, Maggie, was an angel. She had her puppy issues obviously, but she was so easy to train, understood things the first time we told her. Learned quick, super smart, and would seriously do anything we asked her to do simply to make us happy. She LOVES to make us happy. She'd jump off a cliff if we asked her to I think. Then along came Luna...she's now 8 months. Her nickname is "terror puppy". She is hyper as heck, has a serious case of ADHD with an emphasis on the "H". She is smart and knows all the commands, but she hates her kennel and will come sit next to it but wont go in on command. She makes me grab her shoulders and drag her in. She refuses to walk nicely on a leash, we had to get her a gentle leader. She barks, she tackles Maggie, I can run her for 4 miles and it doesn't even faze her. She gets home and goes into a full sprint and barrels into Maggie, or the Cat, or whatever happens to be in her way. She is super smart, but she acts SO incredibly dumb. When we ask her to sit it takes her about a minute for the command to get through her thick skull and all the way down to her butt which is wagging like crazy and finally realizes that she needs to put that butt on the ground. And then it's still wagging, the butt will wag sideways which forces the front feet to scoot along with it until the butt finds a wall to stop it's wagging progress and then finally will it come to a rest. To give you an idea her nicknames are, "thumper butt, spaz, psycho puppy, terror puppy, twit, and the most affectionate one is Luna-Bop." We love her to death, but she has sure been our challenge. As for the mixed/same sex relationships, we have two girls and Maggie is our alpha girl. Luna does mind Maggie, but then Maggie has teeth to get those commands across. They get along and play a lot, but they aren't super duper close like my sisters two dogs who are male/female. So I sometimes wonder if it would have been different with a male puppy. But oh well, too late now for me, we have two curly girls and we love em.

[Wendy]

Motta and Miley are brother and sister. I got Motta at 7 weeks and Miley at 10 weeks. Miley was a much more secure, trained puppy and was totally potty trained by her mama. Motta is a little insecure and skiddish sometimes/.. also was not potty trained. So, I think the age you take them away from the mama makes a big difference. In my experience though... Miley minds much better and is much smarter than Motta. He chooses not to come when called the first 10 times and just has that "Duh" look about him while Miley is so smart.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Here you go Barbara!