Male or female, what is your preference?

[Kimberly Keenan]

Ok, so we have debating this within the family as well with our friends. I have always had female dogs and I prefer female dogs to males dogs. Our Bindi is a female ALD and my daughter is getting a new puppy. She is getting it from the same breeder that I got Bindi, The big decision is, does she get a male or female. She is going on Oct 14 to pick out her pup and she is going to make the decision then or have the puppy pick her. She lives with me, so her & the puppy's primary residence is my house. I think a female would be better match with Bindi. Bindi gets along well with my sisters dog who is a female  my neighbors grandpup who is a male.

My brother had both a male & female dog and he said he prefers a female dog because they are much more loving & like to cuddle.

I also worry about about a male dog spraying/marking and humping. I don't think Bindi would put up with any humping.

Would be great to hear from some doodle familes that have both male & female doodle households or all female doodles. Also anyone who have had both. It would be great for any input.

Thanks!

[F, Calla & Luca]

 We have had similar  discussions many times including one quite recently. I think you might do well to go to all discussions at the bottom of these discussions and search through them.

[Adina P]

I prefer male dogs, but not for any good or evidence based reasons.  I think it's just because my one male dog has my favorite temperament of dogs...and my females have been more neurotic and hyper. 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I always had female dogs because I did not want to deal with marking, humping, red rocket appearances etc. etc.  When I got my first doodle Sasha (goldendoodle) it was no question that I wanted a girl.  But when I made the decision to get another doodle I decided that having two larger dogs I was worried that the two females might have issues so I decided to get my first boy dog.  My Oliver is the sweetest, loving, goofy boy you could ever meet.  I had him neutered at 6 months even before the neutering he never humped Sasha, he never marked and I only saw his red rocket once.  After neutering I never saw it again and was quite concerned but I found out from posting on this site that it is normal.  My Ollie is 2 1/2 now and does not hump Sasha what so ever and has never marked in the house or even outside, he still squats, he has only lifted his leg a few times - LOL.  Now that I have a bit of experience with male dogs I would get another in a second, I just love my first born son to bits :)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have a female doodle and I love, love, love, love love her, BUT I prefer males.....same as Adina.  The female dogs I have known have been more hyper and I grew up with males and just love them.

Just an fyi, my male chihuahua squats to pee; my female doodle often hikes her leg.

[Cyndi, The Boys & Callie]

We have two boys and I can't imagine more loving dogs.  They have never marked in the house or even given an indication they were thinking about it. As for humping, that can be more of a dominance thing. The boys will do it rarely (and very briefly) when they are playing and I have a friend with two female dogs who experiences the same thing as I.   

[Margaret & Pebbles]

I just think it's preference.  I have two females, a doodle and a non doodle.  They are both so loving and get along great.  We also visited my nephew for 4 days recently and he has two females, all 4 dogs together with no problems.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

The only dog I know who marks all the time and humps is a dominant female dog.

Luna is the opposite - she is super submissive, sweet and thinks everyone loves her and wants to play with her.

My childhood dog was also female and was super calm and friendly. 

I think the individual personality of a dog has a lot more to do with behavior than their biological sex - assuming the dog has been spayed/neutered.

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

I totally prefer male dogs. I personally find them more silly, loving and cuddly. We have NEVER had trouble with our doodle spraying/marking or humping. I will probably never get a female dog again just because of the wonderful experience we have had with Remi.

[Vivian & Mojo]

My first dog was a female, I always preferred female dogs of friends, I guess I'm uncomfortable with red rocket appearances. After my female husky passed away last January I thought about another dog, a female for sure. I decided on a Labradoodle and went to chose my puppy when the litter was 3 weeks old. The breeder knew I wanted a female. I was holding several girls and watching the puppies and fell in love with a wavy fleece female, about 10 minutes later the breeder said I'm sorry but that's a male, well I decided to choose the male,  I loved him already. Mojo is the sweetest little boy but he is a humper and shows off his red rocket almost daily. Thank goodness no marking or leg lifting. He is 5 and 1/2 months old and getting neutered next week...I hope the humping and appearances stop. I pretty much stop him when he humps but have no control over his show & tell.

[Suzanne & Jack]

All of my dogs have been male so I have nothing really to base my comparison.  I think you can have humping in both male and females.  I will say that my boys are very affectionate, sweet, and cuddly. They've never really had issues with their rockets showing

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Charlie is an ALD and was neutered at 7 wks.  I wonder some days if he knows whether he is a boy or girl even now that he is 1 yr. 8 mos!  He is definitely a cuddler. We have a deposit on a litter born Aug 5th, and it may be that we will be getting a female depending on the temperament testing results, so maybe I will be experiencing what it is like to have a female!.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Here is what I have to add--I have two female doodles and a male. One of the females is not spayed (a breeding dog) and her son is my dog too and he is not neutered (another breeding dog) --although he does lift his leg in everything in the yard, he has never humped anything or anyone. (He is still pretty young and has not been used for breeding yet.)

My other female doodle (spayed) is the humper--she humps the larger female whenever she gets the chance--she also does that male thing of digging up the grass with her hind legs after she pees in the yard.

My male is the most affectionate of the three and loves to give hugs. Also, none of his 4 brothers, who are all neutered, lift their legs! 

So, I agree that it is a matter of preference but I am willing to bet that there is no general rule as to what a "female doodle" personality is like vs. a "male personality.