Females vs Males
I have had dogs most of my life. I have had a wide variety of breeds over the years (fostering and rescuing dogs has been a great way to experience many breeds/temperaments/traits/etc) and the one thing that has always stayed the same with all breeds is male puppies/young adults seem to be a lot more 'crazy' than female puppies/young adults lol There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part this is how it is in my experience and that still rings true with my Akita's.
I will use Hachi and Kuma to show the differences:
Kuma has been a breeze overall (there have been serious moments of stubbornness and rebellion and craziness, of course, but that is super normal lol). She has been super easy to work with and train, she house trained easily enough, she does not bother anything that isn't hers, she doesn't demand your attention, she is not a velcro dog but isn't aloof either, she is laid back most of the time, the only thing with her that has been a 'challenge' is her recall but even that improves daily, etc.
Hachi has been more of a..... challenge LOL We love him and he is GREAT but he is crazy hahahaha (not in a bad way!!)
He has 100 times the energy of our females, he is GOOFY, silly, clumsy, was a lot harder to house train, he plays a lot rougher, reeks havoc on the household when he get in his crazy dog-high energy mode, he never slows down, always doing something, keeps me laughing, grabs any decor he can reach and carries it away (doesn't destroy it, though),etc.
BUT he is, for the most part, more affectionate, seems to 'get his feelings hurt' easier (i.e. you tell hem to 'drop it' or when you go outside and he can't go- he seems to be saddened or upset), loves to be beside me all the time, etc. I also have to say that his recall is near perfect (he might refuse to come 1 time out of 10)
I am just curious what your thoughts are on this and your experiences. Are males or females easier to train? Which one is calmer? Other thoughts on differences in behavior?
I will use Hachi and Kuma to show the differences:
Kuma has been a breeze overall (there have been serious moments of stubbornness and rebellion and craziness, of course, but that is super normal lol). She has been super easy to work with and train, she house trained easily enough, she does not bother anything that isn't hers, she doesn't demand your attention, she is not a velcro dog but isn't aloof either, she is laid back most of the time, the only thing with her that has been a 'challenge' is her recall but even that improves daily, etc.
Hachi has been more of a..... challenge LOL We love him and he is GREAT but he is crazy hahahaha (not in a bad way!!)
He has 100 times the energy of our females, he is GOOFY, silly, clumsy, was a lot harder to house train, he plays a lot rougher, reeks havoc on the household when he get in his crazy dog-high energy mode, he never slows down, always doing something, keeps me laughing, grabs any decor he can reach and carries it away (doesn't destroy it, though),etc.
BUT he is, for the most part, more affectionate, seems to 'get his feelings hurt' easier (i.e. you tell hem to 'drop it' or when you go outside and he can't go- he seems to be saddened or upset), loves to be beside me all the time, etc. I also have to say that his recall is near perfect (he might refuse to come 1 time out of 10)
I am just curious what your thoughts are on this and your experiences. Are males or females easier to train? Which one is calmer? Other thoughts on differences in behavior?
Comments
I want to know how much is breed specific and how much is actually a difference between genders. It'll be interesting to see people's answers because I find Toki's traits I listed as very Akita-like rather than gender-related.
How was Toki when he was between 3-6 months? Was he calm and laid back then as well? Or was he a crazy puppy that calmed down with age?
I see a lot in their behavior that might be considered breed specific but then I see some things that I call gender specific but I base that solely on my own personal experiences.... I am very interested in what other people say, too.
To be quite honest, I think that there is more variation between individual dogs based on their personalities, than there is based on gender.
He had puppy energy, but it was way toned down than say, a typical breed like a terrier or lab puppy. He has always, even when he was little, always loved his stuffed animals. Toys from the salvation army are the best cause they're smelly and they last a long time. Right now he has pooh bear
@jellfart, that is too funny! I like "Tokes" and if it fits him.... even better lol
Kuma loves stuffed animals, too. There is a thrift shop close to home that I can buy big bags of them. I always bring them home, wash them and then throw them in the toy box. I hid some new ones at the bottom of the box to see what she would do..... She pulled all the toys off the top and slung them out of her way, picked out each new toy (there were 4)and put them in her crate.... too smart lol
However, I would suggest waiting until your male is done growing before neutering. Getting him clipped before that point will cause stunted penis development, which can cause a handful of urinary issue including getting "himself" stuck outside of himself, there's also never instinctually leg lifting causing male dogs to pee all over their front paws. Not exactly something you want every 4-6 hours lol. As well as changes in bone/joint development due to the reduced testosterone, which can cause issues further down the road with walking and joint pain in the second half of his life. You could google search for studies and information, there's quite a bit out there.
I have seen no changes in temperament/personality in any of my spayed/neutered dogs. I did see changes in sex related behavior in the males (no more drinking girl dog pee, for example, or following around my spayed Shiba obsessively).
I suspect the differences between males and females is like anything else--it depends on the dog. But I have noticed some females (esp. in Shibas) are sharper than the males, and tend to be more aggressive with other dogs. Also, they tend to not forget or forgive, and have a good memory for dogs they don't like. I find the males a bit easier overall, and that's also partially because i didn't have to worry about them going into heat (if I was getting a female now, I'd likely want to wait through at least one heat cycle before spaying).
Taki, as a spayed female Shiba Inu is definitely very affectionate at times. She will climb into my lap if she is craving my attention, she'll snuggle up into my armpit or lay her neck across my neck if she wants that close feeling. It's not ALL the time, but those moments stay with me
@jellyfart I agree - it is more beneficial for females to be spayed than males (neutered). The breeders told me that testosterone contributes to longbone growth, so neutering a male too early could stunt his growth where that doesn't apply to females. Nonetheless, I plan to keep my female JA intact unless a health issue occurs because it is a major surgery that didn't go so well with Taki
@shibamistress It's all relative to the age at which the male is neutered. If the puppy is neutered within a few months of being born then obviously it will have a greater impact on their growth vs if it was neutered close to a 9 months or beyond. It depends on the specific dog too. I saw early-neuter Goldens that had genitals half the size they should be, as well a few dachshunds that were also 9 week neuters who had themselves get stuck outside themselves causing very painful red inflammation. Two had to have $500 surgery to cut the sheathe so that it could all fit back together properly. After research and four years of seeing early neuter males having consistent symptoms across different breeds it just makes more sense to keep them intact until they're fully grown.
ONLY if the owner can handle it though, which I would say everyone here is capable. We all know that the average owner most likely is not responsible enough for that though.
Not to mention a lot of people are misinformed and expect monthly periods from their females. Heat is twice a year in most dogs if I remember correctly.