Male or Female, Which is Right for Me?
Traditionally many people consider purchasing a new puppy by gender only. However, choosing by gender alone is not making a well informed choice and could potentially place you with a dog that is not at all what you were expecting. There are many different reasons to choose a puppy. Take a minute and think about the reason you want a new pet; is it to have companionship, competitions, or an addition to your family? Think about the type of temperament, personality, and energy level you are looking for. Making sure you know what you are looking for in all these areas before you start looking for a new member of the family! Also evaluate yourself. One thing families forget to do is look at their own lifestyles, personality traits, natural temperament, and energy level.
Once you have evaluated yourself and know what you are looking for, now you need to find the right puppy. To make you life easier, I highly recommend getting a puppy that has lower energy and personality than yourself and of those family members who will be prominent in its training. A lot of the time families want the most active and playful puppy. However, the puppy’s energy level can be adorable and attractive, but once they mature they can be challenging and assume the leadership position. Since, we are all born with different temperaments and some naturally assume leadership, connecting families with puppies that will mesh well with a family is very important.
Energy level is one way to determine temperament of a puppy. If a family is matched with an incorrect temperament for their home regardless of the sex of the puppy, it can cause chaos and frustration. In these cases, the owner or human must step up to the challenge and arise to a higher level of assertiveness and energy than the dog in order to have respect and control over a dog who is naturally higher energy and more independent. This can be difficult and if it is not your natural inborn temperament, if can be very draining on you and your family. This is why knowing your temperament and purchasing a male or female dog that is one or two levels of energy lower than you is EXTEMELY important. Otherwise the dogs, whether male or female, will rule the house and exbit bad behavior.
Traditionally females have been portrayed as being a better family pet. This is a myth and antiquated information that has been integrated into our society. Since now a days people have their dogs “fixed” many of the gender specific tendency’s are then eliminated. Actually, in wolf packs, female dogs are usually the alpha dogs, or leaders of the pack. Many times dog fights are between two females, fighting for the top position. Most males only fight for a female in season and this can be eliminated if they are neutered.. Females can display moodiness, aloofness and independence. Females like affection and simply are not very needy’. However, the fact remains that a female dog can be more independent, it is her nature. If you choose a female, be prepared to become her unequivocal leader, so she can relax and not worry about being the leader of your pack! If your choice is a female puppy, in order to create the most loving and healthy pet, please spay her before her first heat, usually around six months. Letting your dog come in and out of heat without breeding starts a negative cycle of elevated hormones that can cause her to become moody and crabby. Also, it is a scientific fact that females spayed before their first heat have a dramatically reduced chance of developing gender related cancers. This will also serve to keep her from experiencing hormonal imbalances and associated bleeding. If a happy pet is what you seek or a companion animal, please take this advice to heart.
Male Puppies and Dogs
Traditionally, male dogs have gotten a bad rap from our society. They are portrayed as hard to train, constantly marking their territory by hiking their leg, humping anything and instigating dog fights. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Neutered males make the best pet for a family with young children or older adults. They are more committed to the family, they are easier to potty train and seek out love and attention. The number one biggest mistake of male dog owners is not neutering their pet. Experience has shown that men are the most adverse to neutering their pets, for obvious reasons. If you are not going to breed your dog regularly, he needs to be NEUTERED or he will be in constant torture! If you do breed your dog regularly he will mark his territory, he will hump anything and he will be more excitable than a neutered male dog. Why are un-neutered and neutered male dogs so different? A dog has approximately 2 million more olfactory sensors than a human. As humans we can distinguish very few smells. Humans operate on visual, hearing and smelling in that order. Dogs are born with their nose working first, then their eyes opening and then their ears opening. Nose,eyes, ears. For example, humans can smell hamburgers grilling on a BBQ. The same experience for a dog involves smelling the bread, the condiments, the hamburger, the pickle, the tomato, the chips…every single ingredient of that burger! That is why dog are employed for drug sniffing, bomb searching and they even have dogs that that have been trained to sniff for changes in humans and detect cancer cells! Now, imagine you have a male dog, about one year old. This dog has not been neutered and has large amounts of testosterone running through his system and a female dog in heat is nearby. Can you imagine the frustration and excitement created for this dog with no outlet for him to pursue? This dog can then be labeled, aggressive, un-trainable and excitable (and yes he will mark his territory) when his reaction is simply nature taking its course. As you can see, taking action with a male puppy early and having him neutered is in everyone’s best interest. It will make him a calm and in better control of himself and you will be a much happier owner. Males make really great and loyal pets. If you do choose one, please get him neutered. He will thank you for giving him a life of peace and calmness!
What ever you decide to do, make sure you choose a pet that will fit your lifestyle and energy level. Samoyeds are active yet can be laid back, happy by nature, eager to please and make fantastic family and companion pets. They most often have a wonderful temperament, they are easily trained and great with children! They naturally are loyal and love to be spoiled! As a breed, they can make a well rounded family pet.