Which Is Better -- Male Or Female?

[deboosh]

I'd like to apologize if this is a dumb question; neither myself or my DH have ever had a dog. We have decided that a grey is the perfect dog for our family but I have a concern about getting a male after talking with my neighbour.

 

She has 2 small male pooches and says that she is constantly cleaning up after their marking everything from eachother to the curtains. Is this true, that male dogs have a tendancy to mark inside the home? As first time owners, we will definitely only want a female if this is the norm.

 

Thanks for your input.

[Beachbum1]

Taylor, my boy, has never marked inside anywhere in the 9 months I have had him.

[Guest ShanYu]

My boy is a perfect angel. No bad behaviour at all.

[Guest undergreysspell]

I have had many male dogs and never had a problem with any marking in the house .

[Guest lovnmygreys]

I have had other breeds in the past and have usually preferred the females. We have had our first two greyhounds for about 2 weeks now (one male, one female) and I've actually had a problem with the female peeing in the house, but the male has been PERFECT. He's a cuddle bug too, much more so than my female. That being said, we adore BOTH of them! :beatheart :beatheart

[HoundHeavenAZ]

I have one of each here - Jimmie has been here 14 months without marking inside, Leah has never marked either in 5 years.

 

Here's an idea - meet as many hounds as you can and then foster the dog that falls in love with you (you'll fall in love with them all probably!). Try to not have any notions about size, color, gender and just test one as a foster first. Or maybe two

Happy hunting!

[Hubcitypam]

After 6 greys (2 female, 4 males) and a zillion fosters the title of most damage done peeing in the house belongs hands down to the smallest girl. First time owners often want a small girl and they are missing out on the best kept secret in the greyhound world - the big boys.

 

I agree with meeting a lot of dogs - and don't automatically dismiss the boys.

[winnie]

It sounds to me like your neighbor is the problem - not the dogs.

[brandimom]

Taylor, my boy, has never marked inside anywhere in the 9 months I have had him.

 

Of course Taylor would never mark inside :hehe

 

I have had males and females. The males never marked. The female marked only because of a medical condition. I agree with fostering both sexes, fall in love and then adopt that foster and you have flunked fostering 101

[Guest widowcali]

I have a male chow mix, who is the lone voice of testosterone in my family of girlies. He has never marked in the house. My grey, Cali, and the IW mix, Brighid the Wonder Puppy, have actually peed more in the house than the chow has.

[Beachbum1]

Taylor, my boy, has never marked inside anywhere in the 9 months I have had him.

 

Of course Taylor would never mark inside :hehe

 

I have had males and females. The males never marked. The female marked only because of a medical condition. I agree with fostering both sexes, fall in love and then adopt that foster and you have flunked fostering 101

 

That's true....it would require him standing up

[christinepi]

Tracker marked once, in the beginning, and in the cat room (doesn't that make sense??). That was 2.5 years ago. The only reason why I'd like to get a female one day is because of their undisturbed "sight line" of their bellies. They look even sleeker than the males. But that's only a visual, personal thing.

[Fruitycake]

That's a problem of incomplete potty training of her dogs, not a "general condition of boy dogs" as she seems to be implying.

 

Monty only used the inside of the house when he was brand new and my husband didn't get him out in time (Monty was asking by fussing and whining, and I even translated for my husband - I was in pajamas and feeling poorly and going to bed). In Monty's defense, he tried really hard to do the right thing...he used my really large potted plant that was on the floor in the front room. There is no defense for my husband who just kept telling Monty, as if he understood, "just a few minutes" as he played his video game.

[Guest Jacks_Human]

I have had other breeds in the past and have usually preferred the females. We have had our first two greyhounds for about 2 weeks now (one male, one female) and I've actually had a problem with the female peeing in the house, but the male has been PERFECT. He's a cuddle bug too, much more so than my female. That being said, we adore BOTH of them! :beatheart :beatheart

 

My mum prefers female dogs, but she's always kept huskies (or husky crosses) which are her favourite breed. Jack is a very snuggly, well-behaved boy. He did mark once, right after I first got him, after a male engineer came to fix the wiring. IMHO he was still at the bonding stage, and felt a need to assert his claim to the territory, and his only accidents since have been either me being extremely late (I got stuck on a train that hit a cow!) or him being sick (ie, he ate a snail off my neighbour's flowers, and then barfed it up in the hall).

[Hubcitypam]

Another thought is that smaller dogs (of either sex) are often much harder to housebreak than larger dogs. yorkies, bichons, maltese and the toy versions of other breeds are known to be housebreaking challenges.

Edited September 5, 2012 by Hubcitypam

[cleptogrey]

male greys are a goof- baby boys

the girls are the brains behind the operation from my experience.

i personally perfer males, more affectionate, not as serious. all of my other dogs have been males, never had problems w/ my terriers or salukis marking....except the one time one of my salukis lifted his leg and pissed in a bowl of chicken noodle soup on the coffee table after i told him to "leave it". only a saluki would/could do that!

[Guest kirstenbergren]

After 6 greys (2 female, 4 males) and a zillion fosters the title of most damage done peeing in the house belongs hands down to the smallest girl. First time owners often want a small girl and they are missing out on the best kept secret in the greyhound world - the big boys.

 

The big boys are the best! I've had PJ (90 lbs.) for 3 months now and he's a perfect angel in the marking department. We've never had an issue. He's a big lover.

[Brandiandwe]

I have two females. And TBH I don't think it would matter which one you get - I've got the two most perfect greys in the whole wide world so anyone you get is bound to be a disappointment.

 

Seriously? I have one snuggly girl who has messed in the house fairly regularly - better now but she's also gotten quite sick so accidents have started now. The other is a much more aloof young lady who really has staff rather than owners. Friends who have boys adore them and they certainly seem much less intense than one of my girls. Meet a few and see which one picks you.

[DesiRayMom]

Big boys are the best!!!!! Big girls are just as good!!!!!!

 

Years ago I had two male dachunds.......I NEVER got them potty trained. They were impossible. They were darling boys and I loved them dearly,

but they simply refused to go ouside to potty. Play, yes, potty, no. Their mind set was that the yard was to play in, eliminating should be done inside

where the human would promptly clean it up.

[Guest DeniseL]

I was worried about marking, too, when we adopted our boy, Miami. Especially when he was sent home to us with a belly band LOL. However, he has only marked in the house once in two months. And that was after my girl peed in the living room and he marked on top of it. ,My girl has had 3 accidents in the house in 2 months. But I figured out that when she is really active, when take her to run, she needs to pee about an hour our so later. Now that I figured it out, I dont think we will have any more problems.

I was partial to the girls which is why we adopted Thyme first, but I have to say, my boy has really won me over. My gentle giant. much slower to come out of his shell, and refused to walk in the beginning, but he is definatly worth the wait.

I don't know for sure, but I think it is harder for adoption groups to place boys, especially big boys, so maybe that might sway you a bit. Good luck!!!

[mychip1]

When we got our first dog, a Beagle, we got a female because everyone always said that female dogs are just "better"....we adored her, but she had bladder trouble all of her life. We now have three male greyhounds and they are all wonderful. I think it all depends on the hound!

 

Good luck with whatever you decide and let us know how you make out!

[gazehund]

No question is dumb if you have never had a dog before. None of my four boys have ever marked in the

house. Give the boys a chance. They are pretty awesome.

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

As everyone has said, peeing in the house is not a boy or girl thing. I have had both and I don't think one or the other is harder to train. I have heard that small dogs are harder to train, but even my maltese mix is a gem and he never marks in the house.

[Guest zombrie]

I have had males and females (multiple fosters), I don't think one sex is better than the other. I'd never not take home a dog just because I prefer males or vise versa.

Minerva is just as silly, goofy, affectionate, etc as her brother Doolin Out of all the dogs that have gone through my house, only one foster was aloof and not as affectionate. That just happens to be a female... but she was also a 10 year old brood mom who just didn't care about 'nothin' as long as she had a bed to sleep on

They are all different!

Oh, and I've never had issues with marking inside the house. I just make them wear bellybands at first just to make sure they know that they can't go in the house!

 

Go in there and have no lists or expectations. Just see who steals your heart

[Riverhound]

We went to kennel looking for a little girl, but I got picked by a big, goofy, boy. (Jumped out of the crate and licked my nose. End of story.) He's my dog. Don't get me wrong, he and DH love each other, but the little girlie hound we got just before Christmas is his. If the group you're working with has enough suitable dogs for your household, let a hound pick you.