Male or Female?

[redhead77]

I am going to look a dog but I cant make up my mind wether to get a male or female. I was wondering what would anybody thinks or what their preference is better or is easyer to train.
Thanks

[Mayfly]

I've always bee told female.....why? I don't know.

Males are more independent
Females are more dependent
This is what has been told to me, and this dependency issue makes a dog easier to train and easier to handle in the field.

[duckbuster]

I think most of the time you will find that females are "softer". The males more often than not are a little more stubborn. Both can be good at times and bad other times.

What I mean by that is that stubborness of the male can lend itself to have the ability to take more pressure when training. Meaning maybe he is a little hard headed. On the other hand the softer dog might correct quicker but also might fold under the pressure.

Some people would have nothing but males in their house others just the opposite, it's just a matter of choice. I will never have anything but females because I feel they are a bit more affectionate and loving toward my 6 & 8 year old daughters. I have had 2 black labs and am now on my 1st yellow and I haven't been disappointed yet.

GGOD LUCK with your decision.

[Canuck]

This post should bring some comments. I prefer a female.
1st- if there is a female in heat in the field when U are huntin she isn't bothered.
2nd- a male is always wanting to mark his territory, more than not it is right out the front door. Really makes the wife happy.
3rd_ I find the female has a better nose
4th- have found the females what to please more than males.

(Mind U I am biased to Labs)

[redhead77]

Also i was wondering if their is a difference between a males or females durability in the field or if it is about the same.
thanks for the replies

[island guy]

I've had both. My current female is the most stubborn, independent dog I've had. She is also the best waterfowl dog I've owned.
Do you have and take pride in a nice lawn? If a female has the run of the yard you will have urine burns where ever she squats. Males tend to raise their leg on stumps, trees poles, ect. Tends to save the lawn a bit.

[setterguy]

This is a very broad question so in return I must issue a broad answer. As always in my posts, remember there are going to be exceptions to every rule so take these with a grain of salt.

Males - Pros : Stronger, able to hunt longer and take more abuse in the field. No coming into heat, no spotting, mood swings or having an accidental pregnancy.
Cons: Mature slower, may take more time to "catch on" to training. Tend to be more aggressive. Don't have the life expectancy of a female.

Females - Pros : Smaller, won't take such a beating in the grouse wooods, tend to be a little more "detail oriented" while hunting. The ability to have puppies and try to duplicate what could be the best dog you've ever had.
Cons: Can't hunt as long in heavy cover. Usually take longer to rebound from a long day in the field. The whole in heat thing.

Of course these are generalizations. There are places and times for both sexes, some you wouldn't see any of these differences in. You should decide what type of cover you hunt, how often you get out, and us those to make your decision.

PS- If I found a litter that met my standards and I was waiting for a puppy I would take a male or female out of that 1st choice litter rather than wait for another litter just so I could get my choice at M/F. Do your homework, and try to find the best breeding you can afford. This will be your best chance at getting a good dog whether it be a boy or girl.

[Cootz]

I'm in favor of a bigger dog. Do a lot of duck hunting but also a fair amout of upland as well. Maverick is a 95 lbs. (winter weight) male that was cut the second that the vet would let me (six months). He doesn't mark his territory, doesn't "dance" with females, has a very soft mouth, is great with kids, isn't too stubborn, nose is good, is very durable in the duck blind, and he seemed to have trained fairly quickly. He's everything I wanted in a lab. On the downside, he pees like a girl, doesn't have the stamina as a smaller dog even though he's in very good shape come hunting season and proceessess a lot more food. I would own another male without hesitation. But I'd definately get him cut so he doesn't start all those negative habits associated with males.

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So many scientists, so few rockets.

[bigeyes]

hmmmm. Don't think there is any evidence to support the statment that females have better noses. I would image the nose would be about the same and depend more on the dog. I had my male cut at 6 months too and no marking territoty for him. He sqats always has. He is super gentle, and really likes to be with us. I am sure it depends on the dog.

[CHESSY_NUT]

Redhead,have had both. First was a female yellow lab,great dog do any thing to please you. Used book water dog by John Wotters as training guide.Very easy to train using this method. Will produce outstanding dog ready to hunt at age 8 mo. If this is first dog would go this way. 2'nd was a 125lb. deep red basket-ball head sway-back male chessy, Old Radar was quite a handfull for a few years but turned out to be a great dog also. Was much more harder to train,but once he got it down who was boss things were ok. I just had to wait a little longer to get my ducks some days as he enjoyed swimming quite a bit. Males tend to do things that please them vs. a female wich will do things to please you. Lucky for me old Radar liked to hunt. On my third dog now also a male chessy. much smaller version about 65lb but what a rocket. Has turned out to be a very easy dog to train, but still not as easy as my female lab was. So if this is your first hunting dog I would go with a female lab.

[BLACKJACK]

I think Chessy Nut does a good job of explaining the difference between a male and a female, the female is always eager to please, the males can get head strong. My first dog was male lab and now I'm on me third female and I'll probably never go back to a male. But if you're anal about your lawn then think male, because with my two female labs I get plenty of yellow spots! A male might be a little better at busting cattails, I've seen males that you just can't get out of the cattails where my females are more selective, if there are birds in the cattails, they'll bust them just fine but it isn't like the males that do it just for the 'joy' of being in the cattails.

For a first dog, I'd recommend a female. Good luck.

[LABS4ME]

This topic comes up every couple months... most of the guys seem to respond to get a female. I've had many of both and I do tend to lean towards females...BUT: some of the things stated on here are not fact and are fictious. As Setterguy stated don't let the sex be the final factor of getting a pup out of good litter. If you want to insure a dog without the drawbacks of a female or male, have them spayed or nuetured. A nuetered male at a young age will act no different than a female. A female who is spayed at a young age will not have the harmone (or spotting) ups and downs of a heat cycle. You are taking away the ability to make the harmones that are usually associated with the drawbacks of either sex.

I have a male now who was a stud dog for many years, and he wants to please me and obeys as well as my females. The only time I have problems is when he is smelling where a female in heat has pee'd. It really is all in the training... don't give them any slack rope when young, and you won't have obedience issues when older. Once trained, a male dog is the same day in and day out... they are consistent workers. That is why trialers prefer them over females. As far as better noses, I don't even no where that one came from... most titled dogs are males, and you have to be at the top of your game to win a trial.

Plain and simple, you'll probably be happy with either. If this is your first dog, choose whichever you prefer and really work on obedience. You'll find hunting is 80% obedience and training and only 20% instinct.

Good Luck! Labs

[CHESSY_NUT]

P.s.- Most of us are not pro- trainers and you don't want a robot for a family...and or hunting dog so I was just pointing out that a female lab is just easyer to train for a non-pro trainer than a male. Also will say once more,get the book Water Dog. Use this method and you will have a great dog by 8 mo. old--- male or female! Good luck

[Mr. B]

Labs4me is hunting really 80% training and 20% instict? Not trying to disagree with you, I am just hoping that my labs instict can make up for my lack of training skills.

Any tips for training a female lab for ducking hunting would be great. Pheasant hunting she has but ducking she still needs work.

We decided on a female because we were hoping for a smaller lab. Maggie is 60 lbs and just the right size for our house and 90% of the hunting I do. I am a little nervous about late season hunting because she is smaller but so far she has shown no ill affects even when she is playing with the ice floating on the lakes right now.

I do have to admit that my yard is yellow right now and it will take a long time to get back in shape.

Good luck I am sure you will be happy with your choice.

[LABS4ME]

Not trying to diminish the instinct part, but when you think about hunting in it's entirety, it involves mostly obedience work. Think of duck hunting, the majority of the time the dog is suppose to sit calmly in the blind or boat and wait for the birds to be shot and retrieved. Depending on what level you'd like to bring your dog to, this may involve steadying to shot and delivering to hand, all training not instinct. The actual events that are instincts would be the mark and the retrieve, but even both those are brought out through training. Also many duck hunters prefer to have their dog trained for hand signals so they can hndle their dog on blind retrieves or swimming cripples... again all training. Pheasant hunting requires a dog to quarter, or hunting within range, re-call as needed, steady to shot or at least understand the command no-bird and generally retrieve to hand... all trained events. The instinct parts do come into play with quarting somewhat and the use and trust of their nose to find and put up game... again only a portion of your day out hunting... control is the name of the game when hunting.

Chessy-nut... I hope you weren't implying that I mean for your dog to become a robot... My dogs are far from that, but I do have control over them and they know that, and I'm not a pro. I agree with maany of your points: that a Lab is the right way to go and in very general terms a female can be easier than a male. I've had them both ways; easy males and stubborn females and vice-versa... but a lab generally is one of the easier breeds to train. Also I do agree the book Water Dog is a great book for those who are starting out training their dog. I still use several points from this book myself when training and recommend it to many of those buying pups.

Good Luck! Labs

[redhead77]

thanks for all the replies. Chessnut any idea where i can find that book water dog. i was also wondering if that book was handsignals or not. Wont be to long now only about 4 weeks unitl they are ready.
Thanks

[CHESSY_NUT]

Labs...Was not implying anything of the sort and fully agree with your feelings on obedience. Redhead...Would try online,should be able to find a copy.Book does cover hand signals.Also pick up pup when it is 49 days old.Good luck!

[LABS4ME]

Redhead, Generally Fleet Farm has the book in stock, also Barnes and Nobles has it or could order it for you. Does go into handling.

If you're looking for a good book on hand signals try "Training Retrievers the D.L. Walters way". Goes into detail as far as the T, double T, walking T, etc. Get a really good foundation on marking before you start any handling with the dog or you'll develop bad habits such as "popping".

Good Luck with the pup! What did you decide on?

Labs

[Cootz]

One of my favorite online dog stores is GUNDOGSUPPLY.COM. I've got "Hey pup, Fetch it up" by Tarrant and think it has some really good information in it. A little dated, but still informative. Don't agree so much with using birdshot to train a dog...

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So many scientists, so few rockets.