# Female vs. Male



## gold4me (Mar 12, 2006)

I have had 6 goldens over many years. We have only had one female and the rest were boys. I love the males because they are kind of goofy and very attached to me. They say females love you and males are in love with you. Now having said that about my boys my Emmy was amazing, sweet, lovable and my princess and I adored her. So what would I recommend---either a male or a female because they are both wonderful, loving, sweet and loyal.
Guess I didn't help that much.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

*So which sex is better when it comes to training?*

I've seen both excel. If anything, I think the girls mentally mature faster than the boys? But even there, I know of some pretty silly females who love the world and want the world to know all about it. 

*Which is more attached to it's owner?*

This depends on the specific dog, not gender. There are plenty of dogs out there who just don't bond as deeply as others. Some of it is just them. 

*Which is usually more laid back?*

Again depends on the dog. Some goldens are really high strung. Some are mellow and easy going. Some have to grow up a little bit. 

*And her last question is more of a concern. Well she has a male yorkie, who is so laid back. He keeps to himself mostly besides when he wants to cuddle. He loves other dogs but isn't a big fan of puppies, (he stays upstairs when I bring Cora over for a visit). But her question is will a male or female be more likely to try and dominate her yorkie? And will the puppy learn to not rough house with her yorkie since he or she will be raised with him?*

Any puppy will rough house. If not mounting the other animals in the house, then there could be resource guarding or prey type behaviors. This depends on how adept or dedicated she is to keeping the dogs apart and training. Going to obedience classes with the golden. Keeping the golden on a leash when the yorkie is around. 

Our golden was raised with our cat, but he roughhouses and pounces on the cat. Doesn't hurt the cat who does play and box with the golden. It would hurt a yorkie though. This is the numero uno reason I would not adopt a dog so small or fragile.

I think the question your friend should be asking is if she's prepared to bring a big dog home. Especially a big dog who will be fairly clumsy and crazy inside the house. It would be pretty unfair to both dogs if they always have to be kept separate. Or if the one dog gets preferential treatment (being upstairs with the family while the big dog is kept downstairs all the time)... 


As for the choice between gender - boys are easy keepers. I listen to female dog owners and what they do to keep their dogs clean and UTI free or whatnot. Crazy.


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## monarchs_joy (Aug 13, 2011)

My response is the same as Gold4me - either. I've had two females and now a male. They're all lovable. One of my females was very independent and pretty sure my husband hung the moon. My other female was really affectionate and pretty sure that I hung the moon. My boy is very affectionate too. The jury is still out on who his favorite is. Right now he wants to haul his 62 lb butt into any available lap, he couldn't care less who's it is  

I would focus more on finding a reputable breeder with the temperament she prefers than sex. I have a Boxer too and sex matters in that breed, but Goldens not so much from everything I've read and experienced. I did have a breeder tell me for training purposes she preferred males, but that was just because she didn't have to limit training for females in season. 

MikaTallulah has Yorkies and Goldens. Maybe she'll chime in or you can PM her and ask about interaction. I think it's up to your friend to train the pup to be gentle and provide supervision until he/she can be trusted. *http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/members/1066-mikatallulah.html*


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## photoweborama (Dec 6, 2007)

I've heard the same thing, the females are not neurotic about their owners. My Bo is neurotic about me. When I'm gone, he goes crazy. He will wait, looking at the door, waiting for me to come home. If I'm in the garage, he will whine and cry until my wife lets him into the garage.

If I get the female I want, I'll find out if it is all true.


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## AbbysMom505 (Jun 16, 2012)

My girls are our first Goldens, but, I have had a few pups and used to always swear by the males...being a female owner...I always felt male dogs bonded with me more...almost like a 'mama's boy'. When I married my husband we added a female dog to our family...which pretty much proved my original feelings...Livy bonded more with my husband...she is 'daddy's girl' all the way...and she still reacts like a teenage girl to me. Now, we've added two little girl Golden's to our family...and they've pretty much blew my theory out of the water. LOL Abby is my husbands buddy...and Maggie is mine. They're the same age...from the same litter...same sex...and have grown...trained etc etc at totally different levels. Abby was the runtlet and is smart as a whip...but totally behind the curve-ball on the maturity. Maggs is growing at the speed of light....super mellow and mature...but she's been a little slower at the training process. So...to end my lonnnggg comment....my thought is that it really depends on the dog. From what I've seen there is no standard on males vs females. Much like us humans-they're all different.  


*~* Abby & Maggie's Mom *~*


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## sdhgolden (Aug 13, 2012)

I have a 7 month old male golden and he's my first. He has been super easy to train, but I think that's just a golden thing not a male or female thing. Also he is pretty attached to me, always has to sit next to me or lay on my feet. (but he'll sometimes cuddle with my husband too). But to be honest I think he'd cuddle with anyone he loves loves loves people! If you've met him once even for a second you're best friends next time he sees you(in his mind). As far as interaction with a yorkie, this is my experience: when he was 11 weeks he tried to wrestle with a six week old golden, he was obviously bigger so they needed supervision everytime they played. I've gone to the dog park everyday since he was 4 months. And that age he was a lot bigger and he would just sniff and walk away from little dogs because he didn't know what to do with them. At 6 months he was best friends with a 6lb male chaweenie that was only 3 months old. It was so funny to watch them play because he was SO much bigger and also because he was so gentle with him! I don't know how he knew to be gentle but he could tell he needed to I guess and he was still having fun! Sorry this is kind of long winded but I hope this helps! 


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Molly is my first golden. She learns insanely fast because she is extremely food motivated. She has always been mellow and laid back but easily excitable when she's outside. She's the youngest by 2 months in her intermediate obedience class and she's probably not the most mature but she really is the fastest learner (or maybe no one is doing the homework!). Even though I put a lot of work into it, I give her basically all of the credit. I really am so proud of her!

She is also a cuddler. I wake up to her cuddled against me every morning when the whole other half of the bed is empty with my bf being gone at work. She likes to rest her head on me when she sleeps. She likes to nap at my feet. If I get up and go to another room she has to either follow me or get up and watch me. It's hilarious when I peek out and she is staring at me from around the corner. 

I don't know if it's a girl thing but I do consider it a feminine quality because sometimes she can be quite sassy. If she gets a sock she won't chew it but she will prance around like a beauty queen trying to get your attention and trade for a cookie. There is a certain look in her eyes when she does this and it's very funny. If no one pays attention she will drop the sock and forget about it.

For my next pup I am tempted to get a boy so I will have one of each, but I will definitely place temperament above gender.


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## Manna777 (Jun 20, 2012)

I would look at the parents first and find out about there nature, I have had a female and male in the past (bro and sister) we had the sister first very loving and wanted to be with you, when her brother came at 8 years he was very laid back, she was in charge and very attentive. When she passed away we got to see his true nature he become committed loving and affectionate in ways we had never seen in 6 years. 

Ernie is a mummys or daddy boy when it suits and how he is feeling.

My opinion is it comes down to dogs nature and how much time you put in our breeder has always said a trained dog is a happy dog and a pleasure, an untrained dog is a nuisance to everyone.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> I don't know if it's a girl thing but I do consider it a feminine quality because sometimes she can be quite sassy. If she gets a sock she won't chew it but she will prance around like a beauty queen trying to get your attention and trade for a cookie. There is a certain look in her eyes when she does this and it's very funny. If no one pays attention she will drop the sock and forget about it.


The boys do this too.... 

Anytime Jacks gets a treat or something he's excited about, he parades around with it and teases us with it. We kinda encouraged him in this because he's so adorable when he does this. Or he slowly paces around back and forth in front of us with things he knows he shouldn't have. 

Our other dogs - like Danny - would take something they think they shouldn't have and go sit somewhere where we could see them and look MOURNFUL about it. If we approached him, he'd grab and start the parading and "you can't get this unless you say the magic word (trade)" waddle.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I've had both and have enjoyed both. I'm not sure if the differences are more due to gender or different personalities. Hank seems to be a little more goofy and velcro than Maggie was. She was more "stately" but I might just be remembering her senior years. Not much help, I know.

No matter what gender your friend decides on, her Yorkie is going to be in for a change! Golden puppies are rough and big. Since this is a concern, maybe she should look at an adult Golden or a smaller breed.


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