# Male vs. Female Competition Golden?



## Obedience rocks (Feb 17, 2020)

Hi! This is my first post on here. I have a Golden right now, (last name’s) Lil Spark of Red BN CD RN RI CGCA, call name “Rhode”. Not now of course, but eventually I do plan of getting another golden. Rhode is a field type, not the HIGHEST energy, but still very energetic and intelligent. I set aside a lot of time to exercise and train him. My question is this: are there any marked differences between males and female competition dogs? Rhode was a bit challenging to train, but I like his happy go lucky personality and the way he is ready for anything. All my previous dogs have been females. I’m more of a ‘judge each dog as an individual’ but wondering if there are any if at all differences. I plan on doing primarily obedience, some rally, and agility. I also want a high drive, ready for action dog suited to competition. (UD, otch potential) It might make my decision easier if I had to choose.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure more experienced folks will chime in, but... in my personal experience I haven't seen any consistent difference in competition dogs based on gender. My two best competition dogs (one male, one female) came from the same breeding program (first dog was the maternal uncle of the current dog). They had/have similar personalities and drive, but are/were still unique individuals with their own strengths and challenges.

If your current dog is male you MAY want to lean toward female this time, just to reduce the chances of same-sex aggression (not something that always happens... some males do just fine together). However, if your current dog is intact and you intend to keep a future (female) intact through at least a heat or two, that is also something to consider.

If working ability is your main goal, my suggestion is to leave the question of gender open and let your breeder decide on the best match for your goals based on her familiarity with the puppies in the litter.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

It really depends on the lines the dog is from versus sex in my opinion. The only reason bitches aren't always titled as much as dogs is because they are the ones having the babies and not being able to trial because of their cycles. Look at pedigrees and siblings of the parents to see what the working ability likely is.

Although, you can't always judge by the titles in the pedigree. My male and female are from totally different, but mostly conformation lines. My male has many more back end titles in his pedigree than my female does. He is fun and easy going, wants to do whatever I want to do, which I love, but he just doesn't have the drive to be a top level obedience dog (and I'm not a top level trainer by any means). He has just the right amount of drive for Rally, which is our main sport. My female on the other hand, has drive, energy, and intelligence to spare - and she's from strictly conformation lines with limited back end titles. Yesterday, my husband was drilling her on going to her kennel on command from a distance, and she gave 110% effort the entire time, whether he had a treat or not. She was just so excited to work! If I can learn to really train her, I have no doubt I can take her pretty far in Obedience. Probably just got lucky with her, OR there was a lot of unused potential in her ancestry.

To be fair to my male, I think he could potentially get a CDX if I can get him dumbbell trained, but heeling is holding him back right now (mostly my fault).


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

My last golden was a female from mixed field/conformation lines and she was an amazing agility dog. When she died at age 8 of cardiac hemangiosarcoma, she was the reigning Canadian agility champion in her class. I discovered that I couldn't bear to get another female after losing her so suddenly - although some wonderful female pups were available, I couldn't say "yes". In the end I went ahead with a male pup from a great performance breeder. He's incredible (there is no other word for him) and he has turned out to be a perfect agility partner. He's intuitive, trainable, attentive and fast. When you interact with him, you can see the decades of care and expertise that went into producing a working dog like this. I don't know if he's a "unicorn" (an exception to the rule) gender-wise, but even though all my previous dogs have been females, I wouldn't hesitate to get another male based on my experience with him. I love having this dog as my partner.

My advice would be to choose the breeder and ask him/her to choose the best pup for you regardless of gender.


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## Obedience rocks (Feb 17, 2020)

Thank you! My golden, Rhode, is not intact, and pretty mellow in terms of getting along with other dogs, so I don’t think I need to be concerned with that. My next dog, however I do plan on keeping intact a little longer, at least 1-2 years to allow full, healthy development. I also have a husky mix that’s a rescue, and my first dog, before I started in AKC. Ultimately, I think I’ll just have the breeder choose the puppy as they know them best, but like seeing what others opinion is on the subject. 
Which brings me to another question—do most people with competition goldens neuter/spay them eventually if no plans on breeding? Or can that have a detrimental effect on competition drive?


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

It's just that the bitches are out for at least 6 weeks a year when in cycle- and you may not want to enter when you expect her to come in... I don't remember ever reading any articles that suggest altering = less drive. 
Even altered, same sex aggression is always a possibility but probably unlikely.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

My dog is not neutered (he's 4 years old) and won't be. My last dog, a female, wasn't spayed, and that was a bit more problematic because we had to miss some important trials when she came into season.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

I own a girl and a boy. I love my boy's seriousness when it comes to work. When we are in the ring it's just me and him. Neither one of us really notice anyone else. He's always been that way! Very mature. He was showing and qualifying at a year old. Wins his class almost every time. I love my girl so much, but she is a goofball! I never know what dog I'm getting when I enter her. She will either do very well or completely blow an exercise. She notices everything, in and out of the obedience ring. Didn't start qualifying until she was 2. She loves obedience and tricks. Both have their CDX. 

They are from the same line on the maternal side (aunt/nephew). The sires are different lines but both are very nice conformation and performance dogs. He is still intact at 3, she was spayed at 2. They aren't aggressive, but they will defend themselves. She tells off puppies that refuse to leave her alone after multiple warnings.


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## Rion05 (Jan 4, 2016)

I actually wanted a female from the litter my Novice A dog came from - I REALLY wanted a pup from the litter by the time they were born, but I had told the breeder that I preferred a female. Long story, but only 2 pups were born and I was offered the male. I took him and have not looked back - the next litter I looked at, I only looked at the boys (4 this time)! Haha! 

Since I don't plan to start breeding litters, I actually find the males easier. I dabble in conformation, and I find keeping an intact male very easy. 

I do think some females mature earlier. My males do lose their minds a bit when they hit puberty, haha. But I've owned both and in my experience it is really more about the litter than the gender - great working dogs come in both genders, but you increase your odds of a nice working dog if the pedigree is full of other highly titled working dogs.


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