Dog Buying Tips: Male or Female Dog?

     The decision whether to buy a male or female, a dog or a bitch, is entirely a personal choice.  A male dog is somewhat bigger and stronger than its female counterpart.  Compared to females, males display somewhat different character traits; they are more affectionate for instance.  These differences are more pronounced during their puberty stage, so a good upbringing is very vital.  Otherwise you may end up with a self-willed, strong dog that’s hard to restrain in the vicinity of a female in heat.

     A male tends to be more dominant in nature thus typically needs more leadership.  They will try to play boss over other dogs and, if given the chance, over people too.  In the wild, the most dominant dog (or wolf) is always the leader of the pack.  In many cases it is a male.  A bitch is much more focused on her master, she sees him as a pack leader.

     A puppy test is very important in defining what kind of character a young dog will develop.  During this test, you can easily see that a dog is more dominant than the bitch.  You can quickly recognize who are the bossy, the more adventurous and the cautious characters.  It is advisable to visit the litter a couple of times early on to find this out.  Try to pick a puppy that suits your own personality.  A dominant male dog, for example, needs a strong hand.  He will often try to see how far he can go.  You must regularly make it clear who’s the boss, and that it must obey all the members of the family.

     When bitches are sexually mature, they will go into season or estrus.  On the average, a bitch will be in season twice a year for about two to three weeks.  This is the fertile period when the bitch can become pregnant.  Particularly in the second half of its season, it will want to go looking for a dog to mate with.  A male dog will show more masculine traits once it is sexually mature.  It will make sure other dogs know what territory is his by urinating as often as possible in as many places as it can.  It is also difficult to restrain a dog if there’s a bitch in season nearby.  As far as care is concerned there is little difference between male and female.

     (This article is part of the series - Tips on Buying a Dog).

     Get more dog articles by subscribing to Dog Lover.