Male 'v' Female ???

[annabelle]

Hi everyone,

I posted a question many months age about whether to go for a cocker spaniel or a cavalier.  I had great advice, many thanks.  Since then I have decided on a cocker spaniel, and will be ready of my new little friend from the end of may onward, (Finishing degree...at last)!!  My new dilema now however is which sex to go for.  I have already decided on a blue roan, (I think), but not sure if I should have a dog or a bitch.  I read somewhere that some bitches can be more dominant, and that generally males are more amiable.  Is this the case?  I have always thought of having a bitch as I naturally assumed they would be less aggressive, which is very important as I have a 4 yr old daughter.  Am I wrong?
Many thanks,
Annabelle                    

[annabelle]

Me again,
Just read through previous thread and discovered the answer to my question.  That is, there is no answer...all are individuals.  Just have to use intuition I suppose, i.e.. which bounds toward me first etc.
Many thanks,
Claire                    

[*Jay*]

Hi Claire, if it's only the dominance issue that is affecting your decision regarding which sex of puppy would be best, some breeders are now carrying out temperement tests on their pups. This is where a behaviourist assesses how the pups react to certain situations eg being restrained. They then give them a score from say 1(being very dominant) to 5(being very submissive). This can then help the breeder ascertain which homes to sell the pups to. Of course, some breeders may well have a general idea regarding temperament anyway without the tests. I would think that a home with a  young child should have a puppy somewhere in the middle. In Vegas's litter, there was clearly 2 dominant pups and 1 very submissive pup - and even I could see that so a breeder should have no problems. Enjoy searching come May                    

[Jane S]

I've read about temperament testing but as yet haven't heard of any Cocker breeder who uses it - it's not really an idea that has taken off, although I can see it might be useful for a first-time breeder but then again, remembering our first litter, I think it was fairly easy to spot the different characters each pup had.

I think Gill is right though - an experienced breeder is able to tell prospective owners which pup is likely to end up "bossy" & which is more easy going, although this isn't a guarantee as to a pup's eventual temperament as so much depends on other factors like training, socialisation etc eg even an apparently submissive pup can end up ruling the roost if they have an owner who can't say No                    

[Hel]

It really depends on your preference.  I personally prefer cocker dogs to bitches - probably because I grew up with dogs.  Both dogs and bitches have their advantages and disadvantages, but again, those tend to be individual specific.  Bitches can be fairly dominant but it tends to mean dominance over other dogs and bitches, rather than dominance as far as their owner or other humans are concerned.

On the temperament testing issue, my parent's first puppy was nervous and shy compared to his litter brothers and was nervous of various things for years (especially small children).  However, as he grew older he got and remained dominant as far as other dogs were concerned.  However, dominance over other dogs did not mean he attempted to be dominant where humans were concerned - I don't think he so much as growled at a human in his life.                    

[Mary]

It took us ages to make the decision over what sex to have.  I wanted a bitch, hubby wanted a dog.  Read a lot of opinions on COL and spoke to a few breeders too.  So many different opinions and so many contradictions!  What you heard from one person, the next person would disagree
In the end we visited a litter at 4 weeks old and saw the parents.  It was then we made our decision.  We fell in love with the mum .  Our decision was made and everyones opinions then didn't matter!
We now have our gorgeous little girl

By that I'm not saying get a girl!  A friend has 2 absolutely gorgeous 12 week old boys.  Male/female, they are both lovely.                    

[annabelle]

Many thanks to all of you for the great advice.  
I think asking the breeder might be my best bet then.  To be honest I don't mind what sex we have as long as they aren't the boss of the litter...the intermediate one sounds better for my circumstances.  I read somewhere that you should match your dog to your personality, and I'm a very quiet person really, so I wouldn't really wan't to be tested by my dog continously .  Don't really think I could cope with an overly dominant dog.  But as you say, the breeder should have a good idea, which is a good start .  I have a book somewhere which outlines the tests that you can do for dominance.  I'll have to dig it out.
I'll be sure to let you all know when I have my little dog/bitch. Can't wait now                    

[Christine]

Hi annabelle, If they say  choose a dog that matches your own personality then, we've definately done that!  Our soon to be new puppy is the biggest, fatest little thing out of the litter that is first to the food bowl just like us                    

[mill]

i too had this problem, some would say a bitch would be better then you would talk to someone else and the decision became harder,
i would go with a open mind and let the pup pick you, not very wise in someways, but well that is what i did and i am very happy with my little girl                    

[Sheryl]

Phew, difficult question.  I am biased of course as I have two girls and all girls before that.  Haven't a clue what boys are like at all but I know girls are just lovely.!!                    

[nettypheas]

Yeah me too - I love most dog breeds but cockers are my favourite and I couldn't imagine being without one now, but I have always had girls myself -Im sure boy cockers are lots of fun tho.  Good luck with whatever you choose.                    

[Lee]

We already had a female Cairn who is very dominant so we chose a male cocker after reading that 2 females can fight for dominance whereas a male with a female would usually let the female take the lead - in otherwords much like people we always let the females think they are in charge! - hmmm dangerous talk me thinks!

Anyway Oscar our cocker (5 months) is the first male dog that we have owned and we were abit concerned about 'mounting' etc but he has fitted in well and lets Holly our 2 year old cairn get on with being 'Alpha' dog.

Lee                    

[alphacocker]

Hi Anabell,
I get asked this question heaps of time as both a breeder, owner, and trainer. you are right all are individuals, remember, the puppy you buy, if from sound bloodlines, will be like a new blackboard. What you write on it will be what you read. I personally find that Copckers are great with children but??? are all children great with dogs let alone a breed as intelligent as Cockers.