Ok. To preface, I've always had male dogs. In my experience, I've have found boys to be more affectionate and goofy while females are more independent, across breeds. Granted, I've never owned a female, just known other people's. Of course this is a generalization and not true for every dog.

We have said we want another boy for our second puppy. The litter we are looking at has 2 boys and both are spoken for. The breeder contacted me this morning to let me know that depending on how their 6 week evaluations go, she may have a female to a pet home from this litter. She has another breeding coming later this year that if we waited for, we'd be at the top of the list (but there's no guarantee there will even be any boys).

There's some logistic things that come into play here too in terms of me starting a new job and if we should even get a puppy right now or wait but I wanted to get everyone's own experiences with males vs. females. Both in terms of personality and training. Thanks!

I've had both males and females, though only a female husky, and the females that I have had have all had more drive and independence than my males. My males have fit the lovable and loyal description to a tee but for working dogs my girls have been better problem solvers and quicker learners. Though my boys have been more solid in their training once they have learned while my females have been more to test the boundaries ever so often. that's just my experience from working with bird dogs, hounds, pitts, and various other breeds. Both my husky and my husky mix were females so I'm no good giving a male vs. female in the husky breed alone.

I've owned 2 sibes in my life - the first a female and now, Ami, my male.

Sasha, the female, was way more cuddly then Ami...and way more neurotic. And a holy terror when it comes to house damage. I suspect she had some separation anxiety though we never called it that - just knew that she always did some damage within the first few minutes of us leaving. We got her as a puppy and I started training her from the beginning. She had a good off leash heel, good recall. She did go walk about on several occasions but those were the days of me living seriously in the boonies and not tying or fencing her. She was also more wary of strangers, protective of my kids. One of my favorite tricks was to call her name, pat my chest, hold out my arms and she would come running and jump into my arms. She liked to sleep at the bottom of our bed and spoon before sleep.

Ami, the male? Very easy going, loves everyone, but aloof - cuddle time is him on the chair in the sunroom and us on the couch in family room. A distance of about 15 ft through open french doors. His preferred distance is in the backyard about 15 feet from the kitchen window or, last night, about 25 ft from the front door. He seems to like to be within hearing distance, but that's close enought, thank you. Training? Ami learns fast but is an independent cuss. As in, "yeah, I hear you, I've just got other things to do right now."

What is interesting about my mom's OES is that I can really only remember the males though she had females, too. What I remember of the males is that they were happy go lucky pals in the thick of things.

And Archer - he is a happy, happy dog, wants to be with us all the time. But he can be a bit territorial with strangers coming to the house, has a bit of "guard dog" about him - more like Sasha.

Thanks Amy and Jenn! Some of the things both of you are saying match up to my experiences. My parents have a female Brittany Spaniel now that they adopted at 9 years old. She is VERY independent and has a VERY high drive. She is also a bit neurotic. Their male Brittany that they've had since he was 8 weeks is the biggest velcro dog I've ever seen. Likes to chase things, but doesn't have that Drive that the female does. But all that could be just because he was raised from a puppy and got the crap spoiled out of him whereas the female came from a home with kids and she didn't get a lot of attention.

I will say, Bode is not a cuddler. But he is what I would consider "loyal". He's very bonded to us and is very aware of where we are. At the dog park he always comes to check in with us often. At home, even though he's not right on top of us, he's always in the same room as us. I would like a more cuddly dog. I know that isn't necessarily dependent on male/female but more personality.

I think I've had similar experiences. I've only ever had female dogs, and before Ghost no Huskies. Ghost probably has the best temperament of any dog I've ever known save for Shadow, although she is somewhat aloof and not always cuddly. She will cuddle on her terms, but a lot of times she prefers to hang out upstairs by herself. She's very sweet and laid back, and fantastic with people of all ages.

And then there's Denali. I've decided his theme song is Wrecking Ball, because that's what he is. Super happy dog, but definitely your stereotypical teenage Husky. He's very rough and tumble, but actually has really good recall. He's been a little slower to learn than Ghost, but is extremely eager to please. He has to be glued to me at all times, unless he's off getting into something. Like, I'll be back and forth working on a quilt or something, and every time I move he moves with me. Sleeps glued to me at night too. I honestly think once we work through some of his behavioral challenges (and mind you we did not raise him from a small puppy, so there's been a lot to make up for) he's going to be a fantastic dog. Absolutely a dream in a harness, fwiw.

Well you know Sierra, and she has been my only female dog....
and you know Jack.
I have to say if we always keep pairs i will always have a male, female mix. Being raised with 2 male dogs my whole life i never saw a bond between them like i have with S&J, as well as Ginger and storm, even demon and dakota but they have the sibling thing going to.

Regardless if females always seem more bitchy/independent you will have the male to off set that

Well, Link and Diz are about 2 months apart, and so Jeff and I were constantly comparing their personality developments. Also, I had Tasha (female husky) growing up, and have spent a lot of time around other females.

What I can say generally about males, is that their teen years can be much more hellish than females. Tasha was a predictable teen husky, destructive, ran away, etc. Diz was just an absolute asshole in so many ways. I had pretty much just accepted that I was never going to feel as deep a bond with him as I did Tasha, and at certain points, I didn't even like him! There was almost nothing endearing about him for quite a while, then out of nowhere, he'd have an awesome day. Perfect, well behaved, connected to me, bonded to me, sweet, silly, happy, and then... Bam... Asshole again. Jeff describes it as ebb and flow, which is apt, but at times it felt like whiplash!

Girls, aloof, smart, conniving (except Rosie, she's a golden retriever in a husky suit). Tasha loved and wanted affection, but only on her terms. She was very stoic in some ways, but a super flirt in others. She was a sweet, easy puppy though.

From my experience, if you want a cuddly dog, get a cuddly puppy. Dizzy was never into cuddling, and always was more into playing, exploring, checking stuff out. A friend of mine has a male that just turned 1, and he was a super cuddly puppy with his ears always back, and is a lovable cuddly grown up. His litter mate, on the other hand, is much more aloof and was aloof as a young pup. Tasha wanted to explore and run around the yard, her sisters came running right over to us. It seems to me that some of that is inborn, so if the girl they have left is a cuddle bug, most likely some of that will stick into adulthood. If she's a spitfire, well, buckle your seatbelt!

Btw, I love Captain, OMG what a cute puppy!

I have two boys. I do not make this choice on personality but more on size. I like my big boys and well I like size of male huskies more. If I got a dane or akita though I would look more at females cause then the males too big. That said my female mix can be a goofball.

wpskier222 wrote:

Btw, I love Captain, OMG what a cute puppy!

I know. I want him so bad.

Delilah is more independent, but even now she's cuddled in my bed.

My boys are dingbats, but super loving.

From what I understand though, mom of the litter ivory affectionate. You may have no problem getting a really affectionate female.

Megan-Goldie definitely seems like a sweetie pie. From Laura's videos, there is at least one girl that is going to be a handful though...lol

Nala is very very independent and Oakley is very affectionate but they have a very close bond already. I love having that girl and boy mix they play great together and Nala kind of protects Oakley and acts like his big sister which I love. He's only 8 months right now so I dont have a whole lot of experience just yet.

MGoBlue wrote:

Megan-Goldie definitely seems like a sweetie pie. From Laura's videos, there is at least one girl that is going to be a handful though...lol

Gretl!

wpskier222 wrote:

MGoBlue wrote:

Megan-Goldie definitely seems like a sweetie pie. From Laura's videos, there is at least one girl that is going to be a handful though...lol

Gretl!

Yep...Honestly, if she ends up being the one available, we might pass and wait. I don't know if I can handle that amount of sass. Her face though is just so innocent and adorable...

You guys are making me jealous over puppy talk.

I can pretty much guarantee Gretl won't be anywhere but in the show ring - that sass is what is going to win. I mean, she will have to be evaluated, but trust me. That personality belongs in ring. lol

I have had both male and females and I would say I prefer the males. The females are a bit more moody and less affectionate. My males looooovveee attention and being loved on all the time, not just on their terms.

I don't have both. But I'm in love with my girl, haha. She is very affectionate, very loving. She also believes she is a lap dog.

Females being less affectionate I think is a generalization. Mishka, right at this moment, is laying in a curled up little ball right next to me on my bed...which is how it is most nights. In the morning, when I open my eyes, her ears go straight back agaist her head and she jumps on me and starts licking my face, i get up and shes just this bouncing lil tail wagging ball of a husky. Ive had huskies my whole life, first set was a male Husky and a male Malamute, so Ive had the two male combination...they were awesome together. My Malamute was still alive (14 yrs old) when I got a brother and sister Husky pair (so Ive had 3 together, haha) the brother of the pair passed away at 4 yrs old so I got another boy for my girl. And now I have the two known as Kohdi and Mishka The girls have all been affectionate. Anuschka was quiet, reserved in some ways, and yet she was still very affectionate. What Ive noticed about the females, is instead of shadowing you like the males do, they position themselves where they can see you, know everything thats going on, but dont feel the need to be right behind you. The females are stubborn, man are they stubborn, but in my opinion, easier to train! The males are stubborn...know what you want them to do, but want to frustrate you first When playing, females play like cats, everything is very well thought out, focused, and QUICK! the boys not so much, haha. I'll give you an example...my current two, they have this *weasel* toy, its really long, has plastic bottles in it, and squeakers at both ends...when playing with Mishka, I'll spin it around in circles, back and forth, speed up, slow down, generally make it go crazy. Mishka will pause, she'll focus on my every move, she'll "stalk" it and pounce, very accurately too, its like she has watched enough to know which way the weasel is going to go next. Kohdi on the other hand, watches it...walks up and stomps on my arm, which stops the weasel from moving, LOL...both got the job done, just differently. There are distinct differences between males and females, but in my opinion, things like "goofy", "less affectionate", "smarter", come down to the individual dog, and not its gender.

Jimmy, I'm talking Delilah will lay in a ball on my bed...but Teddy will lay on top of me all night. That's the difference I've seen. haha

Haha Megan, Kohdi and Mishka are the same way, and so were Malukhai and Anuschka. In fact Anuschka would *have to * dig a *hole* in the comforter to lay in I wasnt disagreeing with you, or anyone else for that matter. I think your example is similar to the example I was using with the two of them playing, and theres probly 100 other examples as well...the males and females do things differently, but the end result is the same. I'd be surprised if you said that you felt Delilah didnt love you as much as Teddy, because of something like she laying next to you instead of on top of you like Teddy. I don't feel that way with Kohdi and Mishka, I kinda think we as people put more emphasis on things like the *body contact* our males give us, as opposed to the "I'll get close, but I don't wanna be THAT close" thing the females "seem" to be doing. To a dog, theyre just happy with our companionship and display it differently, but the end result is the same, we know they love us And in Mishka's case, maybe she loves me even more than Kohdi because once in awhile, she has the most evil, wicked, farts ever...so maybe that space she gives me is so there is room for the odor to evaporate before it reaches my nose? hmmm, nahhhhh Anyways Megan, I do think males and females are different in many ways, but in my opinion, their affectioness (is that a word? I dont think so, I hope you know what I mean though, haha...im REALLY tired, LOL) is not one of them.

Just to update this...we decided to take a female if one is available (still no guarantee until after their 8 week evaluations).

Jimmy, I love your pictures of Kohdi and Mishka, they are obviously so incredibly bonded. Even though Bode will be 2 years older than Kohdi was when you got Mishka, I hope that him and his little sister will have that kind of bond.

Thank you so much Sara and I'm so happy for you! (I know there's no guarantee but still, Bode will eventually have a bud regardless )

Don't be worried either, I actually believe the older the existing dog is, the faster they bond. I say this because I experienced it with Malukhai and Anuschka and even though I was still a little kid, saw it between my first husky and my malamute. Anuschka was 4 1/2 when I got Malukhai, and our first husky was 4 when the malamute came along. The older dog has the respect pretty much immediately whereas if they're really close in age, like Kohdi and Mishka, a lot of "challenging" goes on, haha...and before Malukhai it was Anuschka and her brother Blitz...don't even get me started on the differences when they're puppy litter mates male and females, LOL

But anyways, I'm hoping you get the little girl and I can't wait to see pics and watch them grow together