Boy or Girl?

One of the first things people tell a breeder is often, “I definitely want a girl.”

Sometimes there is a good reason for that preference. But sometimes it comes from ideas about male and female dogs that don't necessarily hold up quite as well as we think…

“I don’t want a boy because he’ll mark in my house.”

Yes, male dogs can mark. But marking is a behavior, not an unavoidable consequence of owning a male. Good housetraining, supervision, and addressing marking the moment it begins can go a long way toward preventing it from ever becoming a habit.

And here's the less glamorous truth: girl puppies pee on your floor, too. Either sex can ruin a perfectly good rug while learning the rules of the house.

An intact female also comes with something a male doesn't—heat cycles. There is bleeding, there can be mess, and for several weeks careful management becomes particularly important.

“Females love you. Males are in love with you.”

Of course that's a generalization. There are wonderfully devoted females and independent males. But there is a reason the saying has survived. Males can be incredibly affectionate, devoted companions, and that tendency toward unabashed adoration is one of the things many people absolutely love about them.

With some breeds there are also obvious physical reasons to prefer one sex. That's less significant with the Cirneco. There isn't an enormous difference in size between males and females, and there is no difference in coat care. You’re not choosing between two dramatically different versions of the breed.

And then there's the belief that getting the opposite sex is always necessary when you already have a dog.

Same-sex conflict is something breeders should take seriously when considering a household and matching a puppy. Interestingly, when serious conflict does occur between dogs living in the same home, female-female pairings are an important concern—so simply assuming that a female is always the easier or safer addition isn't necessarily warranted.

None of this means everyone should want a boy—or a girl.

It means that sex is only one piece of choosing the right puppy.

Temperament, confidence, energy level, independence, trainability, resilience, affection, and how that individual puppy might fit into your household can ultimately matter much more.

So when someone asks me whether they should get a boy or a girl, my favorite answer may be:

Tell me about the dog you want to live with. Then let's find that puppy.