Well here is something to consider Males as a whole tend to be cheaper medically speaking.
You can argue this all day long and tell me how you had a male that had all kinds of health problems. But speaking to more than few very good veterinarians that are well educated on bird dogs and a mix of my own experience have shown it to be true.
As far as smarts goes that is very very debatable. Looking back at some of the greatest Field Trials dogs the majority are males.
Preferring one over the other to me is a personal thing and nothing more. I have owned both. I don't have a preference really. I have had pick of the litter twice and I didn't make the pick, the puppy picked me both times. I figure its a pure luck of the draw anyways as there is no way to tell as puppies what their potential will be. So Play with them and the one that locks onto you is the one I pick every time.
I agree with all this. I like to own the litters though. Selling top end Springers (my current preferred breed) for $1,000 a $1,200 a pup can defray a lot of med costs. Of course, if things go bad with a pregnant bitch, things can get dicey as well, so, you takes your chances.
I am not a breeder but yes absolutely if you are or want to breed than you need to be in the drivers seat. Females would be what you need.
Not aimed at you RickBin. It is funny I have been around a lot of dogs. I have not experienced all this dog fighting. Though we usually only put two dogs on the ground at a time. Sometimes three if someone has a flusher or retriever. Anyways even the kennel dogs I have been around have been properly socialized. No problems with fighting.
Owning the sire, I have just as much control over a litter as the one owning the dam. We both have the ability to decide whether a breeding takes place. As the owner of the male, I have the ability to reject the offer if approached by the female's owner and the reverse is also true.
There are some advantages with the male that tipped me in that direction. As mentioned, vet cost. With males one has standard care costs and then whatever emergencies crop up. With females you have the same plus pregnancy costs if breeding.
One also has the time and space taken to raise the pups. Some like that process and have the "staff" to do so but I didn't and still don't. Being single and having a job that kept me from home well over 24 hours at a time was not conducive to raising litters and I would not dump that responsibility on others.
There is also the payment of stud fees which may or may not be upfront depending on the agreement. Owning the male I can decide whether I want to be paid at the time of breeding, from the sale of a pup, or take a pup in exchange. These are hopefully covered in the sale of pups but not always. I've had breedings not take and the breeder was on the hook for the cost as my dog was a proven producer while the female was not.
Another advantage of a male is not having to wait for the proper timing of a heat cycle if there is a particular time I want to start a pup. These can get difficult as the heat cycle might be early, late or even skipped; the breeding might not take; or life circumstances might change making it difficult to care for a litter. With a male I do not have those issue so nod it's have an advantage of possibly having multiple litters to chose a pup from as well as getting the timing I want.
As I mentioned earlier, it is a personal decision with the right answer being dependent on the person. I've had good females but would have to change the way I operate if I were to get an intact female. There are enough males in the house that the possibility of a fight breaking out over a female in heat is possible.
As for fighting, I have had just the one problem and I feel it was more health related than gender. My dogs are around many dogs and have been well socialized. I worry far more about the dogs of others picking fights with mine.
Lifting legs is a matter of training. From a young age I watch my pups and correct the most fa they try marking something I don't want them to. I also do not let my dogs run free if I can't watch them and keep them under control. So much of this nonsense is allowed due to the handler not putting their dog at heel or in place.
