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I've been following some GSP FB pages and would like to hear any opinions about the issue. Some owners find their male GSP's to be more laid back in behavior, while others say the reverse is true for their female dogs.
Assuming how they describe their own dogs as true, can it be said whether this is due to breeding, genetics, individual personality, or other factors? Overall, is one gender more one way than the other? I have always assumed that it was the male dogs, being larger, stronger, possessing more stamina, that were generally more active. Or, is the issue is just a meaningless can of worms?
Interested in hearing any insight on this, thanks.
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For the half-dozen I've been around, the males were definitely more active/aggressive than females, except if the female had puppies.
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Every dog has a different personality . I haven't seen that gender has played a role.
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What saskfox says. The time and emphasis on obedience will also be a factor in addition to those mentioned in the OP. I prefer males as I prefer a larger dog but the females I've had ran the same gamut of behaviors as the males. The only significant difference was when the females went into heat- they could get goofy then. Otherwise, a dog is a dog to me.
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Thanks for all the comments, making a lot of sense.
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Are all the comments specific to GSP or just in general?
GSP are pretty unique in that most everyone I've ever talked to reports the males as more aggressive than the females.
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Mine can be taken either way. I've owned only a couple of GSPs but have been around hundreds of them in my 30+ years in NAVHDA, been around a couple score of others owned by friends or acquaintances on hunting trips, and casual conversations not only with the trainer I refer to most who has been breeding GSPs since I met him in the late 1980s but several other breeders/kennels that I know at various levels.
My experience is GSP owners are unique in that they tend to think their dogs are somehow different than others. The same can be said with any other breed owner. It is a symptom of kennel/breed blindness and every dog owner has it to some degree. The primary cause seems to be needing an objective reason to justify a subjective decision.
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Every dog has a different personality . I haven't seen that gender has played a role. Spot on the money!
Eat Fish, Wear Grundens, Drink Alaskan.
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My experience is GSP owners are unique in that they tend to think their dogs are somehow different than others. The same can be said with any other breed owner. It is a symptom of kennel/breed blindness and every dog owner has it to some degree. The primary cause seems to be needing an objective reason to justify a subjective decision.
Another, Spot on the money! I love my French Brittany's and English Pointers, but they are completely different Pointing Dogs. You can only compare apples to apples. Buy the best bred dog you can afford in the breed you like or think you like the best. Hunting over different breeds of dogs will show you their strengths and weaknesses compared to other breeds. No one Breed fits every bird hunters needs or desires.
Last edited by MontanaCreekHunter; 10/14/19.
Eat Fish, Wear Grundens, Drink Alaskan.
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From over 65 or so years of being around bird dogs I feel that females seem busier than males and tend to be much better natural retrievers. Males tend to be better cover dogs and water retrievers. Males are harder-headed, while females take a softer hand during training.
IMO, it works out a wash. They're all great, some just greater.
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
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Having owned 6 males and hunted with partners that had numerous females I will offer the following two cents worth.
Females seem to bond more closely to their owners almost to the point of being jealous. And a couple of them would get between their owners and wives. The ones I have hunted over also seem to be a little more focused or intent when in birds -especially when working up singles.. Males seem to be a little more laid back and do tend to range further. All of mine where harder to reign in and made to hunt close. But they cover more ground when needed. Generally I liked the males more because they seemed a bit more affable.
And I don't care what anyone says, you don't own short-hairs. They own you.
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Our male GSP was more outgoing than our female. Both in personality and in how he would roam.
Regards,
deadlift_dude
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----Fred Rogers
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Decide if you want a laid-back dog or perhaps a higher energy dog. A reputable breeder will understand you and steer you in the right direction. My two males came from a good breeder and are excellent hunters but are more laid back. My female came from a fly by night breeder (bad choice on my part) and is off-the-wall crazy. If she would have been my first GSP, I would never have owned another.
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Anyone have thoughts on neutered males as opposed to intact?
I have a 5yr old intact male PP who while not aggressive will fight with most other males who approach him and get in his space. He won't usually seek out confrontation but sometimes will not hesitate to fight. Even if he doesn't fight, he will ignore the rest of the dogs he encounters.
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Anyone have thoughts on neutered males as opposed to intact? Many will probably disagree but from personal experiance I have seen it go both ways. But some people have this thing called Confirmation Basis!
Eat Fish, Wear Grundens, Drink Alaskan.
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almost sounds like the outcome is not reasonably predictable, and the best way to avoid any surprises is knowing the breeder
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Intact or not, aggressiveness to other dogs is mostly a case of poor socialization with maybe a dose of genetics though poor socialization is the main issue. "Poor" may not be on just the owner, it may be the dog had a bad experience with another dog at an earlier time in life and learned to be protective of its space. Picking the pup's introductory dogs is important and one should not blindly use dogs at the park for such matters in the beginning. Pick dogs with known good personalities to start. When the pup has confidence then introduce them to unfamiliar dogs.
A dog already demonstrating aggressive traits will not change with neutering, it is already a part of its psyche. The loss of testosterone by neutering will not have an affect as there is a different trigger involved. I/ve tried it with a couple of dogs with no success as have others I know. It may lessen the odds if done as a pup but once the dog hits adulthood and has learned the behavior, odds are pretty low of the behavior changing.
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Intact or not, aggressiveness to other dogs is mostly a case of poor socialization with maybe a dose of genetics though poor socialization is the main issue. "Poor" may not be on just the owner, it may be the dog had a bad experience with another dog at an earlier time in life and learned to be protective of its space. Picking the pup's introductory dogs is important and one should not blindly use dogs at the park for such matters in the beginning. Pick dogs with known good personalities to start. When the pup has confidence then introduce them to unfamiliar dogs.
A dog already demonstrating aggressive traits will not change with neutering, it is already a part of its psyche. The loss of testosterone by neutering will not have an affect as there is a different trigger involved. I/ve tried it with a couple of dogs with no success as have others I know. It may lessen the odds if done as a pup but once the dog hits adulthood and has learned the behavior, odds are pretty low of the behavior changing. I respectfully disagree with the above as far as my dog is concerned. This PP I mention has met and had literally 100s of positive interactions with other dogs on a daily basis since about day one with me. Poor socialization has nothing do do with it. When he hit about 2 yrs old is when it started and continues to this day with random dogs, mostly males. The other day he got along fine with a golden retriever then only about 5 min later wanted to fight another golden.
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Agression isn't a gender or breed issue. Some dogs become aggressive at 1 to 2 years of age. Some have to be put down because of their aggression. And I am speaking of owners who do not encourage aggression of any kind.
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