Boy or Girl?

[Heidiflo]

Hello I need help.. I am buying a new boxer... I have to decide between the male and the female... I have always had females and had them spaded. I kinda like the bigness of the male... I have a few concerns. 1st about the humping and second the penus sticking out when they sit down. If we get him nutered will that take care of that?

[Kfamr]

I have two males and two females. Can't say wether or not I prefer one or the other. My females seem to be more attached to me. My males seem more indepedent.

As for humping, my female does that more than on oldest male. Neutering will certain make his urges less, but a lot of humping has to do with dominance.

As for the "penis sticking out" my oldest male doesn't have that problem. However, my 6 month old shows his once in a while. Mostly when he is excited. He just got neutered on Friday so we'll see wether or not that changes.

[Twisterdog]

I currently have four females and three males. They are all altered.

My females hump on each other more than my males do. Of course, it's a little less "graphic" when a female does it, as opposed to a male. Humping is a show of dominance, it doesn't have anything to do with sex. So a dominant dog will hump more than a submissive one, regardless of its gender. Also, dogs hump more in a group or pack where the order is not clearly established. For example, one of my males, Keito, is clearly and completely the alpha male, the leader of the pack. The other two males would not DREAM of humping him, he would make them so very sorry. So, I only have one male humping. However, with my females, there really isn't a clear alpha female right now, since the leader of the female pack, Queenie, died a couple of weeks ago. So all four of them hump on each other, trying to figure out who is the new boss. As far as humping on legs, pillows, stuffed animals, etc., neutering a male at an early age usually, but not always, eliminates this.

Neutering will not eliminate the protrusion of the penis. It will lessen it, but it will not eliminate it. It will happen, some dogs more and some dogs less.

My personal peeve with males is urinating to mark their territory. I have one male that would NEVER mark in the house if his life depended on it. I have one that occaisionally marks, for example, if a strange dog is in the house to visit. And we sadly have one male that pretty much LIVES in a crate, because he absolutely will not stop marking. I'm talking about twenty, thirty times per day, compulsively. He is neutered, although he was several years old before he was neutered, and he was not trained well, frankly. However, it has been my experience owning a boarding kennel and grooming shop for years that some male dogs are completely obsessed with marking, and will continue to do it despite training, neutering, punishment, etc. It's not that common, but it is a HUGE problem if you happen to get that male dog. I have seen many female dogs mark at times as well, but I've never seen one obsessively and constantly do it.

As far as personality differences, I've honestly never seen any personality traits consistently different across gender lines. I have met just as many aloof females as males. Just as many playful, protective, friendly, shy, loud, quiet, calm, etc., etc., males as females.

I know for me personally, I will only own females dogs in the future, but that's just my personal preference after having had problems with males marking.

[critter crazy]

I have had males and females. Females will hump as much if not more than males. Like already stated it is a show of dominance. If you only have one dog, then this shouldnt be an issue. A neutered male will still stick out his "thing" but not all the time, it is more of an excited response, that I have noticed.

[coco-bean]

well i just thought i'd add my 2 cents on the penis since the humping has been clearly stated.
My male's penis rarely sticks out, im kinda shocked when it does...i mean cause it catches me off guard haha!
it's not a constant thing, im sure some males more then others will stick out but it's not like an every time they see a female, nor get excited...or even when they sit down...i really think it just has to do with how they feel.
Like some males penis will stick out when they are excited(but not all) and some males may stick out only when they sit down(but not others) kinda get what im saying...

[critter crazy]

well i just thought i'd add my 2 cents on the penis since the humping has been clearly stated.
My male's penis rarely sticks out, im kinda shocked when it does...i mean cause it catches me off guard haha!
it's not a constant thing, im sure some males more then others will stick out but it's not like an every time they see a female, nor get excited...or even when they sit down...i really think it just has to do with how they feel.
Like some males penis will stick out when they are excited(but not all) and some males may stick out only when they sit down(but not others) kinda get what im saying...

exactly! seems to be like a mood response. I only see dukes when he is sitting, and realy excited, like when witing fr a tret! But Rocky never shows his, unless he is humping Duke!