Male or female golden retriever?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's my pro/con list for male and female golden retrievers:

Males--
Tend to be 10-15 lbs larger than the girls, are stronger and have larger heads (breeder should tell you parents adult weights, so that's a possible indicator of size differences).

Don't have to deal with heat cycles while waiting to neuter (current reccomendation is to wait until golden's are fully grown before fixing so as to prevent hip dysplasia and other skeletal issues).

Can have slightly shorter lifespan than the girls.

Females--
Smaller in general, longer lifespan

We had the most amazing goofball of a male golden retriever, and I honestly preferred that personality, but the female we have now is also very very sweet and fun, and it's also nice to have a somewhat smaller dog.

+1 to all this. On the lifespan thing, I do wonder if the gender difference will start to drop away with the newish recommendations for later fixing. In the studies, they saw the most impact on male goldens -- the impact on female goldens was significantly less -- so it may be that the males were not living as long because we were just fixing them too early and messing up their body chemistry.

I disagree with PP about supposed personality differences based on gender. It's not a Mars-Venus thing, especially with Goldens. Goldens are not territorial or aggressive in general, so the concerns in some breeds (that the male dogs are going to be territorial or are likely to be more aggressive) just don't apply to Goldens.

One other thing about females dogs generally is that they are more prone to UTIs as they age (like us), which can be a bit of a pain with an elderly dog. Most people who pick do so either based on looks -- that they like the slightly stocky male look -- or for random reasons (we have 2 daughters and a son, so the males in the family wanted another male to even the numbers). Even the thing about looks doesn't always apply to Goldens -- not all the males have the blockier head, and some of the females do. I see Goldens all the time that I think might be female, but are male and vice versa. Also, our two males never "marked" -- they did like to pee where other dogs pee, but all dogs do that (male and female).

If your breeder will let you pick, then try to get a sense of the puppies. Our last dog's litter had 7 boys and 3 girls -- the breeder kept one girl, and so there were only 2 girls available, one of whom was the most dominant of the litter, so I probably would not have picked her. Breeders often pick the "best" girl for themselves to keep, so I guess that might limit your choices on the female side a bit, depending on how many pups there are and how many females in the litter.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and on the wandering question...the only golden I knew that was a wanderer was a female. She was a real escape artist! Most goldens aren't that interested in wandering -- they want to be with their humans. At most, they may wander down to visit a neighbor, or run off after a bunny, but they don't wander off the way beagles do. Our old Golden would sometimes walk a few houses away to say hi to someone, and then stop to take a nap in their yard. Both of my goldens would stop and watch someone, and then if the person spoke to them, they would trot over with their tail wagging -- so would not even typically go "visiting" unless they were "invited."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can’t go wrong! Both sexes are great dogs. If I were you, I’d probably get a male. Males love to love you, and females love to be loved by you. Males will let you pet them, dress them in silly hats or bandanas, they’re infinitely patient and loyal. Females are too! Females just are a tiny bit more self-asserting and will, for example, move away from you when they’ve had enough interaction, whereas males will rest their head on you. Our male does not pee on his fur, lol. He is incredibly handsome, and our female is also gorgeous. You can’t go wrong! Maybe get both!

+1 all that you said has been true of our two black labs as well. Have loved them both so very much!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have one of each. They are both lovely, but I prefer the girl. She is sweeter and, frankly, easier to walk because she is smaller and doesn't pull as much.

We have a female, and she pulls so much and is extremely difficult to walk. That’s one area where I don’t think gender matters.

[Anonymous]

PP with both sexes too.. Our female also pulls more on walks than our males. She also runs faster and further. She’s incredibly sweet and we adore her, but she also destroyed sofas that our males never chewed, and she took several months longer to 100% potty outdoors. Her fur is softer than the males’ though.
Each sex is unique in its own way, and I’m sure it varies by family and region/breeder a bit, too. You really can’t go wrong! Best dogs ever.

[Anonymous]

Our male Golden is quite literally the best dog in the world. He is sweet as can be, adores my son, loves to swim and play but just as happy laying on the floor (always the hard floors! He does get hot) watching his family. He sleeps with my son every night and is the best cuddler ever. I’ll always, always have a male golden in my life...nothing better in my opinion!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our male Golden is quite literally the best dog in the world. He is sweet as can be, adores my son, loves to swim and play but just as happy laying on the floor (always the hard floors! He does get hot) watching his family. He sleeps with my son every night and is the best cuddler ever. I’ll always, always have a male golden in my life...nothing better in my opinion!

Did you get him neutered? If so, when?

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our male Golden is quite literally the best dog in the world. He is sweet as can be, adores my son, loves to swim and play but just as happy laying on the floor (always the hard floors! He does get hot) watching his family. He sleeps with my son every night and is the best cuddler ever. I’ll always, always have a male golden in my life...nothing better in my opinion!

Did you get him neutered? If so, when?

Yes, 6 months I believe

[Anonymous]

Males are more needy and females more independent and easier to train. Have had 2 males and 2 females golden retrievers. Males also get more attached to one person….the leader. Females love everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can tell your DH that male Goldies don’t mark indoors. They might mark outdoors in favorite spots on the lawn, or they might not. Ours doesn’t. Actually, our male was quicker to completely potty train than our female. They’re so incredibly smart and eager to please. I’m excited for you! Get your son that boy puppy, and enjoy every silly minute! Wait to neuter him, if at all, until he’s at least 2 years old so that his bones can grow slowly and strong. We have two intact males and they’re total sweethearts (ages 2 and 7). You don’t have to alter them. Orijen Large Puppy is an excellent kibble. Kong Wubba is a great toy. You’re going to love this dog so much.

Our five month old boy puppy is getting fixed at one year. Never heard not doing it at 2 or 7. We adopted and our rescues say between 6 and 1 year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can tell your DH that male Goldies don’t mark indoors. They might mark outdoors in favorite spots on the lawn, or they might not. Ours doesn’t. Actually, our male was quicker to completely potty train than our female. They’re so incredibly smart and eager to please. I’m excited for you! Get your son that boy puppy, and enjoy every silly minute! Wait to neuter him, if at all, until he’s at least 2 years old so that his bones can grow slowly and strong. We have two intact males and they’re total sweethearts (ages 2 and 7). You don’t have to alter them. Orijen Large Puppy is an excellent kibble. Kong Wubba is a great toy. You’re going to love this dog so much.

Our five month old boy puppy is getting fixed at one year. Never heard not doing it at 2 or 7. We adopted and our rescues say between 6 and 1 year.

Six months

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a girl dog who sometimes lifts her leg when she pees (outside, never inside). And if we're on a 15 minute walk she will probably pee 3 times--some of that is marking, I'm sure. So I don't think the "marking" is confined to one gender of dog.

We have a tiny female dog who loves to lift her leg and mark all over on our walks. We got her just before the pandemic started so she hasn't been around male dogs to be influenced. So weird.