Bonding and personality differences between male & female - Page 1

If there is anyone who has owned a male and a female gs are there personality differences between the sexes?
Also is it true that female dogs bond closer to male owners and male dogs bond closer to female owners.
We have 3 females and we are looking to get a male.  Do males bond and "protect" kids like the females do?

I personally believe it depends on the individual dog. However, in my experience, my male is more play/work driven and my female is far more people oriented. She's a great worker, but would rather be close to (or on top) of us, while my male would rather be working or playing close by.  I find my male to be more protective of territory: the house, the yard, etc, and my female to be more protective of the family as persons. With regards to bonding, I think that is based on who provides the most interaction w/ the dog. Both my male and female are more strongly bonded to myself than my husband, but that's based on my ability to devote more time and interaction with them and their training. With regards to children, my female is great with our 20 month old son. I trust her explicitly around him. However, my male is fantastic with our son. He is more tolerant of his antics, and is clearly the more preferred one by my son. However, it should probably be noted that my male is 2 years older than my female, so he doesn't have her energy level. I figure once she gets a little older, and mellows out, his "favorite dog" might change. Anyway, I've rambled enough. Good luck with your search for a great male. :)

T

missyfly96,
The key word is bond, there can so be some difference in the individual more than specific to the sexes.
I agree with TSrickland on most of it.
The one thing I would say is males seem to take longer to mature than females, not unlike humans by the way.
In their own terms males and females have different missions in life.
The bonding with family members and having territory to protect, not living in a kennel makes all the difference in my opinion.
Last thing, bloodlines also have to do with character.
Good luck with your pack.

Moons.

I agree with the two previous posts in most respects.  We have a pack of 6 -- 5 females and 1 male.  I do think the dog's personality and bloodlines definitely make a difference.  I no longer have children at home, but I know of many instances where male GSDs are closely bonded to their children.  I do think whether or not a male is neutered can make a difference in his focus.

Since you have multiple dogs, you are probably aware of the need to make certain that the new puppy bonds first to you and not to the other dogs.

Good luck,

Redmar GSDs

I have only had Male Dogs all my life with Dogs some 60 years, and never had any trouble with a dog bonding to me,
Now i have a female Pup IZZY, she is going on great, she is already knowing that i am for better words a friend of hers, She comes when i call her 9 out of ten times with one call, she sits when told, all making it playing games and she is now 9.4 weeks old, so yes, she is bonding with me i think okay
Regards living accomodation all my Dogs for 60 years have lived outside in Kennels, but probably get more time from me during the day than most Dogs,
Regards personallities, every Dog is different which is good, and that is what makes them so interesting just like us people we all have the same traits in that respect
Steve