male vs female for ppd - Page 2

Ziegen.....im with you. Sex isn't a factor as training and the dog itself and most importantly your bond with the dog Females that I have seen in person are pretty nasty. If rather have a pissed off bitch than a upset male.

From the different posts seems sex can be a factor if the handler believes it and that seems to cause a lack of confidence and probably a trick down affect.
Reggie

Althought I don't have a PPD, I would pick a male over a female if I were in the market for one. I have a male GSD and I wouldn't trade him for a female anyday. It's all personal preference.

p.s. anyone who thinks "females don't have it" has never been on the business end of a
really pissed off bitch.

This is worth repeating!  Wow,  Some think the male dog just because he is "male looking" automatically means he is the better protection dog.   I used to keep a massive, territorial GS female at a front kennel when the "boys only" crowd came through just to throw them a curve.  Great fun. 

It is the individual dog.  Forget about gender.  My question for any potential buyer is " Are you or trainer experienced?" 

And if someone is going to break into a house/apt - one dog is not always the answer but two is a force. 

Good Luck
Nancy Rhynard
www.westwoodkennels.com

The female may fit into this persons lifestyle better, smaller, less intimidating to her, easy to handle, cheaper to feed. After all we are taking about a dog to serve a purpose and protect someone.

Whilst I have some big Rotts and GSDs I have always figured that when I am in my 70's I will own a tenacious little bitch to to deal with any unpleasantness.

Very good point about buying a pup, training and imprinting it for several years in the hope it may be up to the job. I would consider paying someone with knowledge to find me the raw product (older dog) in the SHELTERS and then spend the money on some decent training. Cost wise it should work out the same, obviously tell her about the dog defending her master is mostly Walt Disney stuff and you have to put the hard work in.

First rule of comedy; don't be sloppy with your personal details or you may have to live with the consequences. I am sure that scumbag won't tell anyone else where she lives!

Ronin

 The intact male has the testosterone going for him, the bitch has the "mother bear" thing going for her.  A male will often be more vigilant in scanning the perimeter, the bitch may be more laid back but will fight to the death. Many people believe the male is better. I know of a police dept., who I won't mention in particular, who used to swear by the males and males only, up until in the litter they bred had all the males flunk out. The female excelled. The officers now swear by a good female. This was a RCMP dept. and they are very picky about the level of their dogs.
My opinion is still judge the individual dog. Test it and prove it. Both sexes can excel and both can fail. As stated above there is something to the deterrent effect of a strong looking male. A male / female team would be the best IMO. Teach the dog proper targeting no matter what sex you get. 

With my experience with my own gsd's, my females would do the job (and one has)just as good or better than my males, with the exception of one female. I have one female that I am not sure would get off her bed for anybody until she had all of her beauty sleep.

My personal preference is female. Hell hath no fury and all that . We have 6 GSDs 5 are male, the lone female is only 6 months old currently and is my husband's dog. In the last 20 years or so, there have been a couple of dogs that we would always make sure were out and loose if we went out and left the kids home alone. Always a bitch, now looking back. Now that we don't have an adult trained bitch in the house, my teenage daughter is instructed to make sure that my husband's import male Fritz is loose in the house with her at all times if we are out. He is one of those with a very intense look and bark that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up LOL.
I currently have a deposit on a bitch pup that was born last week. I currently have a 14mo male that I'm working but he just doesn't have the umph that I'm accustomed to. He is a great house dog and sounds like a big ferocious nightmare, but is kind of a teddy bear at heart. I'm not sure that anyone could ever piss him off enough to get him to "really" bite.
I don't know that you can say one or the other is always the best decision, like someone else said, I think part of it is the handler's personal confidence level that the dog will step up. With me, it seems like my girls have a bit more attitude and the boys are kind of lovey dovey. I'm sure a big part of that is my vibe and how I work with them. I tend to baby my boys more, the sappy looks they give me just seem to inspire that in me, whereas the girls I treat more like we are a couple of bitches out to show the world what we can do . Even my husband has commented how differently bitches work for me than him versus the males, so there is that.
Annette

I much prefer females and have only owned 3 or 4 males in 30 years. But that is just my personal preference and nothing to do with ability.

Oddly enough, the times I feel a dog acted in protection of my family, it was a male. One a Doberman and the other a Bouvier.

The dobe stopped my young daughter within a couple of steps from a very large rattle snake and raised hell until I got there. On another occasion, my wife was stopped in traffic when a man opened the door and attempted to enter the car. The dobe went everywhere with her and was asleep in the back. She screamed and all hell broke loose. The guy got away but it could have been a very different story without the dog.

The Bouvier also acted in a couple of situations, but they were not as serious as these.

again, it will be the dog, not the sex,

Rik

 I prefer a male only because I dont want to deal with the heat cycles. Sometimes a bitch can get quirky around that time.