Male vs. Female dogs working ability - Page 1

I often read or hear people say that their dog or someone else female dog works like a male.  Is there such a huge difference in working ability between the two?

Or is it not so much ability as it is working style?

I have also heard the generalization that males tend to be more protective of the home while females tend to be more protective of the family members themselves.

The third statement may be difficult to answer because it is such a very broad generalization.  But would like to hear what others think.

I have a female here that works and acts like a male. Or, that is how some people might see it. I see it as personality types more so than gender. This female I have is very hard, very drivey, etc etc. She is also territorial of property and people, not just people. My other female is more soft and "works like a female" as some would say. My thinking is, she is just a softer dog. It is nothing to do with her gender IMO. She is softer, less drivey, etc. However, talk about territorial of property! She is probably the most territorial dog here. My male, who is over the top, drivey, very hard etc etc is NOT territorial at all. His protective instints are not there and he thinks the UPS guy is great. So, I do not look at gender to decide workability or protectiveness. I look at the dog itself and personality/drives.

I can't stand a female that's too sensitive of the handler, and often times they are.  Some view that as a limitation of the handler, and not as much the fault of the dog.  They are what they are, and you can change your ways to suit them, or stubbornly find one that suits yourself, or just forget 'em and get a male.  Even a "hard" female can be handler sensitive, though a handler sensitive dog isn't always bad at all.  Just depends on how they actually respond to corrective pressure from the handler.  Then, if you get all that right, there's the matter of how differently or unexpectedly they might perform because of their heat cycles.  Workable males are more plentiful, less difficult to find.

I think there is something at work between the sexes.

I've only had the one GSD, ElectraHoney and then a slug of Golden Retrievers. The females in that breed are the ones that want to work in the field, flushing low-land game.
The females are more independent thinkers and harder to train because of that but they also make the best hunters once they are trained. Slow, thoughtful and stealthy.

The males seem to be more impulse/active oriented. Perhaps that's why all K-9's or most, are males. The female is more protective of person and her territory.

The SAR dogs (retrievers) I've had contact with are mostly males.
My young male is going to begin SAR training this spring. He's a Golden but I'm sure there is some field spaniel in his distant past when someone held back part of a litter from close inspection.