So we have decided that we would like a new pup.  We already have a 10yr old labrador who is so laid back he is scared of the cat :)  We've also decided that we are going to get another Lab, but do you think we would be better with a boy or a girl?  I'm thinking girl, but would love to hear others thoughts.

I've had a pup go to a home with an older Labrador, both were older dogs, and both owners chose another dog pup, and it went really well in both cases.  So I would say gender shouldn't really matter, but look for a breeder with the type of temperament you want in a puppy, as that will most likely give you the sort of puppy you are after. 

Also, I know you haven't mentioned it, but there are a lot of health tests these days, so it's worth doing your research, there are a lot of breeders that don't bother, which is an unfair risk to the puppy and new owners.  Good luck with your search.

The 'ideal' combination is male and female, but you will have to get her spayed and if you go for another Lab, your vet may well prefer not to spay until she's had a first season which means you either have to be able to keep her safely away from your boy (who may turn out not to be so laid-back when she's in season ) or arrange to get him out of there for the 3 weeks she'll be in season.

Two boys can live together, provided one is more submissive than the other.   Can you go back to your original dog's breeder for their opinion - they may have a nice puppy for you?

I would just say that we had two males, almost a year apart in age and we had the first one for around 10 months before the second came to us.  However, I started showing and the next step was to have our own bitch to breed from eventually.   So even before we bred from her, we had 3 hounds   If there's any question you might be thinking show/breeding, if you buy a bitch puppy, you'd do better not to do what we did, and get a bitch as the second dog.

I would say with Labradors, there is no 'ideal' as they are (or should be) bred for temperament.  Any gundog should be happy to be piled in the beaters wagon in close proximity with a variety of other breeds and sexes.  I have six bitches currently, no problems between them, the eldest is 14.5 years, the youngest is six months old today.  And the experience I've had with pups going to homes with the same sex has been nothing but positive. 

I would imagine it should be the same for working hounds?  My only rescue at the minute is a foxhound, and she is incredibly tolerant of other dogs, no matter what their breed.

I have always preferred male dogs & at the moment I have 3 males, an entire 12 year old & 2 4/5 year old castrated rescues(they were both castrated when I got them)

They are a bit like a gang of naughty school boys with the oldie leading the way, always up to something, but all good friends.+

There really is no ideal mix, if you have mixed sexes, then you have to 1000% careful when the bitch is in season or have the bitch spayed at the correct time, even if your dog is castrated, because castration doesn't stop a dog mating a bitch, many of the veterinary profession chose not to tell their clients this !

The choice is yours, the health of the puppy should come before deciding which sex you would like

If your current male is already neutered, then you can safely have either and all will be fine in terms of them getting along.  Gundogs are very social breeds and can live in single-sex households, unlike some terriers for eg. 

If your current male is not neutered, then you should get another male - so you don't need to neuter either of them.

More importantly, think about what type of labrador you want.  There is huge variability in that breed, between chunky show-bred frequently over-social dogs that are prone to putting on loads a weight (and it is genetic as much as what they are fed), and slim, athletic but sometimes more aloof around strange people, working labs, and then everything in between.  That kind of thing is much more important in terms of the type of dog you end up with than what sex they are.

> I would imagine it should be the same for working hounds?

Of course although you may see the majority of 'working hounds' (in a pack) are bitches.    But getting along, with hounds, shouldn't be confined to working hounds.   We only had one, a male who I'd kept from an all male litter, who by around 18 months, started challenging his older uncle who had been used at stud.   It wasn't him who started the increasingly bad spats either.   In the end, having tried all I could to stop what was going on, I had to find the youngster a home outside my lot.  He then had two bitches of 'his own' and was completely happy and peace returned to my small pack.   It was a hard thing to do, but for the best.   Yes we had a bitch who was definitely the ruler (still below me ) but in general they all lived peacefully together, other than the young male.

I now have two buy-in hounds, a Whippet (spayed female) and a Basset (entire male) and there has NEVER been a cross word between them other than when we first picked up the Basset - she uttered at him as we put him into his crate in the car.  She in her crate.

Oh and our first two Bassets who were roughly a year apart in age, were both entire males.  Other than when we later had a bitch who came into season, and the occasional brief spat (usually over food) they lived together just fine.  The fight over the in-season bitch - TOTALLY my fault.

Well that goes against working hounds in packs, you see a huge variety of bitch and dog mixtures.  I'm on my second rescue foxhound and they fit in really well with other breeds, as they are bred to be gregarious, with other dogs and us humans.  Perhaps they are losing that in the show world living outside of the packs they are bred to work in?  There are occasions when my rescue bitch thinks she needs to guard something because she had to fend for herself, but she's easily corrected verbally, and doesn't make the same mistake twice.

Thank you all for your responses.  Certainly has us thinking much more.  I'd always thought a bitch would be better with an older dog, but maybe not.  Also absolutely right about the health of the pup being more important than the sex.  Am sure whatever we do end up doing is going to be fun!

Thanks again!