Hi, i'm off work sick at the moment and the only thing keeping me sane is being able to go on this site!

There was a post put on recently called 'dog or bitch' which unfortunately didnt receive any replies.

My question is the same.  We have a golden retriever dog, very mild mannered as we could see when we got him last year.  He was allowed in the breeders house as were his parents when he was young.

Unfort their dogs are now to old and we'll have to go elsewhere so my question is, bearing in mind this breed and we'd want to get from a breeder who does allow the dogs in the house etc, would it make any difference if we got a bitch or a dog?

We know if it was a bitch we would have to get her neutered further down the line.

Hi Julie,

As a general rule of thumb one of either sex is the easiest combination - providing one is neutered or fool proof plans are in place for seasons :P  Of course plenty of people have two or more dogs of the same sex without any problems but why risk complicating things ;)

Regards, Teri

Thanks.

Does getting a bitch neutered mean her fur may change?

We were going to get Murphy done but we heard his fur may become courser. As he's never allowed to roam so he wont have access to a bitch and he's timid enuff we decided against it.

Don't mind so much about the fur as we don't show and are not breeders but want to weigh up all the options.

Hi Julie,

Don't know what breed you have but yes, usually - although not always - neutering either sex does change the coat.  In coated breeds for example,  bitches tend to grow thicker and longer coats with the undercoat often becoming a woolly texture and the top coat softer than before.  In coated males, the coat tends to grow longer in certain areas but texture changes and breed typical points (manes and feathering for example) can all but disappear - due to the lack of male hormone which promotes the coat growth.

Personally I would always opt to have the bitch done rather than the male - after all the resident male is not your only concern with an entire bitch :P

HTH, Regards, Teri

Thanks again Teri.

He's a golden retriever.

I didn't think that this breed was known for any aggression but ive read a few stories on this site thats shocked me a bit.  Don't know how much is due to the owers tho.

Thats why i asked about the gender as we would neuter the bitch if we had to get one but thought the risk of anything happening between two dogs would be reduced if we asked the breeders about where and how the puppies have been handled as well as seeing the parents?

Hi again ;)

Two males may get on famously, might tolerate one another most of the time or could despise each other and so could two bitches for that matter :D   You're obviously thinking on exactly the right lines about being careful where to get your new puppy and finding out as much as possible about it's relatives, etc, BUT even two big softies can produce puppies that have a slightly dominant streak in them so, just like with people, we have to remember that dogs are all little individuals and while we have crtain guidelines to help, nothing is set in stone ;)

Personally, as they are obviously going to be much loved family pets, I'd want to opt for the simplest solution both in them getting along and your being able to manage them.  That IMO is one dog, one bitch with the bitch spayed (on maturity).  That means you will have one season to contend with and so will have to plan in advance how you will keep them separate for between 3 and 4 weeks.  When that's over you should have two dogs who are easy to manage, get on famously and you can enjoy them instead of worrying about pecking orders etc

Regards, Teri :)     

We'll go for bitch then.

Will need to ask questions about seasons tho as in the old days (15 years anyway), when we had a bitch the vet told us to get her neutered at one year old.

Nowadays we've been told to let her have a first season then get speyed as you've said. Is is to give her a chance to mature first rather than get stuck in puppy attitude? Is it true if u get one speyed to young that this can also affect bladder control?

Nearer the time is it ok to ask questions about this as all i know is we would have to seperate them but apart from that i wouldnt know what to expect from a bitch in season.

Thanks teri

Sorry Teri, we must have been posting at the same time, have just read your post :)

Hi juliemil,

>>thought the risk of anything happening between two dogs would be reduced if we asked the breeders about where and how the puppies have been handled as well as seeing the parents?<<

IMHO, it's a lottery with same sex dogs getting on I'm afraid. How puppies have been handled and their enviroment doesn't have any impact on their ability to get on with other dogs, only socialisation will do this and you can have a dog that plays with every dog in the park but won't necessarily accept another of his own sex living with him. Believe me, I know.

I have a speyed female, her coat got a lot thicker btw after the op, and a 21/2 yr complete male. I am in the process of getting another pup and really would have liked another male, but, although my male gets on with most dogs I wouldn't take the risk. We decided, just because our boy is a gentleman, doesn't necessarily mean the new one would be by the time he reached adolescence, which is when the fight for supremacy begins. :D So we opted for a bitch, older bitch is very good with all dogs, she has nothing to prove in terms of doggy prowess and will mother the pup. Male dog will take stick from her as she is a SHE and not a HE and when my pup has had a couple of seasons, to let her phsically mature she will also be speyed.

HTH.

Thank hairypooch.

At the same time u posted so did i.

We will go for bitch and socialise socialise socialise.

As i said to Teri tho we'll need some advice on seasons as ive never experienced one before.

Thanks  

Hi julimil,

It's down to personal preference, I always prefer to let a bitch have 2 seasons. Purely because, all my bitches have come in at 6 months and in my opinion  they are still puppies, so I prefer for them to be at least 1yr to 18 months. For physical and mental development.

You MUST keep them seperated, some breeders know when their bitches fertile moments are, but I have never taken any chances with a complete male about the house :P I am not looking forward to the watching and waiting time, as I call it, watching for signs of it and waiting for it to appear, and then living with a highly sexed moron for 3 weeks. :D I do mean my dog BTW :D :D

I didnt even know what age a bitch was when she had a first season.

How do you know when it happens? Is there a diff in behaviour or do you know because the bitch is bleeding/showing?

Hi Julie,

I'm with hairypooch on timing :D  Better to let a bitch have a second season if she comes in very early first time round - they will mature both physically and mentally if you allow them to be upwards of say 14+ months (cant spay immediately after a season anyway).

When you've got your new girl I'm sure there will be loads of things you want to ask and plenty of advice available on here for you.  Dealing with seasons isn't really as difficult as it sounds - but everyone in the household has to be on side, that's usually the tricky part :D

Good luck, Teri :)

Thanks for this.

When we do get her I will be back looking at past posts about seasons.

Are there any books or articles on the net you can read?

If you decide to get a bitch, then buy "The Book of the Bitch" by Evans and White. It'll answer all your questions, as well as those you hadn't thought of!
:)

Will do.

Find this forum really good.  Now that ive been using it for a few months I am better at using past posts as well for the info rather than just doing new repeat ones.  I listen!

Hi Juliemil,  I also have a goldie who is 12.1/2 years old now and has always had a wonderful temperament.  Sadly, because of their popularity, I think this has encouraged puppy farms to breed many to the detriment of the breed.  I agree that you can't be too careful where you get puppies from.  I wish you all the best of luck with your new puppy.