male or female dog?

[ebenezer]

I have both. 3 intact females, 1 intact male and 1 neutered male. Just came through 28 days of hell and will probably have another come in shortly. The intact male loses his mind and is pitiful to watch and listen too during the height of the heat cycle. I have had much better luck training and working with the females than males. The males do seem to be more independent and want to work for themselves but if you ask most field trailers they will say male because they don't lose the trial time to the cycles.

[terrym]

Certainly seems to be a trend building here in favor of females. Keep the opinions coming I bet somebody out there is shopping pups.

[jaycee]

Well , females aren't immune to certain injuries either . A Buddy of mine owned a beautiful Lab- which was built like Dolly Parton (after several litters) . "She" often cut her "dairy-organs" when retrieving from partially frozen water . The icy-cold water didn't seem to bother her but it was "heart-wrenching" to see her bleeding .

Why wouldn't he have bought and used a neoprene vest on her under those conditions ?
It would have protected her from the ice and also kept her warmer. We use them on our labs. as soon as the water gets too cold , and especially when there is any ice to contend with , you would be surprised how warm your dog feels when you place your hand under the vest , even though the dog is wet.

One thing I hate to see is a dog that is bleeding unnecessarily , and lying beside you or sitting and shivering.

I find it unusual that some will spend hundreds of dollars on themselves to buy the latest gear to keep themselves warm and dry and comfortable , but will not even give the slightest thought about the comfort of their hunting companion that has to do all the dirty work for them.

[Gunner 38]

9+

why wouldn't he have bought and used a neoprene vest on her under those conditions ?
It would have protected her from the ice and also kept her warmer. We use them on our labs. As soon as the water gets too cold , and especially when there is any ice to contend with , you would be surprised how warm your dog feels when you place your hand under the vest , even though the dog is wet.

One thing i hate to see is a dog that is bleeding unnecessarily , and lying beside you or sitting and shivering.

I find it unusual that some will spend hundreds of dollars on themselves to buy the latest gear to keep themselves warm and dry and comfortable , but will not even give the slightest thought about the comfort of their hunting companion that has to do all the dirty work for them.

Exactly ! --- I totally agree .

[Cass]

I currently have 1 male and 1 female. The male of course is my hunting dog. Over my lifetime I have had many more females than males - my parents would not own males when I was younger. I however much prefer males. I just like their personality better. As far as hunting I don't think that is a gender driven thing.

[swampsinger]

I have both. 3 intact females, 1 intact male and 1 neutered male. Just came through 28 days of hell and will probably have another come in shortly. The intact male loses his mind and is pitiful to watch and listen too during the height of the heat cycle. I have had much better luck training and working with the females than males. The males do seem to be more independent and want to work for themselves but if you ask most field trailers they will say male because they don't lose the trial time to the cycles.

Over the past 50 years in the large pack Beagle Trials, entries have favored the females. Approximately 2/3 of total entries. The caveat being that the males and females are run in different classes. Females are regularly trialed while in season, affects on performance seems to vary individually, and many have won Trials while in season.
However, I do think the numbers favoring the females could have influencing factors other than performance.

[Ugo]

I've had 2 males, and 3 females. I recently acquired a male that came from my b itch's lines - long story.
I have always been lucky in that all my dogs were great - some in spite of me. That said, 2 of the 3 females have been nothing short of amazing as relentless competitors, savvy co-operative personal gun dogs, endearing companions, and have enriched my life with THE most incredible memories!
This last male found me, so-to-speak (through his previous owner) and happens to be a sole surviving pup out of a breeding of my own Emma's "sister".
I really wasn't too sure about him then. He is all mine now and how lucky am I?!?!?
A good female is better than a lousy male and vice versa.
While b itches have their heat cycles, males all-too-often feel the urge to mark when they should be working or can be overtly amorous towardsladies (canine or human) at certain times of the month. It can be both annoying and embarrassing. I personally would rather deal with the female's heat cycle but a frequently marking male drives me absolutely crazy and would not be happy living here.
Thank goodness this guy isn't like that. He is intact and very much driven to find birds. He reminds me of the finest field trial setter I personally ever saw, "Ziggi's Grouse Magic". Actually, this guy looks and acts like a clone of ZGM! I feel blessed, yet again!

[jaycee]

Having female dogs to hunt with while they are in their heat cycle can be easily cured by seeing your vet .
A pill that stops the odour during their cycle is available and it works , we have used them when we had our own stud dog and he would be completely unaware that one of his ladies was in heat, otherwise the howling from him at times would make the neighbors wonder what was going on.
I hunted many times with our females while they were in heat and never had any problems with other male dogs when we gave our ladies "the pill" can't remember what it was called but the ones we used were black in colour.

[terrym]

Having female dogs to hunt with while they are in their heat cycle can be easily cured by seeing your vet .
A pill that stops the odour during their cycle is available and it works , we have used them when we had our own stud dog and he would be completely unaware that one of his ladies was in heat, otherwise the howling from him at times would make the neighbors wonder what was going on.
I hunted many times with our females while they were in heat and never had any problems with other male dogs when we gave our ladies "the pill" can't remember what it was called but the ones we used were black in colour.

interesting. That would be a game changer.

[terrym]

Currently two and two here in the house. The females are definitely partners when working with you when it comes to the field. As to the males ... The old man does not "push the envelope" anymore .... Just retired and enjoying life! The younger male .... Well he is still learning his position in the pack and trying my patience some days and definitely fits his call name of Havoc! LOL!

Would you say you can train a female to a higher level of performance easier than a male? Probably tough to answer as dogs are individuals but I mean generally?