German Shepherd Males vs Females
People often ask me what are the differences
between a male and a female German Shepherd? Which one is
better? What is best for the first time owner? What is best for a family
with children?
I, personally, think that there are 2 main
differences between the males and the females. I use two
difference scenarios to illustrate this point:
1) Let's say that you have a
husband and wife laying in bed. The husband gets up at 3:00 in
the morning, looks out the window, sees a car parked down at the end
of the driveway. His first response is going to be to look
around, see if he sees anyone in the yard or at the front door,
listen for movement in the house, etc. Then, he may reach over
into his bedside table, grab his gun, wake his wife up, and tell her
to call the police. After that, he is likely to go through the
house, check on the kids, make sure he doesn't find anyone in the
house, and then wait for the police.
Now, let's say we reverse the roles - the
wife gets up in the middle of the night, sees the car. First
things she does is "Honey! Get up! There is someone in
the driveway!" This doesn't have anything to do with the wife
self confidence level. She may be VERY self confident.
This is simply the way most females respond.
The same is true for Shepherds. The
male shepherd might look at the window, see a car turning around in
the driveway and do nothing more than a slight rumble in his throat.
The female shepherd will see the car start to pull in the driveway
and immediately start barking. This does not mean that the
females are less secure, it is just how they tend to handle things.
For this reason, if I need an alarm dog,
one that lets me know anytime something is going on, I would be more
prone to get a female. If I am sneaking a dog into a hotel
room where dogs are not allowed, I would take a male. (Not
that I would do that of course.... ;-) )
2) The other difference that I see
in males and females is in their social behavior. Let's say
that you have a husband and wife who are going to the airport meet
their friends that they haven't seen since high school graduation.
The wife sees her friend and says "HEY GIRL! How are you?!
You look great! How long has it been? 8-9 years? How are
your kids? They have to be 5 and 6 now aren't they?
Goodness how time flys! How is your new job going? Do
you like it? Ya'll just moved to Texas didn't you? How
do you like it there?.........blah, blah, blah........blah,
blah,......."
The husband sees his friend and says "Hey
Man, how ya doin'? It has been awhile."
Now, to translate this to Shepherds --
The male Shepherd is generally lower keyed. They greet you,
they love attention, they come for petting and will continue to sit
with you but when you say "That is enough", they generally will go
find something to entertain themselves. When you come in and
sit down to watch TV, they come to get petted and then generally
will go and sit down on their bed.
The female Shepherd will also greet you
with excitement and enthusiasm and when you say "That's enough",
instead of going over and laying down on their bed, they want to get
up on the couch with you. They seem to be more touchy-feely.
They are like a wife when you are trying to watch a championship
football game. "I missed you a whole bunch! Let's
talk!".
Now, keep in mind though I think there
are some general differences, it really comes down to individual
personality and temperament AND how that temperament is developed in
the new home environment. We temperament test our puppies at 7
weeks and spend a great deal of time with them so that we know what
kind of home and family they would best be suited for.
So, with that said.......
