# Can dogs/cats tell each others' gender? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622 "2018-06-23T15:24:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asuramaru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@asuramaru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asuramaru)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/1 "2018-06-23T15:24:02Z")
Can dogs / cats tell whether other dogs / cats are male or female just by looking at them, the same way humans can tell others’ gender without looking at their genitals / breasts? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/2 "2018-06-23T15:42:40Z")
Dogs and cats don’t have the secondary sexual features humans do, so I doubt if they can tell just by looking. But smell gives it away. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/3 "2018-06-23T15:49:08Z")
It’s safe to say they figure it out one way or another - trial and error if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/4 "2018-06-23T16:07:53Z")
Smell, and yes. It’s one reason their creating ritually are so very thorough by human standards. They’re learning a LOT. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/5 "2018-06-23T17:11:11Z")
Did autocorrect mangle that sentence? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/6 "2018-06-23T19:27:19Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Dogs and cats don’t have the secondary sexual features humans do, so I doubt if they can tell just by looking. But smell gives it away. [Male and female wolves](http://apdyfrig.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cantel-dog-the-time-user-tried-to-determine-dogs-sex-just-by-looking-at-wolf-facts-image-page.jpg) differ enough in size and build that they could probably be told by sight most of the time, though they lack the secondary sexual characters in humans. But dog breeds vary so much that sexes of different breeds couldn’t really be distinguished readily. As said, dogs can easily tell male and female dogs apart by smell. They can also almost certainly distinguish male and female humans and other mammals, since the scent signatures will be similar. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/7 "2018-06-23T21:04:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did autocorrect mangle that sentence? “Creating ritually” was probably “mating rituals.” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/8 "2018-06-23T21:29:06Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > “Creating ritually” was probably “mating rituals.” I’m assuming “cleaning ritual”. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/9 "2018-06-23T21:49:21Z")
I’m guessing “greeting ritual” ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/10 "2018-06-23T22:06:35Z")
Animals don’t have gender. You mean sex. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/11 "2018-06-23T22:45:06Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Animals don’t have gender. You mean sex. While gender is typically used these days to indicate the social/cultural aspects of sexual identity, it is not at all wrong to refer to biological sex as gender. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/12 "2018-06-23T23:07:59Z")
“Creating ritually” was probably “creatine residuals”. > [@Colibri](#): > > While gender is typically used these days to indicate the social/cultural aspects of sexual identity, it is not at all wrong to refer to biological sex as gender. It may not be wrong, but I think it is more precise and unambiguous to refer to biological sex as biological sex. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/13 "2018-06-23T23:08:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did autocorrect mangle that sentence? Courting rituals. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/14 "2018-06-23T23:39:49Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > It may not be wrong, but I think it is more precise and unambiguous to refer to biological sex as biological sex. I’m sure no one misunderstood the way it was being used in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/15 "2018-06-24T02:37:37Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Animals don’t have gender. You mean sex. > [@Colibri](#): > > While gender is typically used these days to indicate the social/cultural aspects of sexual identity, it is not at all wrong to refer to biological sex as gender. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > It may not be wrong, but I think it is more precise and unambiguous to refer to biological sex as biological sex. > [@Colibri](#): > > I’m sure no one misunderstood the way it was being used in the OP. I’ve been vaguely aware that people use the terms somewhat differently in academic circles, but didn’t realize it was such an issue. Per the [wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender) (emphasis added): > [@](#): > > Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955. Before his work, it was uncommon to use the word gender to refer to anything but grammatical categories.[1][2] However, Money’s meaning of the word did not become widespread until the 1970s, when feminist theory embraced the concept of a distinction between biological sex and the social construct of gender. Today the distinction is strictly followed in some contexts, especially the social sciences[4][5] and documents written by the World Health Organization (WHO).[3] > > In other contexts, including some areas of social sciences, gender includes sex or replaces it.[1][2] For instance, in non-human animal research, gender is commonly used to refer to the biological sex of the animals.[2] The article referenced as #2 is [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20120615160110/http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/haig/Publications_files/04InexorableRise.pdf). I skimmed it, but did not see where it says that. However, it does make sense not to project human social constructs onto non-human animals. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/16 "2018-06-24T03:20:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did autocorrect mangle that sentence? Yes. Autocorrect is evil, hence my sig. > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I’m guessing “greeting ritual” Ding, ding. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/17 "2018-06-24T03:22:53Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’ve been vaguely aware that people use the terms somewhat differently in academic circles, but didn’t realize it was such an issue. Per the [wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender) (emphasis added): > > The article referenced as #2 is [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20120615160110/http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/haig/Publications_files/04InexorableRise.pdf). I skimmed it, but did not see where it says that. However, it does make sense not to project human social constructs onto non-human animals. Right. The use of “gender” to indicate social/cultural sexual identity is a rather recent one. In purely biological contexts, no such distinction is made. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/18 "2018-06-24T06:54:28Z")
Back on topic. Ever see a male dog or cat try to mount another male? I have and I’m sure it’s not because they swing both ways! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/19 "2018-06-24T07:52:42Z")
My daughter had a male bulldog. He was especially beautiful. Brown bridle with white. She kept him intact with the promise of using him as a stud. Many tries, never mounted the first female bulldog. But would hump anything else. Legs, ottomans, baby strollers, trees, male dogs. We decided he was gay. He lived a long happy life as a gay bulldog. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622/20 "2018-06-24T10:26:33Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Back on topic. > > Ever see a male dog or cat try to mount another male? I have and I’m sure it’s not because they swing both ways! 😛 Most likey they are doing some kind of dominance thing, as in establishing/maintaining the pecking order. But it’s quite possible they do swing both ways. Or are outright homosexual. Homosexuality/bisexuality in the animal kingdom in general is roughly as common as it is in humans. But unless they’ve lost their sense of smell, they do know what sex the other animal is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-cats-tell-each-others-gender/816622.md?page=2)