I thought as much, but that’s a question I hear asked all the effing time, in full, straight-faced seriousness.
About the male vs female thing, it seems that in general, with the few breeds that I’ve really researched, females have a shorter fuse, are quicker to call something a threat, and are much more opinionated. Males tend to be more laid back, fewer things set them off, but far more serious when they do perceive a threat. In short, if you want a watch dog, get a female, if you want a personal protection dog, males generally are better judges of character. For instance, in my own particular breed, a lot of times females are constantly getting in scuffles and are more suspicious of people in general. Males generally love everybody, but in the rare times they do perceive a threat, it’s a very serious reaction.
Heh, I actually cut out an entire paragraph about how that tendancy seems to exist across the board, because I didn’t have any stats to back it up here in GQ–but yes, I’ve seen this in many species. Including humans ;).
I have five dogs. One is a 17 lbs dust mop dog part poodle part lhasa apso. I have three 40 lb shepard mixes and a 60 lb hound mix. Out of them all, last week I came in the back gate unexpectedly to see which of them would bark and which would defend the yard. The three 40lb dogs ran for cover. The 60 lb dog barked but ran to the far side fo the yard to do so, the teeny little 17 lb dog nearly bit my leg before he realized it was me…you just never can tell who is going to be brave.
I thought as much, but that’s a question I hear asked all the effing time, in full, straight-faced seriousness.