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Ok.. I had a deposit down on a male shepherd pup, and they were born today, only 2 males, so the 2 people ahead of me got the males, and I get first pick if I want a female. I have waited long enough and I am really excited, so I went ahead and agreed to a female. I have never had a female dog before.. are there any differences in behavior, trainability, and protectiveness in males and females? I'm looking forward to my first girl.. but I think I was associating a male with being more protective of his family, which is what I want, now people are telling me females are actually the more protective ones. Anyone with female shepherds give me a heads up lol. Thanks

>>Ok.. I had a deposit down on a male shepherd pup, and they were born today, only 2 males, so the 2 people ahead of me got the males, and I get first pick if I want a female. I have waited long enough and I am really excited, so I went ahead and agreed to a female. I have never had a female dog before.. are there any differences in behavior, trainability, and protectiveness in males and females? I'm looking forward to my first girl.. but I think I was associating a male with being more protective of his family, which is what I want, now people are telling me females are actually the more protective ones. Anyone with female shepherds give me a heads up lol. Thanks

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German Shepherd Dogs of both sexes are highly trainable. YOu will need to train the dog--either sex--first to be good with people. If you encourage aggressiveness with the idea of having a dog who will protect your family, the pup will grow up suspicious and unstable. Protection instinct emerges later. The dog needs a solid concept of how people behave when they are NOT threats, before experiencing anyone who is, and long before maturity.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I certainly would never want my dog to have to use agressiveness, we have a two year old little boy... we plan on socializing her with children and other dogs, but it is nice to know the instinct is there just incase. I just wasn't sure what the similarities were between females and males, it's very strange now that I think back we have never had a female dog. I personally think any type of aggression in a dog for an unnecessary reason is a flaw, I took a lot of time to find a good breeder with dogs that I was able to clearly see, were very comfortable around strangers, children, and other pets.

I have a female gsd who is now 11 years old, also my first female dog when I got her at 12 weeks. Sami was a holey terror, most likely because of her circumstances which she had no control over, I basically rescued her with no intention of keeping her. I had always had male dogs and preferred them.

Sami was determined to change my mind and she did. She has been a wonderful dog and probably will be my "best" dog ever. The differences I see are many, (as I do with my female aussie)..She has alot more energy (she's also out of czech lines). She was faster in picking up obedience commands, matured faster than the boyz, is not as aloof as the boys, much more friendly, however when she perceives a threat, she is the one I would expect to see go into a protective mode vs the boyz.

The biggest difference was the maturing faster and so much quicker to train in anything I threw at her, she does (and so does my female aussie) have an independent streak to her, but is more than willing to obey any command..make sense?|I will
always have females in my household because of her
Diane

Thank you for that... I really am very excited about getting her and having her in our family for years to come. I think the only reason I had "male" driven into my head was because that's what I have always had, and on tv it's always the intelligent male companion gsd ya know? We have decided to name her Shiloh, and I have become quite fond of the idea of a precious girl face around the house.

I like both males and females. Males seem to be a little more interested in exploring, and females may be a tad more naturally obedient. But in the working GSD, these differences can be very subtle, which is not true of some other breeds, where the difference between male and female can be a lot. Main thing is, train your dog! And for me, I prefer the peace and lower stress of a household with opposite-sex rather than same-sex dogs.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

My female is way more protective than my male. My male will bark really loud....as he is running away. LOL!!! He is a big goofball!