So you think you want a female….
My most common request is for female, yet oddly enough, those who want female also want “cuddly and affectionate”, so I find myself writing the same response over and over. I’ve decided to make this page so I can simplify my life a bit and just send the link because the truth is, if you want loving and affectionate and also female, the odds of me having that for you are about 4 in 20, because in the 20 years I’ve been breeding I have only produced 4 females that were cuddly and affectionate.
There is valid reason that the female dog is called a bitch, but thankfully in Papillons, (in my experiences, at least), they are only “bitchy” to other females. I have to be very careful with my girls, with who is housed with whom. Only certain girls can be in the house together and in the yard together. Particularly during their heat season.
Fertile season aside, as a general rule, the females are happy to see me when I come home but they are quickly bored with it and move on to their own thing. In the evenings, if they sit with me at all, they will soon move on to their own bed or to the opposite end of the sofa. If I sit with them, they will indulge me for a moment and then move to another spot they favor.
The female affection is quite selfish in nature. They want attention when they want it and the rest of the time, she may as well be a cat. Males on the other hand, are very sensitive and attentive to their owners’ needs and desires. The miles live only for pleasing their people. They are loving and attentive to a fault. They follow you, every move you make, always in your shadow. Always under foot. I have found this trait to hold true in every dog breed I have dealt with and also in every species I’ve worked with. Horses? The girls are all work and no affection while boys follow you and love on you like puppies. Chickens? While the girls will eat from my hand, the males will sit on my lap to do so. My wild barn cats, the males will let me pet them while they eat while the females won’t even jump on the table to eat until I leave.
You say you prefer female because males “pee everywhere”? I have to stifle my giggles every time I hear this because I have never been able to fully house-brake a female. I have housebroken many in-tact and breeding males. Hormonal marking? My girls out-mark my boys every hour of the day. What’s worse, while the males, when left unchecked, will mark on the corners of the walls and furniture and near anything left on the floor, the females, mark on the arms of the furniture and on the pillows and any clothes or blankets draped on the furniture. You must be more consistent and persistent for a much longer time when housebreaking a female. Of course, they are not all this way, but determining who will be difficult and who will be easy, it’s safe to assume the boys will be easy, but in girls, it’s just too hard to say until they are near 5 or 6 months old.
So, surmise it to say, if you don’t like tripping over a dog in your shadow every time you turn around, and want a dog to be more independent and less needy/clingy, then the female is the gender for you. But if you want love and cuddles at the ready at all times, what you are seeking is a male.
If you are not prepared for a potential prolonged struggle with housebreaking, you should reconsider wanting a female. It is not always a struggle, but a struggle is always a potential with a female Papillons.
I am blessed with a future client right now, who insists on a female. When I prepared to give my usual shpeal, I asked why she insisted on a female. She told me that she wanted a dog that was independent and not always underfoot and that she found that males were too clingy and needy. It was truly a breath of fresh air to receive an inquiry from someone who wanted a female for a legitimate reason rather than an old wive’s tale/fallacy. She has picked one of the girls I am currently showing, and is willing to wait the 4-6 years it will take before I’m ready to retire her. She comes to our local shows to watch her perform and to visit. Driving a good 5-7 hours to do so.