How to tell if a dog is a BOY or GIRL
Trying to figure out what gender the dog is when you meet a new dog in public?
While most dogs aren’t usually walking around in dresses or overalls, it can be hard to know the gender of a dog at first glance.
Seems like I have a tendency to call every dog that I meet a “her”. What is her name? Just seeing a dog, you don’t know for sure without physically looking. Sometimes that’s obvious, but many times it’s not.
Everyone calls my dog a boy (him) all the time. Even though she is always wearing a pink, girly colored collar with a cute scarf or bow. But, like me, they almost always guess it wrong.
Don’t assume the gender
It doesn’t hurt the dog’s feelings when we call them the wrong gender, but the owner might not appreciate it.
It seems like we always assume the opposite. Why is that??? It could be a number of reasons. Sometimes certain breeds tend to have a more feminine or masculine look. Or maybe they remind you of a dog you know.
Like Mama always said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Maybe it’s better to not say anything, than to assume the wrong gender. Or, you could take a few extra steps to find out if the dog is a boy or girl, before getting it wrong.
Look for visual clues
- Stop and take a visual look to see if there are any obvious clues that might let you know the gender like a pink collar or bow.
- We have a great line of cute dog wearables available on our website to help dress up your pet.
Listen for clues
- Hearing the owner call the dog’s name can sometimes let you know if its a boy or girl.
Start a conversation
Here are some good conversation starters to help identify a dog’s gender.
- Instead of saying, “What’s his/her name?”, ask “What’s YOUR DOG’S name?” Then you will know, and not mistakenly say it wrong.
- Or you could just ask the obvious, “Is it a BOY or GIRL?” Unless you like the odds of a 50/50 chance getting it right.
- If you don’t want to ask the obvious, you can also ask, “How old is YOUR DOG?” They will usually respond with “SHE is six years old.”
- Or even, “What breed is YOUR DOG?” When they respond, they will usually give a clue such as “HE is a golden doodle.” Now that you know it is a male, you can ask, “What is HIS name?”
Tip: Be sure you know how to approach a dog you’ve never met before. This article has some great tips for approaching a new dog.
Leave a Reply