You don’t have to tell me that Eko loves me, he shows me that every day.
The love pup
But what about when it comes to other people? I have read a few posts lately which claim, that in general, dogs prefer females to males. Can’t say I blame them, but it got me wondering if Eko has a preference. I did not have to wonder long before the truth became evident.
Eko is everyone’s best friend. Here he is about two minutes after meeting my friend Andrew
However, Eko has always LOVED Emily
And he is always desperate for her affection. But it’s not just Emily
Eko is also crazy about the Treat Fairy – aka my sister Helen
I have also noticed that aside from Emily and Helen, Eko also seems to prefer females to males when meeting both for the first time.
At a party we had, Eko was certainly interested in the guys
But he kept running underneath the girls until they gave him affection! He also sometimes pulls this move at the dog park and then runs off, leaving me to apologize
While I did not find any scientific data to back up the claim, anecdotal evidence suggests that most pups are like Eko and prefer adult females over adult males. There are a number of theories (most primary dog care-givers are female, females are generally more calming than males, dogs have more positive association with females) but the consensus seems to be clear.
In Eko’s case, I wonder how his preference developed. When I think about it, his preference for females was noticeable at a young age. I have always been his primary care giver and I know he has a lot of positive association with me, so I wonder what it could be. It’s not something I ever really considered, but it is interesting to think about.
Any ideas? Does your pup have a preference?
The only thing that I noticed, was with my German Shepherd, he preferred to want to be
around kids, really not any adults, he also was really protective of the kids to when they were around
Now Buddy, he just wants everyone to play with him, but since I read this I am going to start to watch him to see what he does ?
Now is it just male dogs with female adults or is it both male and female dogs ?
That’s really interesting to think about. But I’m glad Eko is everyone’s best friend. Imagine he would be jealous when he has to “share” you – that would be bad. And mostly this ends with a chewed sofa or some petitions written with yellow “ink”.
Having trained and been around many dogs I believe it is the tone of our voice. I was taught to have three distinct tones to my voice when dealing with dogs. A high happy voice. A middle range or my normal voice and a very low strict voice.
My friend who has a dog who prefers men loves me. He loves me cause when dealing with him I use my high happy voice. (he is a rescue and came with issues) He will come to me when using it even though his dad called him first and is standing right next to me and he really loves his dad.
I am just saying…………….. Girls Rule!
I prefer girls toooowooowoooo! The first human I knew was the man at the puppy mill, but all the rescue people were women and Mama’s a girl, and I I think girls are cute toowooooowooooooo! Ku
perhaps Eko is just following your lead and you like girls better than boys – especially Emily and the treat fairy! He is a pretty smart pup!
We are around more females, but I love male humans, don’t like male dogs as much. Not really sure but now Mom has something to watch to see for ourselves.
Eko you pawty animal you!!!!
Sammy
Whee mostly seem to prefer the female hoomans but Basil is furry close to his little hooman who is male. Typically whee have been told that boy piggies like girl hoomans and girl piggies like boy hoomans but it does seem to vary. Whee think it’s how whee are treated that decides how whee behave!
Nacho, Noah, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Boomer thinks that everyone is his friend man or female while Dottie is a bit skittish of everyone at first.
Well, my parent’s dog, Hugo (he’s a he) is kinda strange when it comes to this particular subject. If a woman’s on her period, he will not budge from her side. If a dude sits in the couch, he will sit there with him until someone opens the cabinet where they store the treats.
Typically, the larger the person, the more Hugo will want to be around them. By ‘larger’ I mean both in terms of weight and height. I also think it has something to do with how your voice sounds when you speak to the dog, I’ve seen that a lot of people move up to a lighter tone when greeting the dog, but some don’t. Naturally, the dog prefers the person ho sounds more excited.
Was just over on FB and saw your Petcentric video of Eko and his ball. I have so many funny river stories but….. We use to belong to a dog club and had a yearly Halloween party. One of the games was bobbing for dogs, hot dogs that is. Think kiddie pool with hot dogs floating in it. It sure was fun to watch. Mohave had no problem getting them! The big goof ball would blow bubbles out of his nose…. hilarious! Thanks for sharing Eko with us. I sure needed to smile today! and there is nothing like a good Eko video to do that! Seriously thank you Will!
I’ve always read that dogs often prefer females to males as females generally aren’t as intimidating to dogs as males are…males are taller, have deeper voices, tend to lean over dogs more etc etc, all of which some dogs can find threatening…don’t think I’ve ever read any scientific studies on the subject though! 🙂
Solo & Krissy’s Mum here: That’s an interesting question. From the early days when we took Solo, we thought he was a bit of a “Mummy’s Boy”, but I have noticed that he will whine occasionally when his Dad leaves the house alone. Solo was an only pup, and although he came from a racing trainer, he was brought up by the trainer’s wife and her daughter, so he responds positively to women in general. Krissy definitely seems to be a “Mummy’s Girl” but she is a cuddle monster, like Solo, and both of them will happily stand to be fussed by just about anyone! Krissy’s old trainer was a woman, and both our hounds came from greyhound re-homing kennels run by women, so they’ve definitely had more company from women, rather than from men. I think the point about the voice is an important one, too, as they definitely respond positively to the higher, happier tones of women’s voices. If I ever lower my voice to tell one of them, “No” sharply, then I get a very hurt look back…. 🙂
Both of my dogs have been jazzed to meet anyone, regardless of gender. In my experience, the difference is that the men will give a pat or a head scratch and move on, while women are more likely to keep petting and talking in a baby voice and giving treats.
I prefer men, I think its cos I’m a daddy’s girl