A puppy for my puppy - male or female?

My husband and I are planning to get our second cavalier soon and have been debating whether or not to get a male or female. And then, how to introduce our very sweet boy to this new intruder. He gets along very well with other dogs but they don't live with him. Do you think he would more readily accept a male or female puppy?

Some say it is best that a boy and girl get on best. It would also probably be best if they were both neutered.

Keep your options open-- pick the pup with the best personality for your family. I have never had a problem with ANY of my boys-- I have heard and seen a couple of strong alpha females sometimes don't get along. Sandy

I think possible problems come up more often in this breed from having two females than any number of males. :lol: Seriously though I do think this is the case. I have two boys and LOVE having two boys. The usual advice is to go for the opposite sex to minimise any chance of conflict though, as in a group of dogs, you tend to have one top male and one top female. If you have one of each there is less sorting out of positions needing to be done.

That said I enjoy my third, female recent addition to the group but she is indeed snippy with some other female dogs (no problem with males, though she likes to boss around bigger dogs too :roll: ). I really enjoy her but I must say with cavaliers, my heart is with the boys, as sweet as the girls can be. :lotsaluv:

I think Sandy's advice is spot on -- it is far better to find the dog whose personality matches your household, whatever the gender -- eg NOT necessarily the dog 'that picks you' as that is almost always the most outgoing, in your face puppy in the litter that comes over to say hi and is NOT the dog personality many people will want (the most active, outgoing, dominant, fearless, restless dog of the group -- suitable for very active families, or people experienced with dogs, but can be way too active and headstrong for the average household). Good breeders will be able to evaluate puppy personalities and may indeed perform one of the puppy evaluation tests at 7-8 weeks to match puppies with prospective owners. I'd want to choose a breeder who is very comfortable matching pups and owners.

I've got some great articles in the Library section on introducing a second dog/puppy. Cavaliers tend to do very well with new introductions, especially puppies. Expect some adjustment time and give lots of support to the existing dog. It is GREAT to have two dogs -- highly recommended!!

I have just added another MALE Ruby (Darby) to our family, we already have a Bleinham MALE (Dudley). Although Darby was the only Ruby in the litter and I was waiting for him for 2 years if he had been a FEMALE I would of still taken him. But my heart is with the boys, I love, love, absolutely love having TWO BOYS.

Intially, I worried when I brought the wee fellow home as it took Dudley some time to accept Darby, but now they get along wonderfully. I would not trade either of them for the world.

The old saying is The Boys Are In Love With You :lotsaluv:
The Females Love You :l*v:

I guess you need to decide also what type of personality you are looking for, my Darby is spunky, cheeky and very very playful. :w**h**: :w**h**:

I love it, as Dudley did not care much for toys when he was a puppy. :shock:

You will love having two of them, and it is such a feeling of contentment to watch them play together once they have accepted each other. :hug:

It brings such joy to my heart to see them chase each other around in the backyard. What a feeling, nothing can compare. :wggle:

Jake is wonderful about my fosters. He is pretty laid back and easy going about it as long as he continues to get his attention. Shelby is my bossy girl. Oh she is so funny! We had a foster for about 3 weeks and about 2 weeks into his visit he decided he wanted to play with them. Well, Miss Shelby backed that boy up into a corner with her chest and then turned around and went back to playing with Jake!!!

I agree that either would be fine...go with personality more than anything else.

We have three boys and they love each other (Busta is sort of the boss), Darren's mum has Ozzy's sister and when she comes to visit she is a nutter - will not stop has to be jumping on them or chasing.... and can go for all day..

Every puppy is different.... why don't you see if Duncan can come with you when you go and see the breeder - if she is okay with this ie. shots, etc. and he may pick the one...

hi there. i must say as much as i love the females the males are really the ones that catch my heart. i hve heard from lots of people that usually a male and female get along better together than two of the same breed but i have 2 males and they love each other so much. I agree with Claire,find out if you can bring Duncan. Even if you cant decide im sure he will!