There’s always the question of whether males are more aggressive, more dominant and more territorial than females. In my personal experience that hasn’t always been the case, so I decided to do a little digging to find out what the truth really was.
Maybe you’re looking for a new dog or maybe you already have a dog and just curious as to whether one is more aggressive than the other.
Either way, by reading this you’re bound to leave with some new information of the ins and outs of male vs female golden retrievers.
It took a while to get some answers but after a few gruesome nights of research, I managed to extract some interesting information. Today I’ll be sharing everything I found on what the exact differences are between a male and a female golden retriever. Let’s dig in!
Male vs female golden retriever appearance
Appearance is not really a big one when it comes to differences, as you’ll find in most cases females tend to look a little more slender but nothing too major if you ask me. According to a few professionals in the industry, there’s not a noticeable difference in appearance to the majority.
But that’s not to say that you and I wouldn’t spot the difference after owning a golden retriever for several years on end. To touch base on my earlier point, you’ll find that males have a slightly more muscular build. Which also literally shows up on the scales too! as you’ll find males to physically weigh a little more than females in most cases.
A quick way to tell is by simply taking a look downstairs if you ever find that you can’t tell the difference on first impressions. Next, we’ll go through the difference in height and weight!
Height and weight differences
One of the biggest deciding factors for most new parents may be the size and weight of a Golden. There are slight differences between the 2 and each will not really impact your decision on what retriever you want to bring home. The average sizes for a male vs female golden retriever are:
- 20 to 22 inches for a female
- 22 – 24 inches for a male
From seeing the stats you can see there’s a very slight difference in the two when it comes to size. Let’s take a look at the weight and see if things change there:
- 55 to 70lbs for a female
- 65 to 75 for a male
If you’re looking to buy a new dog and considering the differences in weight between males and females, this should clearly tell you that there isn’t much of a difference. As you can see there is only 5lbs difference between the two and in most cases, you’ll find that the majority of each gender average out to roughly the same weight.
But how about behavior? as that’s the big topic that everyone seems to think there are major differences in, right?
Behavior of Male & Female Golden Retrievers
I’d have to say from my own past experiences with owning several golden retrievers, there is a major difference in this area of the two genders. Male golden retrievers that have not been neutered are usually a whole heap more hyper and aggressive than any female dog I’ve met!
Females tend to be a lot easier to housebreak and train but can be very needy for attention and love over males. Youll find that males are very happy to get on with their day and can be a little defensive when their day is disrupted to take part in activities or training as such in the earlier stages.
That’s not to say that males are difficult as such to train overall as golden retrievers are pretty smart and energetic outdoor dogs. You’ll find that over other breeds they are much more willing to take part and learn new skills and commands.
Non – neutered males seem to be a common thing when it comes to aggressive golden retrievers. So neutering is probably something you may want to consider if you are looking to purchase a male. But, this will depend on an individual dog and their surrounding environment as all factors will play a part in their behavior.
If you’re stuck in a situation with an aggressive dog or even considering buying a new dog, then I recommend you pick up a training course on dog obedience training to help out. Its what saved my life when getting my pup as she was a little terror before I started training.
Aesthetics
Just above is an image of two Golden retrievers side by side… one being a female and the other a male. Now if I asked you tell the difference between the two, would you know?
Well, you can simply tell by the masculinity of the male against the female! If you take a look at the dog on the left, he has much more of a thicker and fuller look to his coat, his face is more full and paws look thicker and wider.
Not so much the easiest things to spot but now you know the difference its almost like night and day when you put them side by side.
Training
According to Pedigree.com, there are clear-cut differences when it comes to training a male or female golden retriever. Female golden retrievers are supposedly a lot easier whilst males can very easily lose interest.
It may be worth making it really fun to take part in if you are considering a male pup. This kind of behavior is also not uncommon to find in unspayed female golden retrievers. So it seems that you are not free of this behavior no matter which gender you choose.
some dogs may have the best background, bring up and parents but still be difficult to train. Youll need to test what works for your individual dog as things can vary from dog to dog.
From my own experience having a female was no walk in the park, as my female put me through the griller! I mean everything that you think could possibly go wrong with a new dog went wrong with me and my pup. It wasn’t until I started to train her up that things really changed for the better.
That’s why it’s always important to put the right training in place as early as possible as this will help you to build a strong & beneficial relationship with your pup.
Let’s take a look at behavior and aggression!
Temperament
“There are a lot more incidents with biting that involve unneutered males” is what Stanley Coren said over at https://www.psychologytoday.com. And I believe this to be true as in most cases that I have personally witnessed, there have been more un-neutered males than anything else.
But does this mean that if you buy a new male pup that is un-neutered you will receive this kind of problems? Well, the short answer to that question is no. you will not and that is because it will depend on your individual pup.
Not on commonly recorded data and statistics. Last but not least we take a look at some of the health differences in males to females.
Health Differences in female & male golden retrievers
The first thing that we need to tackle here is the fact that you will not worry about a year or 2 difference in life length when buying a new pup. But of course, it is important to know if one is more prone to illness and disease than the other as this could make a big difference in your life later down the line.
However, according to Wikipedia, there is no difference in life expectancy for either of the 2. So if you were to purchase a new golden then you can expect them to live for an average of 10 to 12 years whether they are male or female.
Conclusion
From spending hours upon end and days of tirelessly researching I have found that there is no real difference in male to female golden retrievers. One place that is noticeable is behavior that is very little and will make no difference in the choice of your dog.
