Mijoy Yorkies and Mijoy Biewers

 Male or Female, BITCH or DOG, girl or boy???

Very often people are faced with the decision of what sex of pup to purchase.  Most people have fixed ideas, some will say we only ever have males, while others will say no girls for me, I do not want that lifting of the leg story.

WELL if you neuter your pups at a young age, the males that is, can be done anytime as long as they have two little jewels. I have neutered a small pocket male as early as 8 weeks of age, with NO problems at all.  All you need is a vet who works with pretty small dogs and there you go.

It is only once a dog becomes sexually mature or nears that age that you have the possibility of him lifting his leg.  Many or should I say most will squat like a girl if neutered around 6 months of age and don’t lift their legs. It is not to say they will never left their legs, but the tendency to mark territory is totally removed when your pup is neutered. 

I get told but ours is neutered and he still lifts his leg in our house.  At what age did you neuter your dog?  18 months, 3 years, 5 years, well I am not surprised then, it should be done prior to the dog become sexually mature. Often the lifting and marking of territory can be reversed if neutered later on, but this is not guaranteed.

If you have an entire male (meaning not sterilised/neutered) any female in your area that comes on heat he may be able to detect, this will encourage him to get out of your property if possible and head for the girl. Girls on heat males strangely enough can pick up the scent from a far distance, so risky.  This may also encourage him to mark his territory in your home.

Over the years I have heard of three cases of a yorkie male, getting out of a property making a wild dash up the road, never to be seen of again.  In all likelihood this was nature calling and a girl in heat up the road but could be quite a distance away.

I get regular calls about dogs that run out of the gate once opened, people enquiring why their dog behaves in this manner, quite simple, he is off to investigate, greener pastures.  If your dog is sterilised and this behaviour continues, call in a behaviourist to advise you how to handle this problem.

Sterilised males can live in harmony, as can sterilised females.  You can have girls and boys, or just boys or just girls. The choice is yours. This is an old wives tale, when you are told, if you have a female get a male, or visa versa.  Simply not true.  Strangely we find males have far more placid temperaments than the girls in general.

If there is a squabble it will be the girls giving one another a look, never the boys.  I cannot say this will happen in all cases, it depends very much on one’s own circumstances, how the dogs are raised etc.

If for whatever reason you end up with a pup that only has one testicle or none at all, you have to see your vet, who will neuter and look for those missing jewels.  You cannot just leave it on the assumption that it is not a problem.  A retained testicle in the abdomen for example will make your dog behave in an unneutered manner.  It is also dangerous to your dogs health, the possibility of him developing cancer from that is pretty high.

It goes without saying that NO dog should be bred from unless it has two perfectly normal testicles. Monorchids(meaning single testicle) and cryptorchids (meaning both retained testicles, none obviously visible in the scrotum) should never be used in any breeding program.  It is a well known fact that this fault in all likelihood is hereditary.

Best of luck with your purchase, may you make the decision that suits you best.  Romeo or Juliet, Tarzan or Jane, Jack or Jill??????????? YOUR CALL.