Hi Joanna!
We were not in a show, we were in a meeting for fun, in the countryside, dogs had plenty of space to stay away one from the other and did not have the stress of a ring show
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I recognise, anyway, that you are right: behaviour in public is veeeery different from behaviour in private
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I've noticed it too: males become a complete bunch of gelatine with puppies, while it is easier for a female to growl to a puppy. But I've read that it is quite normal, indeed. I love seeing males with puppies, they're absolutely wonderful.
And I know that females think! I've thought a lot about taking a male or a female, and in the end, we opted for a female for a series of reasons, these being the principal;
1. Females are smaller. I will be the one in charge of the dog for most part of the day and I am 1,65 tall for 57 kg and not very strong. So the question is: do I want a dog I can possibly bring out for a walk even when it is adult or do I want a dog who will take ME out for a walk (flag-on-the-wind-style I would say!) at 13 month old?
2. Males tend to be difficult in their first 2 years. We are completely newbies to dogs, and I do no know if I feel brave enough to face it without a previous experience. I do not want to make a dog suffer because I am not ready.
And, anyway, that's only the beginning, because, as I said, my partner desires a male in the future, so I think we'll be owners of two teethy things... but we'll see how it goes with the first one!
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Sincerely, we are choosing our puppy on the base of the character of the parents AND of other siblings. I choose home-breeders, who will ensure continuous contact with human beings, and I'm trying to go and visit the breeders themselves.