Do Dogs Prefer A Certain Gender?

Do dogs really like women better than men? 🤔

do dogs prefer a certain gender

Does being around women send your dog into a tail-wagging frenzy, while men seem to make him more skittish (or vice versa)? If that’s the case, you’re probably wondering: Do dogs prefer a certain gender?

We spoke with Dr. Chyrle Bonk, a veterinarian working with Hepper, to find out why it seems like pups sometimes prefer one gender, and how much gender even has to do with it.

Do dogs like women or men better?

If it ever seems like your dog prefers a certain gender to others, it might actually be true. But when that happens, it’s not because pups innately have those biases. Instead, it’s about the associations they developed when they were socialized as puppies.

“This typically has to do with how they were socialized, who takes care of them and their past experiences,” Dr. Bonk told The Dodo. “If a dog is taken care of by a female, they’re more likely to prefer females, [whereas] if they’re primarily taken care of by a male, they may prefer males.”

And in some cases, these associations can be negative.

“If a dog has a negative experience with one gender, for example abuse or neglect, it may turn [into] them prefer[ing] the other gender out of fear,” Dr. Bonk said.

Personality traits dogs like best

A lot of the time, the kind of person dogs prefer has more to do with that person’s personality traits than their gender.

According to Dr. Bonk, people who are calm and quiet are the ones most dogs like best.

“They like someone that will get down to their level and not scare or upset them,” Dr. Bonk said. “Dogs prefer these calm and quiet characteristics, especially when meeting someone new, because they don’t feel as threatened.”

In fact, dogs tend to be more apprehensive of people who exhibit the opposite traits, like being noisy and easily excitable.

“People that have loud voices, make sudden movements or tower over them are more likely to make them nervous,” Dr. Bonk said. “Children can frighten some dogs because they often don’t have the self control to move slowly and quietly and may play or pet a little too rough.”

So while some dogs may prefer certain genders to others, the way you act towards your pup is way more important than any biases he may have developed when he was younger.

We independently pick all the products we recommend because we love them and think you will too. If you buy a product from a link on our site, we may earn a commission.