What is your preference when getting a new pet?

[Amaranth]

When you get a new dog or cat (or other I guess), which gender do you tend to go for most? Or does it matter to you?

Just curious.

I tend to like male animals best, not for any weird reason, just because I tend to like male animals' personalities best. Not sure why, exactly.


Side question, tell me about your pets!

I have...

3 dogs:
Brego (Male, Australian Cattle dog / Siberian Husky X) Named after a horse in Lord of the Rings (or in the book, he is the son of the founder of Rohan), I adopted him when I was 18, he was 10 weeks old and 10.8 lbs! Now he is 4 and 60lbs!
Suki (Female, Redbone Coonhound X) My fiancee fostered her, and her siblings, and ended up keeping her. She is 5 years old, coincidentally with the same supposed birthday as Brego! Crazy!
Ladybug (Female, shitbull terrier X) This was probably the worst decision my fiancee and I have ever made together. We were completely wasted, had just smoked a bunch of weed, and came up with the genius notion that we should get another dog. I mean, why hadn't we thought of this sooner? We were living on our own finally, and nobody could stop us. So we went on craigslist, found the first cheap local pitbull puppy (because that's the only breed we could agree on), and texted the guy. Fast forward to now, and we realize how stupid it was to get wasted and purchase an animal like her. Don't get me started. (Long story as to why we still have her... don't ask.)

2 cats:
Rio (Male, 15+lb tuxedo cat) I fell in love with an outdoor cat that lives with my faincee's "mother" for lack of better term, and he basically became mine. He is wonderful!
Ditto (Female, 10+lb white cat) My fiancee's cat, she's kind of a bitch but she's great anyway... funny girl.

1 snake:
Phantom (Female?, Ball Python) Funnily enough we were pretty high while buying the snake, too, but she has turned out to be a wonderful pet. She is *the* nicest snake ever. I love her. We call her "Snaaake" for short.. lol.


I've had many dogs, rats, hamsters, mice, rabbits, cats.. I have experience with horses, peacocks, goats, sheep, alpaca, chickens, ducks, and geese, as well.

[Ratte]

Had way too many cats (60+) to get hung up on their gender. All of them were great.

With rats I tend to get males because less chance of tumors in general, and also tend to live longer. They can be lazier and, in my experience, not so prone to getting into shit they shouldn't be, whereas females are always wired and ready to go and causing trouble. Love 'em anyway though.

[Gamedog]

I tend to prefer male animals more than females because you don't need to deal with heat cycles with males. Putting diapers on a dog is not something I care to do.
With cats, it's easier sometimes because cats are different, some are louder than others and some are quieter than others during the heat, but their almost constant heat cycle can drive you a bit batty.
Fortunately, my female cat was not too annoying while she was unfixed, she was younger so her voice was still a bit high-pitched and cute.

[Vae]

I prefer female cats, just because they don't spray.
And the ones I've had have always tended to be more well behaved than the males, and more mellow as a whole.

[Gamedog]

I prefer female cats, just because they don't spray.
And the ones I've had have always tended to be more well behaved than the males, and more mellow as a whole.

Yeah this is a very good point. Unspayed female cats are annoying, but unfixed male cats are just horrible.

[Krespo]

Doesn't really matter to me. When I'm picking a new puppy to bring home I look for ~personality~. The last dog I brought home came from a big litter, while the rest were rolling about and goofing off, he plonks down right next to my shoe and stares up at me. Love at first sight <3

[sassySloth]

Gender isn't a factor for me. I'd mbe more concerned with the personality.

[Willow]

Unless I have a name in mind for the animal, gender really isn't a factor. I look more at breed and personality.

[Fiz]

Doesn't tend to matter since I usually adopt animals. Whatever is in need is what I end up getting.

Though with all of my ferrets that I have gotten, I've always ended up with males. I'd probably have a preference towards male ferrets now (since male ferrets get more attached to female owners, and vica verca), and if I got multiple ferrets they'd be the same gender (I've read that male and female ferrets get fussy with each other sometimes).

[FickleFeathers]

With my rats I wanted females because they're more fun, mischievous and active, and my dog was adopted from a shelter and just happened to be female. If/when I ever get another dog I'd probably choose a bitch again, but I'm not entirely sure why. Heat cycles aren't a problem because I'll always spay any dog I got asap.