Two things before we dive into a fun animal-related discussion:
1. With 38.1 percent of the votes, the winning book for the December Book Club is The Violets of March. Discussion will take place on January 4. Happy reading!
2. Lunch was simply leftovers from last night’s meatloaf dinner plus an apple. It was highly unattractive, so I’ll spare you the pictures and instead throw puppy pictures your way.
Assuming Animal Genders
On my brisk walk with Sadie this morning, I stopped to chat with a nice man in our neighborhood.
He was all about Sadie, saying the following:
- “He sure has a lot of energy!”
- “What breed is he?”
- “He’s a handsome guy, isn’t he?”
Now allow me to show you some gender clues…
Sadie was wearing a pink harness.
I was walking her with a pink leash…
…with a pink poop bag purse attached to it.
She was wearing a pink heart argyle sweater to fend off the cold. (Vizslas don’t have an undercoat and get cold very easily.)
And yet she was automatically a he to this man.
People often assume Sadie is a boy, which really doesn’t bother me at all. Honestly, I get it.
(Anyone remember the ladybug from A Bug’s Life that was a male? Hilarious.)
Sadie is a vizsla which, in my opinion, is a rather masculine-looking breed. Vizslas are lean, muscular hunting dogs and people often think Sadie is some kind of a hound or a Rhodesian Ridgeback.
I’ve talked to some of my friends who have dogs that are commonly incorrectly referred as a “he” or a “she” by strangers and we have three theories about the assumption of animal genders:
- They’re based on someone’s previous experience with a certain animal. (Example: An owner of a female dog automatically refers to all other dogs as “she.”)
- They’re based solely on gender stereotypes of dogs. (Example: Fluffy, little dogs are female and large, beefy dogs are male. Believe it or not, there are male Malteses and female Rottweilers out there!)
- They’re based on famous movie or television animals that share the breed. (Example: All St. Bernards are automatically male because of Beethoven or all King Charles Cavalier Spaniels are female because of Charlotte’s dog Elizabeth Taylor from Sex and the City.)
I also know this gender assumption happens to parents who have had their baby incorrectly referred to as a “he” or a “she.” It always makes me so curious about what causes people to assume a baby or an animal is a certain gender without knowing for certain.
Questions of the Afternoon
- Do you typically refer to certain animals as a “he” or a “she?”
- What do you think influences whether you call an animal a “he” or a “she” without knowing their gender for certain?
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I am so with you on the dog gender issue!! We adopted a bull mastiff/pit mix brindle female dog from the pund. She is manly looking, very brolic, in my husbands words. She too, sports a pink collar, HOT pink leash, and has what I think are girl eyes. But everyone wants to ask about him!! I always want to scream at the top of my lungs “it’s a girl!!” and my grandmother still calls her a HIM and we have had her for over 3 yrs..SMH. Sorry for my rant! Love your blog 🙂
Oh man. People ALWAYS assume my Siberian is a boy….which he IS, and I guess huskies are sort of “masculine” dogs since they are so strong, but I think it’s funny how people just assume. C’mon, there’s lots of gorgeous husky ladies out there!
People also always assume my harmless little fluffball is a nasty, wild thing. Parents often pull their children out of the “wolf’s” way, and just today the UPS lady left me a voicemail saying that she had to put my package in the mailbox since she avoided the front door because “there was a big dog in the yard” and it was “for safety reasons.” My sister had him hooked up in the front yard and he was just laying down calmly. Guess he looks scarier than he is!
We used to have a female Doberman who was always assumed to be a ‘he’. Having had her since the age of 2 and me having climbed all over her when I was tiny, I get miffed when people assume only cute little dogs are good and big ones are tough – and always male!
That’s okay we’ve had a tiny mutt (we think part chihuahua and some type of small terrier) for a few years. My mother-in-law still calls him a “she.”
We got a female beagle in February (to me she looks VERY much like a prissy female dog…and she has a pink collar and leash), and she constantly refers to her as a “he.”
….I don’t get it….
My dog will be whatever you want him to be, so long as you have cookies.
your dog and i would get along very well, i believe.
That’s so weird that despite all that pink that man kept referring to Sadie as a boy!! Sadie is all girl!! But maybe he was confused because of Legally Blonde where Bruiser, who is always decked out, is actually a boy! Haha
To me all dogs were HEs and all cats were SHES until I got a girl dog!
I agree with the theory that people refer to a dog’s gender based on their own experience with whatever gender their own dog is/was. My mom is SO bad for this. We do a lot of dog-sitting, and my mom is always calling dogs “she”. Some people are irritated when their dog is called the wrong gender, so I always make sure to ask before to avoid any confusion.
Cute vest though, Miss Sadie! 🙂
Either way, Sadie’s adorable! Was the man old? Maybe he was just confused bc of old age haha…
The other day I was on a walk with my doggy, Candie. Candie decided to innocently walk into some man’s yard to smell the grass. He then proceeded to yell out “Hey you! Get HIM off my grass!”. Obviously, this was very rude, but he also called Candie a HIM! I was already in a bad mood sooo I then quickly got her off his grass and as I walked away I said “HE’S a SHE, by the way!”. 🙂
LOL this is so funny because whenever I see an animal, I can ask “Is it a girl or a boy?” but when it’s a baby, I just point at it… and ask “Girl?? or a BOY???”
And I just smile 🙂
I have a male Maltese! IMO he looks like a boy, but that’s probably because I know lol. I look at leashes and collars for cues. I walk my dog with a blue lease and blue/green collar, but people just automatically say “aww…isn’t she just so cute!”. I’m so used to it, it doesn’t bother me.
Sadie is toooooo cute! We get this alllllll the time with our very fluffy Pomeranian, Salvador. He’s cute, small, poofy, and barks like a girl so people automatically assume he is a female. It’s good to know I’m not the only one! Honestly, I don’t think one stranger has actually walked up and called Salvie a boy…ha!
I think it’s mostly based on the person’s own experience with dogs. I say “he” because my dogs have all been male so that is my default. Although, I do pay attention if I am corrected (or if the dog is wearing ALL PINK for Pete’s sake!) and try to be accurate once I know for sure.
I also have a female Vizsla who often gets mistaken for a boy even when she has a purple collar and purple coat on (and 90% of the time people think she is a red coon hound, rhodesian ridgeback, weimaraner with a color issue etc). It does get to be a little irritating at times but oh well. In the end she just loves the attention she gets from people lol.
Yes! My pup is a shih-tzu/bichon and she is very fluffy and cutesy which you would THINK most would “assume” she’s a gal, but with a name like RILEY, often after I tell them her name, it’s oh “he is so cute!” ugh – pink leash too!
My grandparents know we have a female pup and still call her a “he” just because it’s how they view animals, maybe it’s an age thing?
This always happens with my Rottweiler! SHE is the sweetest dog ever and people always laugh when I correct them assuming that she is a he by introducing her with the least-threatening name ever, Rosie. People usually get a chuckle out of this.
I have a male dog and usually refer to other dogs as males without realizing it. (Unless the dog is in something that gives away the gender or I know the name of the dog or know the dog). I always notice my mistake after I’ve said, “He’s so cute,” but usually just let it go unless they correct me. Oops 🙂
I always ask (which is probably annoying in its own right)! We have 2 dogs and people generally assume correctly: the husky is a girl (she just looks dainty) and the golden is a boy (he’s a total brute). But I have to ask people about their pets because I never want to find that person who’s offended when I call Bruiser a “he” when Bruiser’s really a “she”!
i ask a lot, too. 🙂
I am the owner of a small, white fluffy dog and HE is a BOY! He wears a NY Yankee collar with a matching leash. When he gets cold he wears a blue sweater or a green puffy jacket and on Sundays he supports the Dallas Cowboys in his jersey. He is forever being called “she” and “precious”, he gets offended but I understand peoples assumptions 🙂
SO funny. We have a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix name Roadie 🙂 HE looks masculine if you ask me, but we have had several people refer to him as a she…INCLUDING our vet! Seriously? You’re a vet…
For me, I catch myself calling cats “she” and dogs “he” just because that’s what I have at home. But, I always try to ask. I’m surprised your pink parade wasn’t a big enough hint for this neighborhood walker.
LOVE the sweater on Sadie! 🙂
I own a huge, fluffy white Samoyed and members of my own family occasionally refer to him as, “she!” I think people see what they want to see.
People always think my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a girl! Mind you, it IS a rather prissy looking breed. He’s also not fixed yet, so uh, his gender is still pretty obvious if you look hard enough.
People often see my Weimaraner (with a blue collar and leash) and call him a “her” even when I correct them! One time after I had corrected someone of his gender, he said, “Oh, well he’s so small. I just thought he was a girl!” Argh!
I usually refer to babies (and sometimes even toddlers) as well as animals as “It” until someone tells me it’s sex. I always feel weird referring to them as it, but I know some people can get really upset if you mistake their little boy as a girl or vice versa. It’s just hard to tell at times! The only times I assume are if I see pinks or blues and more gender-specific colors or something.
I go off the color of the collar!
It’s interesting because I would say it depends on what kind of dog the person owned (either boy or girl) but I can’t really because we used to have a female dog but for some reason I generally referred to other dogs as “boys” either accidentally or before I knew. However, if I saw a dog decked out in pink gear I would probably think before I said anything and realize it’s likely a girl!
I cannot believe Sadie had all that pink on her and he still called her a “he”! I usually look for clues on dogs (like colors) but otherwise I ask, I don’t want to insult anyone! I have always had girl labs or goldens, so I tend to think of those as girls!
How about just look? It is really not that hard to figure out the sex of any kind of dog. And you had PLENTY of gender clues staring this person in the face. Just not very perceptive.
The Kidless Kronicles
Ahhh!! Poor Sadie!!lol!! Your captions are hillarious!! I just can’t get enough of your Sadie posts!! They always make my day!!!:)
Love the captions! I have a male pomeranian who is always referred to a she while walking him in my neighborhood.
When I was younger (a lot younger — like 5) I used to think that all cats were girls and all dogs were boys. Also, I used to think that tigers were cats and lions (who I thought were related to dogs, not cats) were boys. What made me think this? I couldn’t tell you.
i tend to call dogs “she” and cats “he” because i’ve only had female dogs and male cats, but i try to ask to make sure!
My 80 lb German shepherd is sometimes mistaken for a female, despite having a massively deep chest and pretty hefty, masculine skull. Go figure.
I try not to make assumptions, although for some reason I think I’m more likely to assume little froo-froo lap dogs (from the perspective of a German shepherd owner, at least) are female. But if I’m not sure I always just ask.
I always get a little frustrated when people call my “girl” dog a “he”. It’s funny though because I always find myself calling all other dog’s a “he”.
Yes! I do the exact same thing! My dog’s name is Foxy and still people say He. I get irritated, but I always default to ‘he’ when talking about others’ pets.
Izzy is often referred to as a “he”. She used to have a navy blue and green collar, but we have upgraded to a light blue and teal. Not sure if it helps! She’s not a girly girl though. Even when I say her name is “Izzy”, they still think she’s a boy!
Is that why she misbehaves? Because she has an identity crisis??
I always refer to dogs as “she”! I think it’s probably because both of the dogs I’ve had have been girls.
I have a black pitbull/lab mix. She is always wearing pink accessories and I swear people think she is a boy just because she is black! It doesn’t bother me either!
“He” is the traditional pronoun for generic 3rd person singular. (I prefer to be rebellious and use ‘they’ to refer to people, but I can see how someone, especially if *they’re* older, might use the traditional ‘he’ for generic sex. Hope that helps.
You rather they confuse your dog than baby eh? ;)!
Loved this cute post! Sadie is so cute!! I have 2 boxers and so I love any post you do about Sadie!
I refer to every dog as a “she” simply because I am a she. Lol, I think that’s all there is to it. When you question the gender, you go with the one you’re most familiar with – your own.
I have a little mix named JASMINE and people say, “he’s so cute!” even after I say her name and when they try to get her attention, I mention, “I’m sorry she is deaf.” apparently they are too because they still say, “HE is adorable!” We will take whatever compliments we can get!
On a side note, I had an iguana for 15 years and for the first 5 assumed it was a male. When I later found out after an emergency vet visit that he was in fact a she (how can you tell?!?!), I continued to refer to her as him and left his name as Speedo. Poor little guy. 🙂
haha I am dying – Sadie had a heart on her sweater and people still called her a boy.
My black lab is big for a girl, so everyone calls her a “he” as well.
Oh well.
Obviously there are males & females of both (and I’ve had males & females of both), but I always think of cats as female & dogs as male 😉
When I was a kid I remember honestly thinking all cats were girls and dogs were boys, haha! I loved the
‘it hurt me to the core’ Sadie picture. Too cute!
My Tri-Color Corgi gets called “he” all the time because she is mostly black with a little tan and white. I think because she is a darker color, people automatically assume it’s a boy. I think if she was a Cardigan (they are tan) that more people would call her “she.” Isn’t it weird how people do that though?
Sadie’s pictures and the captions are hilarious! Usually when I approach another person and their dog, I usually say “He or she is so [insert adjective]!” and the owner will say “Thanks [he/ she]___.” which cues me in 😛
“She was wearing a pink heart argyle sweater to fend off the cold.” lmao
my dad does that though. both of our dogs were girls so all other dogs are “she”
when people came over they always referred to princess as “he.” she was a really big lab…
you know what’s weird? i just remembered part of my dream last night which involved this adorable dog jumping on me and I wanted to make a comment, but didn’t know if I should refer to the dog as a he or a she