Are certain breeds perceived as "male" or "female"?

[Doug Tricarico]

In <brownm.8...@rintintin.Colorado.EDU>
bro...@rintintin.Colorado.EDU (Saxon Brown) writes:
>
>I've been occasionally checking in in the post about people's stupid
>comments about thier dogs, and it got me thinking.
>
>EVERY TIME Mina meets a new person, they automatically assume that
>she is a male. She is a 1.75 year old German Shepherd, without the
>'typical' black and tan markings- She is mostly black with some
>silver interspersed on her neck like an Eton Collar, and she has
>reddish-tan feet.
>
>ANyway, aside from the questions about her background, based on her
>less common color, People always ask "Is he nice?", What's his name?"
>
>Now, she is not a long-haired Shepherd, which would conceal certain
>anatomical differences, so it's pretty obvious that she is lacking
>some equipment, if male. (was that delicate enough?)
>
>ANyway, do other people notice that the gender of thier dog is always
>assumed to be the opposite? I just wonder if most people don't have
>a GSD=male dog idea in thier heads. Too much Rintintin, perhaps?
>
>I am also guilty of this- I assume that little dogs, like poodles and
>maltese, are female, for reasons that I don't know either, but I do.
>
> Saxon

Say, I've experienced this, too. Maybe we should start putting colored
bows on our dogs' heads so strangers can distinguish them, a la human
pupies... er, babies, I mean.

Strangely, though, no one ever mistakes the sex of our Pugs -- the big
guy looks like a guy while the little "angel" comes across as female.
It helps that Spike (the biggun) looks a bit Bulldoggish, I suppose.

Do people automatically assume that all rough collies are female?
Lassie Syndrome? I'll wager you're correct and in many cases it has
something to do with famous examples of the breed. (Not just Lassie
and Rin Tin Tin but also Toto, Benji, Old Yeller, Buck, Cujo, Eddie &
Wishbone....)

Then there are pooches which look, well, "froofy" and are assumed to be
girls. Poodles, yes, and Bichons and Yorkies and Maltese, etc.
Thinking of dogs which seem masculine: Rotties, Dobies, Great Danes,
St. Bernards. Maybe it's a size thing (even if it isn't supposed to
matter), but that doesn't explain why I think of Bulldogs and Bassets
as males and Goldens as females.

Doug

...who knows Lassie was played by males, the most famous cross-dressers
in Hollywood.