Does your BC look like boy-ish or girl-ish???

[Joe Anne]

I thought this would be a fun post. After looking at alot of BC pictures both on these boards and others, as well as my own family BC's, I swear the boy's look like boys and the girls look like girls not always of course but often.

I swear I haven't totally lost it, but it just seems like they have male/female looks .

Just looking at the faces of Phoenix my boy and Amica my girl,( grand-dog), both from the same litter, you can really see the difference in their features when they are sitting side by side.

Does anyone else notice this in their BC or other dogs???

[BCjetta]

I totally notice it. I think in general females have smaller, daintier heads and slimmer muzzles than males.

[Lunar]

Oh, I'd say my Zoe absolutely looks girlish. Oreo also has a dainty, prissy look about her too.

[Kat's Dogs]

I think that it might be true for BCs. Mostly because females tend to be smaller. Not that I haven't seen a lot of dainty males though.

 

Shih tzus on the other hand - have way to much fur to tell. Everyone says that Popcorn (with short fur) is a boy, and that Peanut (long fur and bows) is a girl. So shih tzus all tend to look the same regardless of fur/gender.

 

So I don't think it is true for all breeds - but I think that Daz (and her mom) both look more girly, while her dad looks very manly!

[SoloRiver]

Border Collies are less dimorphic than a lot of other breeds. I've met plenty of weenie-looking male Border Collies. Not that looks are a primary concern, but I prefer for male dogs to look masculine, which is one reason why if I ever get a male puppy and there's a reason to neuter him, I'll wait until he's at least 18 months to two years to do it.

 

Most people think Fly is a boy. Random people on the street mistake Solo for a girl, but I think it's because he's pretty. Not that I understand it -- he's one of the most masculine looking Border Collies I've ever seen. He's fairly large at 23" and almost 50 pounds, but mostly it's the breadth of his skull and the heavy ruff of fur around his neck that make him look like a guy.

[RaisingRiver]

Everyone who has met River assumed she was a boy.

[Sue R]

My poor Celt, neutered at six months old, is often mistaken for a bitch. As one person said (before the grizzling appeared around his eyes which gives him a different sort of look), "..she's so pretty...".

 

At the cattledog clinics we've been to in particular, the clinician constantly refers to Celt as "she" even though I've told him time and again that Celt's a "he". Of course, Gary's a good old cowboy and isn't into "pretty dogs" but just "useful" dogs.

 

I'm planning on waiting to neuter Bute until at least a year or 14 months but that's subject to change depending on his behavior and growth. I hope he's not reading this...

 

As for Megan, she's as pretty and daintily feminine as a bitch could be. Folks that don't know real Border Collies in particular always ask what sex she and Celt are. When I answer, male and female, the next question is always, "Are they brother and sister, they look so much alike?" When I say "No" it's inevitable that they ask, "Are you going to breed them?" That's always the assumption among "the general public". Good grief...

[sandra s.]

Dog people often see that Kessie is a girl. Many non dog people say "he" to every dog at first, simply because in German, nouns have different genders, and "der Hund" is masculine. If they're too lazy to ask and I'm too lazy to correct them, they assume she's a boy. She'd be enormously offended if she knew, but she doesn't

[Dixie_Girl]

Jackson looks very boyish to me. Everyone has always assumed Cheyenne was a girl. I don't know about Skip as he is only 4mos. old and just looks like a gangly pup!

[Anda]

Ouzo is all boy. He's bigger than the average border collie, and (to me) it appears his face profile shows all the male he is.

 

But I do agree with Melanie, sometimes, just because he is "pretty", some people will automaticaly assume he's a girl.

 

And he's not yet neutered, so he's still growing more masculine every day. His day will come, don't worry, but probably in about 6-12 months, but for now, he still enjoys being all boy

 

But if you look at any of his pictures, there's no questions that my guy is a guy

[bailey44]

My female reminds me of Mia Hamm, the soccer player--really feminine-looking but a quick, amazing athlete. When we walk by a sports field and someone is playing with a ball, she gets this alert prance like, "let me out there and I'll show them how it's done!" Love it! Charlene

[painted_ponies]

Come to think of it, both BC and non-BC people always use the pronoun "she" when referring to Violet. She does have a very dainty, refined little muzzle. Of course it could also be because her collar, leash, and tags are all. . .um.. violet.

[KrisK]

I'd say Jazz looks quite manly (even though he was neutered at EXACTLY six months...thankfully)He's a big boy at 57 cm at the shoulder and 23kg. Cricket is very girlish looking but she's Miss PIGGY! She's the one that can be found up to her neck in mud she's not as tall as Jazz and is definitely finer boned.

[BeezSK]

I have the girliest BC ever. She has TONS of feathering, really long eyelashes and tiptoes around mud puddles

[Meg's mum]

I'm with the Mia Hamm analogy for Meg. She's a feminine jock and looks like one.

[SoloRiver]

Solo looks exactly like Ewan McGregor. If Ewan McGregor were a dog, he'd look exactly like Solo.

 

 

[Root Beer]

If you look at Speedy's body, I would say he definitely looks like a boy. He's tall and lanky.

 

But his face is very pretty. A lot of people think he's a girl when they first meet him.

[border_collie_crazy]

with Happy and Misty most people know Misty is a girl, she has a boadish head but she is still pretty dainty and girli looking, Happy I think looks girlie, she is very fine boned and dainty, very racy looking, but most people think she is a boy lol I think Electra looks pretty girli but I have never had anyone assume yet, everyone just says "boy or girl?" Blair is always a girl and old... after all look at all that hair, and he's grey!(merle) Perky has never been mistaken for a boy, she hardly looks dainty, she is short and thick and muscular, but her attitude and just the air she throws off is all girl, her collar says "princess" for a reason lol Ripley is a boy, never been called a girl, he doesnt look masculine he just looks like a baby boy lol

[Tiga's_mom]

So many people think Tiga is a girl. I think he's kinda girly, but I think the name has something to do with it to. And he does prance when he walks.

[Zeus and Cody's mommy]

OMG-too funny-we used to look at our old Zeus and imagine what kind of voice he'd haveif he talked people talk and we ALWAYS assumed he'd talk sort of girlish because of the way he carried himself, sort of like one the guy from the tv show Will and Grace-no offense meant, and Cody is all BOY-he has the scruffy neck and body structure of a man dog and we imagine him talking with a low manly man-sort of voice like the professional wrestler,the "Rock" or something...on that note-do any of you imagine the voices your boys and girls would have, or are we the only weird people out there?

[Joe Anne]

Huh, not only do we imagine voices, but we like to compare personalities of the people in our family and the dogs in our family. Ex: If I were one of the dogs in my family... who would I be??! Everyone always says I would be my BC boy, Phoenix! What an honor!!!

My hubby on the other hand would definately be our oldest dog Mirra... she is a Dobie mix, very stubborn, listens (or hears) selectively, always gives undivided attention when there is something SHE wants, and she is very persistently "pesky", when agitated!!! She can be a real luv bug, sweetheart, if you catch her in the right mood LOL! Yep... that pretty much describes my best human friend too, my hubby! and those 2 are inseperable, she is defiantely a Daddy's girl!

So anyway... I would definately say, NO you are not at all the only weird people out here (actually I believe we are the "normal" ones!)HA!

[SoloRiver]

I imagine who would play my dogs in movies. Skeeter (who no longer lives with me but has gone to live happily in an all-Papillon agility home due to irreconcilable differences with Solo) would be played by Joe Pesci. Fly could only be played by Carol Burnett.

 

Solo's tougher. Looks-wise, it'd have to be Ewan McGregor of course, but personality-wise, it'd have to be Russell Crowe. Every time I watch LA Confidential, Russell Crowe's character, Bud the cop, reminds me of Solo.

[Lunar]

Sometimes I can hear Zoe's voice in my head. lol Light, girlie, peppy, perky.

[sandra s.]

Originally posted by Joe Anne:

If I were one of the dogs in my family... who would I be??! Everyone always says I would be my BC boy, Phoenix! What an honor!!!

People here say that dogs and their owners resemble each other, that they often fit together from the start and become more and more alike over time...THAT does NOTHING for my humbleness and modesty, I tell you

 

And it's true, isn't it? Sometimes you do meet a pair that doesn't fit at all - like the gentle old woman in our neighbourhood and the rowdy, fighty young hunting dog she was left with after her husband died - but these don't really work out, and they end up parting ways.

 

 

I never really tried to imagine what Kessie's voice would be like, but it's fun . My world is all about rock music, so she'd have to be a musician rather than an actor...I can't decide which one, but she does have enough attitude and that special stare that so many of the good ones are capable of

[Zoe]

Kessie's voice !!!! Leonard Cohen ????