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When I was considering getting a parakeet, I watched a number of youtube video's on Parakeets, and you actually can differentiate between buying a female or male parakeet. It's the coloring of the beak.
Yes, and that's what we went with, but my recollection is that it can be uncertain when they're young because the colors may not be fully differentiated early.
He was a fun pet. Way more personality than you would expect from an animal with a brain the size of a peanut.
We've had a total of eight cats--four males and four females. We really have no preference with cats. They have had wildly different personalities and preferences but they don't seem to divide along male/female lines.
Our single dog was a male. We had three puppies to choose from and we thought he had the most suitable personality for us. I think my husband had a preference for a male but we never really discussed it very much.
Our rabbit, now seven years old, is a male. The woman we got him from had been raising and showing bunnies for many years and told us that in general, males are more "mellow" while females tend to be more uptight. Ours was only a few weeks old at the time, but she pointed him out as particularly relaxed. We had young children at the time and relaxed sounded good to us. And I have to say that we have the most mellow, gentle, friendly rabbit we or anyone who meets him has ever seen.
In the past, I chose for appearance and personality. But my last pair of cats were both male, littermates, and even though neutered at twelve weeks, had frequent violent fights.
From now on, I'll stick to all female or mixed gender pairs.
I have two neutered male terriers. Both lovable, but perhaps not the best decision on our parts. They have never quite worked out the dominance issue.
If I had it to do over again, I would get two dogs of different sexes. From what I have been told, the female would probably be dominant, and even if not the issue would be settled. Plus, they would see the world differently and have fewer points of conflict.
I've always had neutered male cats until my present kitty. Before I got her from the local animal shelter, I decided I would adopt the adult cat most in need of a home, who seemed responsive to me. That was a good plan in theory, but faced with over 100 cats, ALL in need of homes - it was impossible to figure out which one was most needy.
So - I wound up with Miss Kitty, then two years old, who had been given up due to allergies by her first owners - or so I was told. She turned out to be a beautiful cat, very affectionate and playful once her trust was won. Winning that trust took some time, and I suspect she had been subjected to some neglect and rough treatment by a young child before coming to me. She had not been spayed prior to coming to the animal shelter, but does not appear to have had kittens. Since she was two, she would have gone through several estrus cycles, not a good thing.
But now - she wants to snuggle in my arms for five or ten minutes before bedtime, purring loudly all the time, loves her paper bag hidey-hole and her wand toys, is friendly with rare visitors (but dislikes all other cats and has little use for dogs). She is a good mouse-hunter, but allowed two 'possums to sneak in and live under a quilt-covered table a couple of years ago (presumably they crept out and dined on her dry catfood at night).
As for personality differences, every cat I've ever had has been a distinct individual. Miss Kitty is a bit persnickity at times, and does have a temper, but we've learned to communicate - much of what she has to "say" is via body language. She understands a few key words - her name, dinner, kitty, cat food, out, sit, and so on. I have not attempted to teach her any tricks. She was housebroken on arrival, and has never had a litter box accident.
She is a bit more temperamental than were most of my male cats, and they were almost all more initially trusting than she was when she first came to me six years ago (but that's largely due to her prior history, I think). Although she's eight now, middle-aged for cats, she is still frisky, alert, and in excellent health. She's been a great pandemic companion.
Female small dogs are easier to train than males and don’t mark as much. Having a mix of male and females usually work better. We had 4 female rescued Maltese and they sometimes fought. If you want a dog to love you best it usually will be a dog of the opposite sex. All these generalizations have exceptions of course).
I don't find that there is much difference in dogs. As a huge generalization, males will guard wherever they stand and females will guard their home, which is why males are used for police dogs. That makes absolutely no difference at all for a pet. (and there were a couple of cracker jack excellent female police dogs competing on best dog in America)
If you travel a lot, males will happily pee wherever you stop and sometimes the females are shy about it and must be walked around and round. But that isn't true of all females. Pensive is quick to relieve herself and I've trained my other girls to get on with their business. So I haven't found it to be a problem. I mention it because I've occasionally seen exasperated handlers at shows, trying to get their girls pottied so they could go to bed.
I prefer a female dog. I had neutered male dogs and the small ones like to mark their territory. I much prefer a spayed female. I think male cats are more affectionate but right now I have a female Catahoula, a female Yorkie and a female cat; all rescues. They are get along and there is no territorial aggression. My cat actually loves the Catahoula and cuddles up to her all the time.
I wish it was easier to post pictures. I have a great one of them all sitting together on the loveseat.
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One of each is a good working arrangement
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