gender bender

Question
Hi
I was wondering if you could answer 2 quick questions,,,Is there any difference in the behavioral traits of males vs females regarding trainabilty, calmness, excercise needs,obedience or anything you want to opine on the matter of personality differences.

Also what is the average life span for each gender?
thanks for your help!
Brian

Answer
Hi Brian,
There are some slight differences in genders in all/most breeds of dogs.  

Females can be a bit more possessive of things, a bit more aggressive territorially, perhaps a bit more calm than males.  They also can be a bit more "stand-offish", not much, but a bit.  

Males may tend to be a bit more needy in the exercise department, can be a bit more possessive of their people, perhaps a bit more willing during training.

Now, all of these traits can vary from dog to dog of course, and also from breed to breed.  The Labrador, as a breed, tends to be less exciteable, less aggressive, less needy, but can be more "demanding" in the way of needing exercise.  Also, whether you have your dog spayed or neutered can make a difference in to the extent of how much each dog "tends" towards any of the above traits.  

In general, the Labrador, as a breed, is fairly easy to train, calm (well, perhaps excepting when birds are around!), loving, and willing to please.  Overall, I would rank them as one of the most "people-friendly" breeds there is.

As far as life span for each gender, that is pretty much the same for either.  However, once again, whether your dog is spayed or neutered can make a difference.  Spaying/neutering dogs can help lengthen their lifespans.  It is much healthier for dogs to be spayed/neutered than it is for them to be intact.  Intact dogs tend to have a higher rate of developing cancers.  Also, if an intact dog is not in a fenced/secured yard, or chained, etc., they have more of a tendancy to roam, therefore, more of a tendancy to be hit by cars, eat toxic/poisonous items, etc.  

Right now, we have a male (intact because he was shown) who is going on 15.  The lifespan of a Labrador ranges from 12-16, with 14 being a median age of death.  The rate of cancer in Labradors is on the rise, though, and we are seeing younger dogs expire due to that dreaded disease.