Boy or Girl Dog

Hi everyone! Now is the perfect time to get a dog and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer.

1) Do you think I should get a girl or boy dog? (I'm a girl). My boy rabbit is more affectionate than my girl rabbit but i'm guessing that's different with dogs. I want a dog that will follow me wherever I go and will sleep in my bed. If it matters, the breed is either going to be a German Shepherd or an Australian Shepherd.

2) How soon should you take an animal to the vet. Right when you get it? A day after?

3) If you have a cat and a dog, do they get along? Can you leave them alone together when your out?

Thanks for ANY help!

I grew up with male dogs, and each one has been great.
My sister has a female dog, and she's very protective and hyper.

I've always heard the females tend to be more territorial, but I am not sure if that's true or not.

If you have other animals, I suggest taking him/her to the vet right away to rule out any contagious health issues. No sense in putting your other pets at risk! Also, neutering/spaying helps them too.

I have no input with cats and dogs together, but I am sure others can voice their experience!

In general, from what I've seen, male dogs tend to prefer female humans and female dogs tend to prefer male humans. Not always, but there does seem to be a trend. Most of it, though, of course, is how much time and effort you put into developing a good relationship .

Yes, all new pets should go to the vet as soon as you can get an appointment. Responsible breeders will encourage/require this in the contract. Make sure you support a good responsible breeder and not a puppymill/irresponsible breeder. Especially a breed like German Shepherds, you want to be sure they at least test their breeding dogs for hip dysplasia! Other genetic diseases should be tested for too. The breed club's website should have a list of things that need to be tested for in that breed.

I prefer not to leave my dogs loose in the house while I'm out, sometimes you can't predict what will happen. Even a dog who is really close friends with the cat might get a wild idea one day. But if you gently teach the dog to be friends with the kitty they should at least be safe together when you're home.

I have always had a male dog, I don't have a dog now.  I didn't plan it that way it just worked out that I have always had male rescues.  The only thing that I have heard is that with two dogs they should be one of each gender so they are less likely to vie for dominance.

Okay thanks everyone! 

I am planning on only getting 1 dog, so I won't have to worry about fighting for dominance.

I was going to go to the rescue, but this really good frien do of mine knows a breeder who has two 2 year old aussies, a boy and a girl. I'm still not sure, but I'll just see which dog I get a connection with

Some breeders don't socialize their "kennel dogs". . .so just be careful. Getting an adult dog from a good breeder can be an excellent way to skip the puppy stage and get a well-trained dog but getting an adult dog from a bad breeder could be a problem :/.

Hope everything works out and you find your doggie friend!

Do some research on medical issues of both Aussies and GSDs.  I have owned both, and they are great dogs, and both got along with my cats.  My first GSD was a rescue and was brought into the house as an adult with no experience of cats; I separated him during the day, but eventually he was left with the cats and my other dog with no incidences. My present GSD was rescued as a tiny puppy by a cat rescuer, so he immediately bonded to cats and likes them much better than dogs.  

I have owned more boy dogs than girls, but all have been very bonded to me.  You may also want to consider training classes for the dog.

GSDs have been bred irresponsibly in many cases and that has increased the incidence of genetically related diseases; possibly my next dog will be an Aussie again, but as I said, read about the breed. Any pure bred dog will have more of a chance of having conditions which are related to that breed.