This is something I intend to ask without offending anyone... Do you think dogs work distinctively different for men vs. women? I have heard from many people that dogs tend to work better for men, in general, and that women have an additional challenge to gain a dogs respect and work a dog when they are a female handler or owner.

What about women as protection decoy/helpers? Will a beginning civil training dog still take them as a true threat?

As a woman trainer myself, I question this in different situations and I do try to understand it, but would like your opinions.

Well I'm not experienced but thought I would throw something in here anyway. I have noticed with training that Max used to respond differently to my husband - not as quick or focused sometimes. Until we started doing signals for some commands. Now he responds the same to both of us.

So I'm gonna say body language plays a big factor in how the dog responds. I would say for decoys if they can display body language the dog recognises as threatening then females would be just as good as anyone else. I guess for some people it's easy to get the body language right but for others they have to conciously work on it

Depends on the dog, and the handler in question. Regardless of gender if the handler is uncertain the dog will react to that.

All "new" handlers have to prove themselves as capable leaders to the dog.

I don't see issues a female handler may have as being due to the gender of the handler. Being a female trainer and learning decoy work I can say I am a far better dog handler than any of my male friends or family members. This is not because I am female or in spite of the fact I am female. It is because I have experience.

Likewise any male trainers or handlers that are better than I am, it is not because of their gender it is their experience that gives them more knowledge.

Regarding civil work ... I'm not sure I understand your question. IMO Being "threatening" is based on body language, not on gender. Size may play a part but I know some large women (6' - 6' 5")

I've seen some dogs react differently to the size of an aggitator . Usually once they are in on the bite .

Gender doesn't seem to matter . I have seen strength as a factor with some powerful dogs . Both as the handler and as a decoy . But that's not gender specific .

I have had the same question asked to me about scent work . Dogs scenting male vs female suspects . I haven't seen any difference with that either.

It's a combination of things that make a good handler or decoy . Confidence , strength , coordination , ability to read the dog and timing are some of the big ones that come to mind . Once again these are not gender specific.

I'm not one of the experienced 'dog' people, but I am an experienced 'people' person, if that counts?

From my point of view, no, gender itself does not make a difference. It's more about the 'energy' - non-verbal communications and self-confidence.

There are some amazingly positive, confident women and some nervous, hesitant men. The dogs will pick up on each and act in a different way.
Stereotypically women are seen as 'softer', and many do find it difficult to have 'pack leader' mentality, but that's the person, not the gender.

Some of the best trainers I'v had in many different areas, not just dog-related, have been women. I tend to prefer them, as they don't have the 'ego' factor many men do.

So don't worry about the gender

My oldest daughter is 5' tall with fat sox on. The Rotty she had was fantastic in both his formal competition obedience and his informal manners. Her 6'5" hubby had no control.
It's a leadership thing. Not a gender issue!

I have never done decoy work... yet *grin* but I have the bug, and I'm sure will soon be able to answer the question more fully.
What I CAN say is that it is a well known fact (and joke among family at times) that my dogs respond to me alone (for the most part) and more or less ignore my boyfriend when he tries to tell them what to do. Usually the pitbull ignores him. The boxer looks at me immediately.
My boyfriends' family has dogs that are similar. THey haven't known me that long, but within the first week they listened to be better than they did him (and he has known them their entire lives) and they also were more comfortable with me than any other stranger brought into the house. Within a month they were listening to me better than anyone else. (Many jokes about me keeping my boyfriend in line from friends and family have been the results.
Usually my clients' dogs have the same reaction to me - some even start to prefer staying close to me over them. I am able to use that in helping their owners understand that most dogs instictively seek out the strongest leader they can find, and that they prefer structure to "freedom".
I fully agree with Jim here, it's confidence, and timing, as well as the ability to understand and read body language, mental and physical strength play a part here as well. Remember - even among dogs, it's not always the biggest male who is the more dominant.

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What about women as protection decoy/helpers?

Something tells me you are only gonna get very one sided answers about this on a forum that is predominantly female.

 Quote: mike j schoonbrood

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What about women as protection decoy/helpers?

Something tells me you are only gonna get very one sided answers about this on a forum that is predominantly female.

Well, I'm female, so you can consider this answer biased, but:

I have heard first-hand of a dog who initially couldn't find the helper in a blind that was occupied by a woman wearing a sleeve. But after some encouragement, finally understood the woman really was a helper.

On the other hand, before she moved out of the area, our club was training a female member to be a helper. She was quite talented and our dogs worked very well on her. I saw some of the same dogs giggle when faced with new male helpers who didn't yet exude "the attitude". Once the male helpers got a little more experience, the dogs took them more seriously.

Fortunately, Heidi is moving back and I hope she will resume her helper training. We have 2 certified helpers in our club and another being developed. Being worked regularly on 4 different helpers, one being female, our dogs are much less likely to be put off by an unfamiliar helper at a trial.

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Being worked regularly on 4 different helpers, one being female, our dogs are much less likely to be put off by an unfamiliar helper at a trial.

4 Helpers is fantastic Anita, especially out of a relatively new club!