Can any one help me?

My personal experience, males are normally more headstrong than females.  Right now, I have a 6 yr. old male lab and am fostering a 7 mo. old female Am Staff.  The lab has always been difficult to train-just very determined to do his own thing. The Am Staff is very willing to do whatever you ask of her (which maybe in part due to the situation she came out of-now she wants to please someone and show her appreciation for being loved!) I would assume that whether you get a male or female, they will be altered.  That will solve some of the normal problems.

Becks_smudge

I believe we should get a female, as i worry a male will be too much of a handful

It's true that make dogs are *often* more headstrong than females but this is only a general rule!  There are lots of placid males and pushy females!! 

Becks_smudge

also i will be looking after the puppy more then my partner as he works different and longer hours

If YOU are going to be looking after the dog for the most part and YOU are more comfortable with females, then I would go with a female.

Becks_smudge

saying that a female is more difficult to live with, when she is on heat and such

Could you elaborate on "and such"?  The heat will not be a problem if she is spayed, which most people recommend you do if she is to be a pet.  It will certainly prevent a number of health problems and the possibility of unwanted pups should she ever come into contact with a male at an inopportune time.  Dogs can be determined critters when it comes to sex.  With that in mind, you could remind your boyfriend that entire female dogs only come into "heat" twice a year.  Entire male dogs are in heat all the flippin time!!!!!

To be honest, I don't know how much I can help since Charlie is my first dog, but being a beagle and a boy hopefully....

First, I am hoping that you plan on neutering/spaying your dog regardless if it's a boy or a girl.  From my personal experience with Charlie after we had him neurtered alot of the "boyish" behaviors such as marking (he never marked in the house but he had to mark every tree on a walk), humping, etc. went away.  I didn't find him particularly difficult to train at all.  One thing to keep in mind, and this might not be true for ALL beagles, but beagles can be very stubborn, I believe this is a trait regardless of gender.  It's not that he doesn't get what we are telling him, he can get in a mood and decides if he wants to do it or not.

I have never heard of a female dog not liking male humans for no reason, as long as they are well adjusted I wouldn't think this would be a problem.  Although Charlie interacts differently with my husband than to me, that has more to do with our own "relationship" with him I think.  I am more of the cuddler and my husband is more of the playmate.  One minute Charlie will be roughhousing with my husband and the next he is cuddling up with me on the couch.

If you are getting the pup from a good breeder, the breeder will decide which dog you get.  They will question you, possibly interview you, and they will decide which pup is right based on what you are looking for as far as temperament and energy level.  If you get a dog from a shelter or rescue, obviously there won't be such a choice, but just go meet the dogs and decide based on the dog, not the sex.  I really wanted a male dog but when I applied to the rescue I was matched to a female.  She is the perfect dog for me and does everything I was looking for. 

In the breed, males tend to be goofier and females more serious....that's about the only difference.

Since your pet will be fixed the heat and such isn't as big a deal...but bear in mind some males DO mark, even if neutered if the habit begins earlier than the neuter. Proper house rules/training can prevent that.

I hope you are planning to get your hound from a shelter, rescue, or reputable breeder....if you need help choosing a source please PM me. I'd definitely steer clear of the  $75 Beagle in the pet section of the newspaper and definitely of pet shops!

Becks_smudge

However we have come across a disagreement. The sex of the puppy. I believe we should get a female, as i worry a male will be too much of a handful and i have been around mostly female dogs all my life, also i will be looking after the puppy more then my partner as he works different and longer hours. On the other hand, my boyfriend wants a male dog, saying that a female is more difficult to live with, when she is on heat and such. Also we have been told that some female dogs take offense to some males, and he is worried the puppy won't like him.

If I were you, I would get a female since they normally don't lift their legs. 

Since this is your first puppy, I assume that you are not planning to breed.  Breeding is the only reason to keep a female intact (unless health problems prevent surgery), so dealing with heats should not be an issue.  Talk to your breeder about the timing and spay before the first heat.

If you need to be convinced to spay, here are a couple of pyometra (uterine infection) sites with pictures:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_pyometra.html
http://www.thepetcenter.com/sur/pyo.html 

The chance of a puppy (male or female) not liking your SO is really very low.  Get your SO the book by Dunbar (below) and he should be fine.

CAUTION:  Please, please, if you buy rather than adopt, do a lot of research and pick a good breeder.  There are lots of jokers out there who think that "breeding" means just putting an intact male with an intact female and then selling the puppies. 

The Ultimate Puppy Toolkit
http://www.urbanpuppy.com/home.html 
 
Dunbar, Ian, Before & After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, … Dog, 5/2004
http://tinyurl.com/4d5pz

McConnell, Patricia & Scidmore, Brenda, Puppy Primer, 1/1996
http://tinyurl.com/5lypd 
 
Burmaster, Corally, Puppy Kindergarten, 2002, VHS
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB758&AffiliateID=45673&Method=3

Pryor, Karen & Clark, Carolyn, Puppy Love, 10/1999, DVD
http://tinyurl.com/2ann4e

Kilcommons, Brian, Childproofing Your Dog: A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Dog…, 4/1994
http://tinyurl.com/6hkj3
(See the "Dogproofing Your Child" chapter.)
I don't know what your future plans are, but I included this book just in case.

Critical Periods in a Dog's Life -- Developmental Stages:
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/DevelopmentalStages.html
http://westwingsess.com/critical_stages.htm
http://www.dogclub.co.uk/advice/puppygrowth.php 
 
The Puppy's Rule of Twelve
http://ahimsadogtraining.com/handouts/puppy-training-and-socialization.html 
 
Socializing links:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/sochow2.html
http://www.dogscouts.com/socialize.shtml
http://www.community.skylos.com/content/view/198
http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/lib-puppy.htm#soc

More great books and links:
http://community.dog.com/forums/p/9767/124952.aspx#124952

much more important than gender is breed. Can you explain why you picked beagle? are you sure beagle is the right breed for your lifestyle?

Coile, Caroline, Barron's Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds, 10/1998
http://tinyurl.com/3zx93

Gerstenfeld, Sheldon, ASPCA Complete Guide to Dogs, 9/1999
http://tinyurl.com/bgt8s

Walkowicz, Chris, Choosing a Dog for Dummies, 7/2001
http://tinyurl.com/6qrdp

Walkowicz, Chris, The Perfect Match: A Dog Buyer's Guide, 9/1996
http://tinyurl.com/6adqa

You've gotten great advice so far. 

Heat and intact male urges should be a non-issue if this is a pet.  Be responsible and get your pet fixed.  This should not be a debate.

Either go to a GOOD breeder or rescue.  The bargain pure breed is not often a bargain in the long run.

And with regard to male/ female.  Well I have always been around and had females, I have always heard females were easier.  Then nearly 2 yrs ago I went to our shelter and picked out a male.  I am now sold on males.  He has never been a marker, easiest house training you could imagine.  Pushy?  not really confident yes.  Like our neighbors' male GR and a friends male lab hardly ever barks.  His best friend female GR is definitely pushy and barks to let you know her displeasure.  She is the same age as Bugs and they have had a much more difficult time training her (could just be personality), she can't hold her urine for as long and generally she is more moody.

If you are worried about humping, males and females can do that.  My male has never done it - ever. 

Part of the puppy's socialization should be "car training".  This is a series of desensitization exercises (treat afterwards) designed to prevent car sickness.  The goal of the exercises is to give the pup a series of good experiences in the car. If the pup gets sick every time she gets in the car, then she expects to get sick. That cycle needs to be prevented or broken.
 
Exercises (repeat each step many times):

1. get in the car and right back out - doors open
   
2. sit in motionless car with motor off for increasing times - doors open
   
3. sit in motionless car with motor running for increasing times - doors open
   
4. sit in motionless car with motor running for increasing times - doors closed
   
5. drive to end of driveway and back
   
6. go around the block 
   
7. gradually increase the trip distance

I have three male Border Collies, all altered.  I have no problems at all with them.  They ae very smart and VERY loving.  Always wanting to please us.  I truly believe it depends in the dog and how they are raised.....  

There are a lot of reasons and NON-reasons as to the sex of the dog to choose.  That males prefer males and females prefer females is a myth.  My English cocker is a major mommy-suck.  If I inhaled he wants to exhale for ME.  On the other paw, my bassett/beagle mix, Luna is  SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Daddy's girl that it's not funny. 

It is truly completely personality.  It's how much time you *each* spend with the dog and whether you EACH try to develop a relationship with the dog (and not a relationship based on competition).  One of you may be the walk-hero and the other may be the one who tosses balls.  One of you may be the food-person and the other may be the cuddle-buddy. 

I have seen people choose the sex of their dog for the dumbest reasons.  I have a girlfriend who seriously LOVES giving belly rubs and she prefers females simply because she can rub the full expanse of the belly and not have to 'stop' midway on a male!!  (I can just see a dog saying "excuse me while I have a sex change so you have more to belly-rub??)

She laughs as she says it -- but she picks a female every time.

There ARE differences within a breed -- rwbeagles is exactly right and SHE breeds them and knows her breed so frankly that's probably going to tell you, in a nutshell, what you need to know based on what you both are expecting from the dog. 

But the vast amount of it is simply BONDING.  The effort taken TO bond is important.  It's rare when a dog truly just doesn't "like" someone.  However, it's very very common for a human to think "Oh, this dog doesn't like me as much as it likes __________" and the that HUMAN stops trying.

You gotta try.  My husband has had to try to bond with Billy.  I've had to work overtime to bond with Luna.  And now, 2 years later, we have this awsome little gal who has "special" things she does with both of us.  She cuddles Daddy most expeditiously.  However -- 'mom' is a big lady so she's taken to, when invited, putting her paws on my shoulders (when I'm sitting) and she will just turn her upper body and LEAN her head on my nice padded parts and oh my she enjoys that "mom cuddle" now.  You see, much as Dad is "HER guy" ... well, that's just something Dad doesn't do!!  PLUS .... *I* am the <<<<>>>> -- and yep.  That makes ME popular!!!

My husband laughs, because my boys are so into my feelings,  I am the pack leader----my husband is the playtime guy--even though I play Frisbee all th time with them---when my husband comes home----they think--ok time to go play!!!  it's cool though because we have balance----we have a very comfortable life with the boys!!!  

Sleep promotion ideas for a new pup:

• Night time - Put the pup's crate close to your bed and on eye level so the pup can see you.
  
• When home - Take the pup out to potty when she wakes up in the crate and whines (nighttime, too).   This is part of house training.
  
• SnuggleSafe - a disk you can heat in the microwave to keep the pup warm
  
• SnugglePuppy - a stuffed animal that provides heat and a heart beat sound
  
• hot water bottle
  
• ticking clock
  
• Comfort Zone DAP spray or plug-in diffuser - mimics a new mother's pheromones
  
• a towel that has the scent of the mother dog and the littermates (keep clean by putting in a mesh bag and hanging from side of crate)
  
• a soft radio for company
  

Example locations: