What Is a Male Dog Called?

In a casual conversation, a male dog is simply called a “dog,” unlike other animals where you’ll find specific names for the males and females. “Dog” is also acceptable to use with females as the term isn’t gender-specific.

Still, you should know that people in the dog breeding industry use words like “stud” and “sire” to refer to the status of a male dog regarding offspring. But, if you say those terms while talking to your friends, they’ll look at you in a funny way!

Why Isn’t There a Specific Name for Male Dogs?

The simple answer to this question is that there was no need to come up with a specific name for a male dog. People settled for using “male dog” and “female dog” to differentiate between both sexes, and that was it.

It’s not exactly an uncommon thing because most animals don’t have certain names for their males and females. Even those that have names for each sex, like cats, chickens, and horses, don’t find their way into a casual conversation.

However, to feed your curiosity, you should know that male and female dogs used to have specific names in the past. Unfortunately, those names aged like milk, and they give off negative meanings today, used as insults!

Why People Don’t Use “Cur” and “Bitch” Anymore

In the past, like a few hundred years ago, people said words like “cur” and “bitch” to describe dogs without batting an eye. Yet, those terms have grown to represent bad connotations throughout the years, so they’re no longer used unless the person intends to offend someone!

“Cur” is used to refer to a dog that people couldn’t find an identified breed for or one with mixed breeds. It was also pretty common to use with aggressive and ill-behaved dogs. 

Because of this latter association with unsavory behavior, people started using “cur” as slang to describe a detestable man.

The same basically happened with “bitch,” which people think twice to use today even to talk about a female dog in a completely professional setting!

Names for Male Dogs That Breeders Use

Despite everything, breeders have technical names for male dogs to refer to whether or not they’ve produced offspring. 

Remember that the following terms are only acceptable in the dog breeding or dog show industries. You can’t use them interchangeably with “dog” not only because they’ll sound weird but also because they don’t have the same meaning.

Sire

As the name suggests, a sire is a male dog that has mated with a female dog and fathered a litter of puppies. However, keep in mind that people don’t say the word “sire” on its own without referring to the litter.

A few acceptable instances here include:

• “This dog was the sire of a litter of five puppies.”
• “The sire dog of this litter is called Max.”

The same goes for a female doggo, but in this case, she’ll be a “dame” or “dam.”

Stud

This is another word that’s pretty common in the world of dog breeders. “Stud” refers to an adult male dog that hasn’t yet fathered a litter but is considered suitable for breeding in the near future.

Quite interestingly, breeders only use “stud” with purebred dogs. They almost never say it to describe a male dog of a mixed breed, no matter how ready he is to breed and produce a cute litter of pups!

On the other hand, a female dog that’s ready for breeding will be a “bitch.” As long as it’s used in this setting, no one will have to think twice about using this word!

Jerry

Many breeders are skeptical about using the word “jerry” to talk about a male dog, but it’s still out there nevertheless. Just keep in mind that it’s more of a slang word, so many pet owners and breeders refuse to use it.

A jerry is a dog that’s been neutered.

Interesting Names for a Male Dog in Other English-Speaking Countries

When compared to other English-speaking countries, we don’t have the most creative names for dogs. We can’t say the same for other places like the UK or Australia.

Again, bear in mind that the following names are only acceptable in certain areas, and not many people use them naturally.

For example, you’ve got the term “mongrel,” which some Australians like to use to describe a working dog. On the other hand, some Brits use “rude.” It refers to a male dog, but there isn’t a lot of information on the exact scenario where it’s used!

What Is a Group of Dogs Called?

There are several names to describe a group of dogs. Some of them are specific to certain types of dogs, while you can use others with all dogs without having second guesses.

For instance, you can say:

• A pack of dogs (although it’s mostly used with wild dogs)
• A kennel of dogs
• A mute of dogs

However, you should only use “cry” to talk about a group of hounds. Likewise, “litter” is only suitable to describe a group of newborn pups.

Another word that isn’t quite well-known is “cowardice,” which refers to a group of mutts.

What Are Some Nicknames Associated With Male Dogs?

One of the coolest things about us humans is our creative ability to come up with countless nicknames for male as well as female dogs. Those names keep growing in number with each passing year, born out of our love and appreciation for our canine buddies.

Pet owners like to call their dogs:

• Good Boy (sometimes written Boi)
• Buddy
• Mate
• Pal
• Big Boy
• Little Boy

Other nicknames can be related to the dog’s breed, like “Goldie” or “Hound.” Some people also like to refer to dogs as “doggos,” “pooches,” and “doggies.”

Don’t forget “doge,” which is a popular meme that has been circulating the internet and social media platforms for years now!

Female dogs can also go by the previously mentioned nicknames, with the exception of Good Boy and the like, of course!

Paul S.

Paul has been creating content for the dog niche for many years. The information he shares comes his first hand experience growing up in dog lovers household and then owning multiple dog breeds of his own as an adult. Paul enjoys doing the hard research to collect, analyze and present our dogtemperament.com readers with the best answers to their questions.