in proper english, is the pronoun for a pet female or male?

Answer 1

In English, we do not assign genders to nouns as is done in other languages like German, Spanish, etc. You could use "it" unless you're referring to a specific pet where you know whether it is male or female.

Answer 2

Usually it depends on the gender of the pet!!

However, there IS a tendency in British English (don't know about American,) to assume that all cats are female, and all dogs are male - at least until proven otherwise! That's why when people stroke a strange dog they usually say something like; "Hello boy! You ARE a good boy, aren't you!"

Answer 3

Either a genderless "it", or relating to the actual sex of the animal.

Different to French, where a male cat still takes a feminine pronoun (or the other way round)

Answer 4

Use the neuter-gender pronoun "it" unless you know the sex of the pet. Actually, this also works for babies. ;~)

Answer 5

If its a substantial pet like a dog or cat its 'he' or 'she'. If the sex isn't known, its an 'it'. If you're referring to the neighbor's nasty obviously male dog that always poops in your yard - we're talking about an 'it'!

Answer 6

the pronoun for pets is usually "it" ("its" = pet's)
only the people close to pets tend to say he or she. If you dont know if the pet is feminine or mascule use "their" (also for singular) which actually substitues "her or his" and they for "he or she"

Answer 7

Male pets are "he." Female pets are "she". If you don't know,(frog sexing is tough work), it's just an "it."

Answer 8

IT is gender neutral.

Example: The stupid cat, it just choked up a freakin' hairball on the rug.

Answer 9

It depends what sex the pet is.