Can Dogs Be Gay? You’d Be Surprised…

For humans, being gay or homosexual refers to a sexual attraction or preference to those of the same sex.

Homosexuality in animals, which has been studied and discussed as far back as the 8th century BC, is defined quite differently.

Gay, or the preferred term when speaking of animals, homosexual, can be used to refer to various aspects:

Same-sex behavior that is not inherently sexual in character

Same-sex courtship or copulatory behavior occurring over a short period of time

Long-term pair bonds between same-sex partners that might involve any combination of courting, copulating, parenting, and affectional behaviors.

Homosexuality in animals is behavioral rather than a sexual orientation, meaning they will have sex with whoever they want, whenever they want without regard for any of our perceptions or ideas about it.

To make things short and sweet, a dog cannot be gay, or at least not in the same way we recognize that a person can be.

Can A Dog Be Gay?

Because dogs can’t speak and communicate to us it can be difficult to distinguish between an animal that has a true long-term preference and an animal that engages in normal, homosexual behaviors.

The best and most recognized way to tell if a dog is truly gay is whether or not they are willing to breed with a dog of the opposite sex if the potential for offspring is high.

If a male dog is truly homosexual, he will refuse a female even when she’s in heat.

The majority of dogs who may be labeled as gay, however, will happily mate with a female to produce offspring.

To oversimplify, this means that most dogs who might be classified as gay are, in reality, willing to have sex with both genders, making them better identified as bisexual if they had to be labeled.

Homosexuality Among Other Animals

Homosexuality in animals and the associated behaviors are common and well documented worldwide.

Unfortunately, it is often seen as controversial since it asserts the naturalness of homosexuality in humans.