Gender Confusing Dogs

So, why do people automatically assume that a dog is a boy? With a baby people at least ask the parents, "boy or girl"? But not with dogs. I totally get that a ship is supposed to be "she". But English is supposed to be a gender neutral language. So, when people see my dog sit at the curb, why do they say, "Good boy". No, you idiot. Just because she is big doesn't make her a boy. Just because she is a dog doesn't make her a boy.

I get that people are trying to be sweet. And I appreciate that. But today I was walking my large girl dog in the rain. And, because she hates the rain, she was wearing a pink camo raincoat. And some guy rode by on his bike and said, "hey there, hansome!" What?! Really?! Considering that I was wearing a very girly trench coat and I have long hair, I doubt that he was talking to me. So, was he really talking to my very female dog?! Sometimes I just don't understand people.

By the way - it annoys the crap out of me that people call reward training "bribery". Some businessman in midtown new york saw me ask my dog to sit. He said, "wow, she's good." I said that she definitely is, and I gave her a treat as a reward for good behavior. And, upon seeing this, he said, "oh, bribery!" and he looked disappointed as he walked away. I wanted to scream, "You get an end of the year bonus, don't you?! You get a salary every two weeks. Are those "bribery", too?!"All I can say is: YEESH.