puppy is he or she?

[compunk]

Hi.

In the following dialog,

A : I'm trying to think of a name for my puppy.
B : What color is she?
A : She's almost brown, but her feet are white.

Pronoun "she" stands for puppy.
Why?
Can't we use "it" or "he"?
For puppy, do we always use "she"?

Thanks in advance.

[Einde O'Callaghan]

Post by compunk
Hi.
In the following dialog,
A : I'm trying to think of a name for my puppy.
B : What color is she?
A : She's almost brown, but her feet are white.
Pronoun "she" stands for puppy.
Why?
Can't we use "it" or "he"?
For puppy, do we always use "she"?

Owners usually call pets "he" or "she" depending on the pet's sex. In
the above case both speakers know the sex of the puppy. People who don't
know the sex of a pet or an animal will usually refer to it as "it".

Regards, Einde O'Callaghan