Not sure if this is true or not but a breeder told me that females bond closely with one family memeber and a male will bond with the whole family. I've found this pretty much true with my dogs....my mother has 2 males (all our dogs are neutered) and for a while my father would travel for work and the dogs bonded to her more. Now that my dad is home they each have their favorites. I have never had a problem with marking. Even my little old toy never really was interested in marking. And the 6 mo old spoo has never marked (yet) bother were fixed at 5/6 months. I fostered a female for a while and she marked every 10 feet on a walk. :rolffleyes: and she only really liked me. For the most part, I like males not sure why.