I felt the same way about not wanting to hurt breeders' feelings when I was looking at puppies. But you need to remember that you are the one making the financial and emotional lifetime commitment to the puppy, so you have the right to wait until the right one comes along. I'm sure the breeder would understand your desire for a female, thats perfectly fair.
The decision to bring in a male versus a female is all yours! If you neuter a boy early, I don't think marking will be an issue. All of the other issues you mentioned would still be there if you got a female.
__________________  Anna and  Wobie |