Male or Female - Pro & Con?

I definitely prefer males. Females can be really bitchy.... they can be very affectionate and loving also, but I've found it's more on their own terms.
 
I have a male Shih Tzu now and he's just the sweetest little guy. I'm planning to get another Shih Tzu and it will definitely be a boy!

I've had and loved both sexes equally.....Rusty (male) was absolutely my heart dog, but Sheba runs a very close second!

[sm=tex.gif]Both sexes are great, but they are different.
Males can become dominant over their owners and can be more aggressive because they're more defensive with their territory. I hear that males can be more playful, but that also depends on breed.
Females are supposed to be easier to train, but again I think thats breed type and personality. Females are definately easier to house train. They are much less territorial than males. For an inside dog I would recommend a female if for that reason alone. If you're getting a second dog, I would recommend getting one of each sex, this way they don't need an alfa.
 

I have both a female and a male.  I think that I am more of a female dog loving person though.  I will say though, Charlie our small dog makes us laugh more than Lily does, but she is more of a love bug.

I have mixed experiences.  I have shown/bred dogs and done some rescues as well. I htink it depends largely on the breed as to which boys/girls will be good an which boys/girls will be not so good.
Terrier males can be a total pita.  I have a 10 yr old neutered minpin male and you would not know it. Within just the last 2 yrs, he has FINALLY stopped marking in the house- on a daily basis. Now it is just once in a while if he's really p'ssd off about something.  He alone makes me want to NEVER have another male dog again.  He peed everywhere indoors, outdoors, everything. Now he marks all the time everywhere outside. It irks me that he pees on my toddler's outside toys and on hot days, the fence where he pees reeks like urine.  And ime, male dog pee smells much stronger than female pee for some reason.

Then again, I have had male poodles who were absolutely no problem wiht pee issues.  Occasionally they'd lift a leg but were mainly squatters. They seemed to be much more people oriented although the female poodles were just as people-loving.
 
Bichon boys mark at will indoors and out.  One I had I never could get across to him that pee belonged outside.
 
Now I have the minpin male and 2 bichon females (all neutered). The girls are sweet as pie, and Lexi follows me everywhere. She enjoys an occasional lap cuddle.  Darby could sit in your lap for as long as you sat there. She is extremely sweet, cuddly and very goofy.
The minpin- I love him for all the training lessons about dogs he's taught me but at the same time he's been a pain in the arse because of his terrierisms. The peeing has been a major problem and putting up with dog urine in the house for more than 10 years now has been a huge issue wiht me.  Gross.
 
Honestly though, it does depend on the dog. Sorry I'm not of much help

I went with the female because i heard they were easier to train and generally not as head strong. My last dog was a rescue and she a female. Aside from her serparation anxiety she was a doll, very trusting and extremely affectionate!
 
We had Shih Tzu  when i was kid, and he was a male. He was a cute thing but prone to run, and not really a cuddler ( granted this was years and years ago in the 70's so puppy classes and the likes were not the norm, so training, or rather lack of training I would say was a large contributing factor to some of his behaviours)
 
We had got my grandmother a little girl Shih Tzu  for Christmas and she was night and day from ours. Always glued to my grandma's side, and a prime example of what you imagine a lap dog to be. Later she added a little boy Shih Tzu , and although a bit better trained than our male, he was still not near as affectionate and quite the squirmy little guy. He wasnt one to be petted for very long or held... Now he would want to be near you just not in your lap.
 
Could be individual personalites and not sex related at all, because nothing is ever quite so black and white. Hope you find the right dog for you.
 Best of luck !

I have always been around female dogs (labs and lab mixes) and was of the belief that 'female dogs were easier' because that's what everyone said.  Last Fall when we started to look for a puppy (SPCA) I was convinced that I wanted a female.  Long story short we wound up with a male lab/ great dane/?? mix and couldn't be happier.  He was a stray about 4 mos old when we got him and he has never had an accident in the house.  He adapted to his crate the 1st night and is SUPER easy to train.  He is non-aggressive, has never marked his territory, or anything like that.
He's huge and growing and I'd say that he's the most powerful dog I've ever been around.  I attirbute both of those to genetics and gender.  He was neutered at the SPCA so prior to 4 months old with no ill effects.  There are several male dogs around, a big golden, a 200lb great dane, and a bulldog.  There have been no male to male problems.
To sum, I think it is much more dependent on specific characteristics of the dog,  the only real difference I see is the male seems stronger than the females but that could just be his mix.

Shamrock,
I am in the same boat here, with Charlie.  He will urinate in the house for whatever reason, well only on carpet.  I know that he is marking-but enough is enough already.  When we used to live in an apt in Chicago, we had hardwood floors and he would mark our area rug.  Every six months we had to go buy a new area rug, it infuriated me.  For awhile he used to pee on our bath mat, but has finally stopped that.  He is such a monster, but such a love monster at the same time-that I love him regardless. One quick thing, when I have taken him over to my inlaws or friends houses' he lifts his leg.  Also, at the dog park, it is like getting a colonic, he goes #2 like 5 times.  He is so weird.

I don't have a preference. When I started searching for a dog on Petfinder, the sex of the dog was irrelevant to me. I just wanted a dog who needed a home. As it turned out, we ended up with a male. I adore him and I wouldn't change him at all. []