There are many misconceptions about the purpose of hormones in the development and temperament of a dog. For instance, while many people believe that more testosterone will produce a larger dog, the truth is that testosterone causes the bones of a dog to stop growing earlier. Areas of bone known as growth plates wait for an increase in testosterone before closing. Without testosterone, these growth plates stay open much longer. In this article, we will outline the facts of how having your Executive Protection Dog spayed or neutered will affect it’s growth, temperament, and ability work.
Firstly, you should always wait until your dog is at least 2 years of age before having them spayed or neutered. While it is true that having them spayed or neutered early may produce a larger dog, their bones will not develop evenly, and they will have problems with balance. After 2 years of age, it is mostly a matter of preference. For house pets, having a dog spayed or neutered is an effective method of lowering the number of accidental births and the creation of stray dogs. However, this not something that the responsible owner of a working dog should be concerned with.
Given the choice, it is preferable that you do not spay or neuter your Personal Protection Dog, whether they are German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, or Belgian Malinois. This is unnatural and it does nothing to change the temperament of your Protection dogs. In fact, spaying or neutering your protection dog ruins his or her ability to judge their world correctly.