# Neutering a 19 mos.old guard dog



## JustMeLeslie (Sep 15, 2010)

We have a 19 month old male GSD. He is our guard dog and he does an excellent job. I know that neutering is supposed to calm a dog but what I wonder if it will effect his protective instinct? We do not want him to become lazy and not do his job. We have a 3 month old female that will be spayed in December when she is 6 months old so if we did not neuter him he would be the only intact dog we have everyone else is fixed. So the question would be whether or not to neuter him as we are nervous about it because he is our primary guard dog. Do people fix thier guard dogs or leave them intact? Thanks look forward to hearing some opinions on this.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Your dog will still be just fine. There are a lot of working dogs that are spayed or neutered and it has no effect on their ability to do their job other than making them less interested in the opposite sex.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Elaine said:


> Your dog will still be just fine. There are a lot of working dogs that are spayed or neutered and it has no effect on their ability to do their job other than making them less interested in the opposite sex.


 
i agree. Generally if they're protective before, that doesnt tone down after they're fixed. Some people dont want to take the chance though that fixing them will tone down their protection drive and make them lazy. After they're fixed you may have to change how much they get fed because their metabolism slows down but everything else should stay the same. It should affect his instincts and personality. He may also be calmer without all those horomones making him a typical crazy guy lol.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Your dog's personality is unlikely to change. I have a male and a female who are both "all that they should be" without the hassle of sex drives. Peeves me to see owners of unfixed pets that put their pets through the stress of the natural urges they have when they are 'whole'.


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