[Alin]

The general rule of thumb that I’ve come across when neutering is to wait until the dog fully matures. Whether that’s 1.5 or 2 years old, that’s is up to the dog.

The main reason for that is so the dog can fully develop their body before removing their hormones – which help them grow and “complete”.

Again this is all just stuff I’ve picked up and from me asking Robert on my own and searching the internet when I was researching the topic. I have a GSD who is 1.5 years old now (not neutered), and while he did start becoming more distracted and stubborn like your dog has, it just meant I had to be a bit more disciplined and not let him get away with his new bad behaviors. He is at the point now where I feel his concentration has never been better.

That’s natural – even when having a teenage son (God help me, my oldest son is 14). They will get a little more defiant as they grow into maturity but once it settles down you should be good.

But everyone’s situation is different and you are past the point of a year where Robert says that’s the bare minimum if you need to do it.

For me personally – I plan on keeping Enzo intact his whole life unless any unforeseen health issues come up and require it. But I live a life where I am around my dog nearly the whole day – I do not let him out on his own and he is always by my side.

Edit to my reply – Here is a video I found early on that helped me also reach my conclusion along with conversations I’ve had with Robert. I took my dog to his first vet appointment when I got him at 8 weeks and already they wanted to set him up for a neuter appointment when he was going to turn 6 months. I was floored they offered it so young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HLnWA-y1zg

[Alin]

Don’t forget about submitting to Robert’s AMA member videos. He uploads twice a week and all questions he receives are answered.

That should be used for serious, complicated answer where you want to make sure to his expert advise on.

If you go to the members page you will see the two most recent videos to get an idea of how it works.

[Alin]

There’s nothing we can do to take back the things we didn’t know at a point in time. We make the best of it and make sure our dogs are living the best life they can. Then when we get blessed with another dog down the line, we learn from our previous experiences.

Such is life.

P.S. Go to your profile page and update your nickname and username so it doesn’t default to your email instead. Hoping to try and figure out a way to make members more aware of this.