[SoCalyorkiLvr]

To put it simply, the characteristics referred to are ALL of those that differentiate male behavior from female behavior in dogs. Females are typcially nurturing, affectionate, maternal, protective, etc. Males are loyal, good hunters, physical and "macho" for lack of a better word...lol.....

Just think what people would be like if we took away their sex hormones when they were toddlers. Boys and girls would not be very different since they aren't pre-puberty.

This 1993 article is valid until new studies are conducted to disprove what it asserts. Most scientific discoveries and facts remain such until they are disproven, if that ever happens, sometime in the future. An elementary example of this is the fact that the world is not flat and that discovery and fact was made many many years ago and is still valid today because it has not been proven incorrect.

While the article was posted on a Labrador retriever site, the article was written from the following sources which are non-breed specific. In other words the article was not breed specific.
REFERENCES:

Barrett, Ralph E. and Theilen, Gordon H.: Neoplasms of the Canine and Feline Reproductive Tracts. In Kirk, Robert W. (ed.): Current Veterinary Therapy VI. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co., 1977.
Osborne, Carl A. and Oliver, John E.: Non-neurogenic urinary incontinence. In Kirk, Robert W. (ed.): Current Veterinary Therapy VI. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co., 1977.
Schneider et. al.: Factors influencing canine mammary cancer development and post-surgical survival. J.Natl.Cancer Institute, 43: 1249, 1969.

How heavily any given fact is weighed has to depend on the person making the valuation and for what animal. A vet working in a shelter for homeless pets may not care much at all that a dog is "androgenous" and lacking in gender specific traits but a family that already has a female yorkie and wants to experience a male, may care greatly and a hunter who wants a male for a hunting dog may care as well.