I think neutering is a positive thing. I did notice a change in my male when we had him fixed. But I don't think neutering will solve things completely for you.
I don't know how to ask this question without it sounding.....I don't know.... maybe offensive.... but do you spoil your dog?
mine are rotten to the core, so I'm not asking to say there is anything wrong with spoiled rotten dogs
The reason I ask is your dog is entering adolescence and they test boundries just as human teenagers do. I thought maybe your dog is taking advantage of the situation and he is trying to be alpha.
You may need to alter some things in order to reestablish yourself and your daughter as alphas. Your dog is telling your daughter he doesn't want in the crate and he ins't going. He asserting his dominance. He may not particularly like the crate, but I don't think that is the main issue.
One way to counteract this behavior is make sure the humans maintain alpha status with the dog. A true alpha is never harsh or aggressive but it does make sure it is in the lead. Here's an article that outlines how to reestablish alpha with your dog.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/topdog.htm
Two things the article suggests worked wonders for us. 1. always make your dog earn its food by having it sit before you put its food down (or some other trick for a treat.) and 2. stop it from going through doorways or down stairs before you.
we also halted all furniture sitting or bed visits but after they got better attitudewise i have to admit I let them on the couch. but if I wanted to sit where a dog was, I didn't hesitate to make him get down even if it meant shoving him off.
anyway, I've written a book here and this may or may not help. It just reminded me of Bossk when he was testy with us, so I thought I'd offer advice on how we curbed his behavior.
