My Golden retriever was spayed 10 days ago (stitches came out today). However her coat is very dull and coarse, not soft and silky like it was before. I have heard that spaying can cause coat changes but can it occur that quickly and will it change back to normal again? I originally thought it was just because she had had an operation and her body was run down, but she seems very well in herself now. Is there anything i can do to help her coat?

Over the next few weeks she is likely to have a heavy moult and loose most of her coat almost like a bitch does after a litter.  The new coat is likely to grow back fluffier with more and woolier undercoat.  You may need to thin the feathering more, and need to keep the coat combed through more as it is likley to be more prone to tangling and somewhat drier.  T%here isn't a lot you can do if it is going to change other than ensuring a good diet rich in esential fatty acids in the correct balance.

Spaying and neutering ruins the coats of our breed ( BSD) it becomes very long with a dense undercoat which is nigh on impossible to keep matt free withhout resorting to scissors. they are also very prone to putting on weight. I would NEVER spay or neuter any dog unles it was really necessary - vets will often tell you that it has no effect - believe me it does !!.

Depends on the dog as to whether it changes the coat too much or not, the Golden Retriever you refer to has not had time to change her coat "hormonally" (sp?) yet, as was said probably just a heavy moult.

The weight thing Treveor is down to the owner, I have had at least 3 bitches spayed in 3 different breeds, plus a male neutered and none of them have had coat or weight problems.  If you allow the weight to get too much, then its down to you to get it off, it can be done. :D
Dawn.

My Aussie is spayed and I can honestly say that there is no noticeable change in her coat. Weight isn't a problem as I monitor it all the time anyway and reduce/increase food accordingly - particularly the last 3 months where she has been on lead only :)

Daisy

You are right to say that spaying increases a bitch's chances of becoming overweight. Just as with human females after the menopause, or an ovario-hysterectomy (spaying, in essence), bodyfat is laid down differently from when oestrogen had an effect. You can cut the food down only a certain extent - a bitch who is genuinely hungry (rather than the natural canine opportunism) will scavenge more. After all, we all know that a good weight-loss diet for humans needs also to make us feel satisfied after a meal! Extra care must be taken with the diet of a spayed bitch.

Sorry but it takes at least six weeks for ANYTHING to change the texture of a hair in either humans or animals; it is after all dead protein!

Spaying can sometimes change the coats in some dogs depending on the breed; it is not necessarily inevitable.  Neither is weight gain; after all you are in charge of the food bowl!

It will probably 18 months for the texture of the coat to change (approximately 2 seasons if they were still entire), it certainly won't show signs in a matter of weeks!
The change that you are seeing now is due to the surgery and the effects of the anaesthetic.

The biggest problem is that a bitch loses muscle tone after a spay and it is very difficult to get them back to hard condition, especially with a Golden Retriever.

We have found with our spayed bitches (which incidentally, we have only had spayed for medical reasons when they were middle aged) that their food needs to be nearly half of what was fed previously to keep them in condition.

Please make sure that you cut back on her food as soon as she looks as if she is becoming overweight as fat is very hard to shift once it is established. Also keep her well exercised to keep the muscles toned.

snomaes

Thanks for your replies. I had a feeling her dull coat might be due to the anaesthetic, there was a definate change when i picked her up as compared to when i dropped her off. As for weight, at the moment she is a very lean retriever, and i struggle to keep weight on her, so i will keep an eye on her but i'm not expecting much. My collie is actually a kg lighter than  before she was when she was spayed, which i would think is quite unusual, but given the amount of exercise she does it isn't surprising!

Hi Lucyandmeg,I have only just come across your post and I have experienced similar 'symptoms' with Spice(BC).
She was spayed recently,her stitches were removed just over a week ago and she has since begun to lose her coat quite rapidly? I am brushing her daily to keep control of the hair.The texture hasn't changed much though,it's still quite shiny and soft.She lost 1/2kg after her spay,but is eating like a horse,so we are measuring her food intake very carefully.
I thought maybe it was the op and the anaesthetic too,the vet said she is in good health so not to worry,also that a slight increase in appetite is probably due to her recovery and to watch her appetite but not to 'starve' her,as if :D :D
It's good to read views on the subject.
Jacqueline :)