# Effect of spaying on coat?



## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Can anyone explain how and why spaying affects a Golden's coat. How soon are the effects seen and do they progress with age?

I've been following the thread dealing with the difference between field and show Goldens. Zoe is almost 5 and was spayed at about 1yr. and after one heat cycle. She's got quite a bit more coat, longer and more undercoat, than our Zeke who was from field lines and I'm wondering how much is attributable to the spay and how much is from her breeding.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Both of my dogs who have been altered grew far more coat after they were neutered than they ever had before. Both were mature (2+) when neutered. In each case it was the undercoat that started to grow like crazy and they had fuzzy whispies all over the place that were like burr magnets.

I will not neuter my males now based on the growing body of evidence of certain disorders being more frequent in neutered males. With my girls, once they have had their last litter, because of the risk of pyometra, I will likely spay, but will have my vet do hysterectomy only and leave in the ovaries, which continues the hormonal balance. Rates of mammary cancer are not that high, and I can monitor that. The hemangio rates seen in the recent UCDavis study that come with doing a full spay at maturity concern me more, and I do not want spay coat on my hunting dogs because it is nightmare getting marsh crap out of the fuzzies.


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

TheZ's said:


> Can anyone explain how and why spaying affects a Golden's coat. How soon are the effects seen and do they progress with age?
> 
> I've been following the thread dealing with the difference between field and show Goldens. Zoe is almost 5 and was spayed at about 1yr. and after one heat cycle. She's got quite a bit more coat, longer and more undercoat, than our Zeke who was from field lines and I'm wondering how much is attributable to the spay and how much is from her breeding.


I'm wondering myself if this has been studied or just a theory. Most goldens *will* get more hair and feathering at about age 2 or 3 and more than likely they have been spayed or neutered by then. I never saw any change in texture on either of mine after being neutered however my confirmation bred golden ended up with more hair and feathering.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Talking with collie people at class about Arthur's coat, they immediately described our coat issues as "spay coat". They said it gets more cottony after the dog is neutered. More prone to mats etc. He was neutered at 2, a couple weeks before we brought him home. 

With our golden who was neutered at 10 (emergency issue), his coat grew very quickly and was fuller and longer than it had been prior to the neuter. It always was too soft and silky and prone to matting, so that part we didn't notice a difference. 

This is probably a side topic, but when people say cottony - I immediately think about the impression I had from petting and playing with the puppies when I visited Bertie's breeder.... and went from petting their cottony fluff bodies to patting their uncle (conformation dog, champion, etc). The breeder told me that Bertie's coat would be like this uncle's coat (Harvey)when he grew up. My first impression was HUH - because his coat felt thick and coarse compared to the puppies. 

The breeder of course also told me that Harvey was very hairy and in need of a grooming. <- I was still under the impression at the time that he was very not-fluffy, again compared to the puppies.  

When I got home I calmed down when I went from patting Bertie to patting Jacks and felt the same difference there. 

With the puppy coat - I was very glad when Bertie got rid of that, because it was pretty bad for picking up burrs and trying to get those out. When I hear people bemoaning the loss of puppy coats, I have to laugh.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I saw a definite difference in our Chloe's coat just a couple of months after her spay procedure. Although the texture of her coat was always too soft, it has gotten more cottony feeling and a lot longer and tangly. She was already prone to hotspots and it's made it a lot worse. She was spayed at about age 2.5, so I don't think the changes were from age.

From my understanding some people don't really notice much of a difference. I think we noticed it more with Chloe because she was already prone to skin issues so it exacerbated the problem for her.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

The cottony junk that grows on their legs. Ugh, that right there is enough to make me never want to neuter again.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> The cottony junk that grows on their legs. Ugh, that right there is enough to make me never want to neuter again.


That's the stuff--arghh! When Juni would go for a run with the rest of my crew after field work she would be the one to come in with the most junk from the field attached to her. She would have sticks and dried out flowers stuck on the outside of her legs!


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I would never leave the ovaries in my girls, period. Once my girls are done with what they need their parts for, the parts are gone.

My two siblings that are almost 11 years old have the spay/neuter coats. George was neutered at about 8 months and his sister, Mantha was neutered at 8 years. Mantha, before her spay, used to blow her entire coat twice yearly... Now it is about every 1 1/2 years... Both she and her brother have leg feathers and pantaloons to beat the band. These are very soft and pick up everything... Their half sister Tiki, has always had a much shorter, are resistant coat that changed very little with spay. In general, I think the neutered coat is more cottony and soft.


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## Mom28kds (Mar 8, 2013)

So at what age is it best to spay to have a good coat? Vet says before the first heat but I'm wondering if it's best to wait.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Loisiana said:


> The cottony junk that grows on their legs. Ugh, that right there is enough to make me never want to neuter again.


Does anyone have any advice on how to get that off without it looking terrible? I tried to trim it before and it just looked botched. Thanks!


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I pluck it out


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Loisiana said:


> I pluck it out


That sounds like slow work and painful. Are we talking about the hair on the outside of the rear legs? Zoe's got a lot of that and heavy feathering.


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## annef (Feb 23, 2008)

I use thinning scissors to remove the long hairs comb then cut downwards. It seems to stop growing eventually! Annef


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## sdhgolden (Aug 13, 2012)

Anyone have any before spay and after spay photos that show a change in coat?


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

As a bit of a comparison the photo below was probably taken within a month or so after spaying just a little after 1 yr. The picture in the signature below was taken at about 3 yrs. Not sure how much difference is due just to maturation and how much to spaying.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

The fuzzy stuff sticking out on the elbows in the lower picture is the spay coat. Without neutering they will not grow that stuff. When Juni was alive, I took it off her using a grooming stone, which is like a lava rock designed for stripping coat. I would just pinch the fuzzy hair between the stone and my thumb and pull it out. I could get more out at once that way. That stuff does not seem to be very strongly attached. She was quite a princess, and having it stripped never really bothered her.


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## Fidele (Sep 17, 2008)

Cedar, who used to be a very slick coated guy, was neutered a year ago (testicular growth) and soon after began to grow those fuzzies like Zoe's lower picture shows above her elbows. Cedar also has that coat on his rear legs too. Sure is a pain - almost everything sticks to it & causes it to matt!


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## VonD (May 17, 2011)

*This helped me*



Rainheart said:


> Does anyone have any advice on how to get that off without it looking terrible? I tried to trim it before and it just looked botched. Thanks!


Have a look at this grooming video for a golden. I tried it on mine and I am able to gently pull out those cottony bits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxEg1-85hOA


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## Suni52 (Jan 18, 2012)

We spayed our dog after her first heat when she was just around a year 3mo old. I didn't notice the spay coat right away. As a matter of fact, I'm noticing it more now a year later. Its more downy, and less slick. She has more undercoat, and for the first time ever she's getting matts. Matting was never a problem with her before.


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

sterregold said:


> That's the stuff--arghh! When Juni would go for a run with the rest of my crew after field work she would be the one to come in with the most junk from the field attached to her. She would have sticks and dried out flowers stuck on the outside of her legs!


So THAT'S what that is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Max is now almost four and he was neutered at two and a half. He's got these fuzzy things now growing on the outside of his legs and on his shoulders. Very cottony stuff.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Parsemus Foundation » Ovary-Sparing Spay

Here is a link to the ovary sparing spay sterregoldens was talking about. It also has links to other studies including the UC Davis study.

I wish more vets will keep up with the research.


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## jpulfs (Feb 26, 2014)

Bailey was spayed at about 9 months ( I think!) and she has a beautiful coat, often commented upon and described as a 'show coat' , so maybe it depends upon the dog?!


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## kellyguy (Mar 5, 2014)

Is neutering also what causes "bunny feet"?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

kellyguy said:


> Is neutering also what causes "bunny feet"?


What do you mean by bunny feet??


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## kellyguy (Mar 5, 2014)

I was hoping to find pictures of my Buddy when he had what I called "bunny feet", but he's groomed in all the photos. He used to get a wild growth of fluf on the tops of his paws that looked comical if we didn't get it groomed off. It looked like he was wearing those fuzzy slippers. I never saw that on my other goldens that were intact.


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## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

My intact girl Jinx has what I call "muppet" feet and bushy ears. It comes in her line because her mother is intact and has the same hair. I am guessing your "bunny" and my "muppet" feet are the same thing. If so, it is coat genetics and not altering causing it.


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## sdhgolden (Aug 13, 2012)

My girl is the same way and she's intact too. 


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Grinch feet.... 

I have no idea if Jacks and Bertie have that kinda genetics. I don't let the feet fur grow long enough to tell.


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