Spaying your dog is one of the best decisions you can make for your pet’s long-term health. The aforementioned procedure yields different benefits that will improve your dog’s quality of life. A spayed dog is more likely to avoid certain infections and even mammary cancer.
Once you’ve decided that you don’t want your dog having any more puppies, getting them spayed is the right move. However, you should know that spaying can bring about some physical changes in your dog. Their shedding habits in particular may change post-spaying.
Now is the right time to learn about those changes, especially since you’ll have to deal with them directly. Please read on to learn more about how spaying can affect your dog’s shedding.
Do Dogs Shed More after Being Spayed?
The realization that your dog is losing hair can be jarring if you’re a first-time pet owner. It’s easy to jump to conclusions and assume the worst in that scenario.
Thankfully, you have nothing to worry about. Shedding is perfectly normal in dogs. Your dog losing hair is not necessarily a sign that something is wrong with them.
Even so, you may have noticed a change in your dog’s shedding patterns after she was spayed. To be more specific, they may be shedding more now than they did previously.
Are your eyes playing tricks on you or is your dog truly shedding more fur lately?
In all likelihood, your dog is indeed shedding more after getting spayed. It’s one of the potential side effects of the procedure, but it’s still not an indicator that serious health issues are affecting your dog.
So, why is your dog shedding more after getting spayed? There are two main reasons we can point to.
Hormonal Imbalance Leading to Increased Shedding
The days right after your pet dog is spayed make up an adjustment period of sorts. During that time, they may undergo a slew of changes. Among those changes are ones that will affect their hormonal balance.
Simply put, your pet’s hormone levels may be all over the place after they are spayed. Their hormone levels will even out over time. For now, the imbalance can cause some minor issues, with excessive shedding being one of them.
Your Dog Is on the Older Side
The increased shedding your dog is experiencing could also be a long-term thing. That can happen if they were spayed at an older age.
Notably, any type of surgery can cause an older dog to shed more. Shedding alone is not an indicator that something’s wrong with your dog. However, you should take your pet to the veterinarian if the shedding is accompanied by other symptoms.
Why Is My Dog Shedding after Being Spayed?
As we mentioned earlier, shedding is a normal thing for dogs. Just about every breed of dog will shed fur. Most of the time, shedding is just another process your pet experiences and that’s about it.
Understandably, you may view the shedding differently if it only started after your dog was spayed. It’s easy to assume that something went wrong during the procedure and the shedding is an indicator of that.
I would advise you not to jump to that conclusion so hastily. In the previous section, I explained how spaying can affect the shedding habits of your dog.
What you’re seeing now may not be the first instance of your pet shedding. Instead, it may just be an example of their shedding intensifying. Your dog may not have shed that much fur before so you just missed it completely.
Taking your dog to the veterinarian is always an option if you think their shedding has reached an abnormal level. You can seek their expert opinion if you want some more assurance.
Do Some Dogs Shed Less after Being Spayed?
Thus far, we’ve only discussed the issue of shedding from the standpoint of how it increases after your dog is spayed. But, could it work in the opposite direction too? Could a dog shed less fur after they are spayed?
Dogs shedding less fur after being spayed could happen, but it may not necessarily have anything to do with the procedure.
Different factors can affect how much fur your dog sheds. Your dog’s breed is the factor that matters most when it comes, but it’s not the only one.
The time of the year can also impact your dog’s shedding habits. Dogs tend to shed more fur during the spring and fall seasons.
If your dog was spayed near the end of spring, they may not shed as much while recovering because the shedding season has also passed.
Your dog’s diet can also impact the rate at which they shed fur. Switching your dog to a healthier diet after they are spayed can lead to them shedding less fur.
What to Do if My Dog Is Shedding More after Being Spayed?
Even if your dog’s increased shedding is not something to worry about from a health standpoint, it can still be annoying. No one wants to deal with fur all over their furniture or clothes so keeping shedding under control would be ideal.
There are steps you can take if you want to reduce your dog’s shedding. Check them out below.
Change Your Dog’s Diet
We already hinted at this, but changing your dog’s diet is one way to curb their shedding. Generally speaking, you want to feed your dog something with a balanced nutritional profile. You can find high-quality variants of dog food that meet those standards.
Talk to your vet as well about changing your dog’s diet. They may even be able to name specific options that will be great for your pet.
Bathe Your Dog Regularly
Bathing your dog regularly removes their dead fur. Their coat will also be healthier thanks to that habit.
For most dogs, bathing once a month should suffice. You only need to bathe your dog more than once per month if they had an accident or played around in some mud.
You should also use the right type of shampoo to bathe your dog. Deshedding shampoo would be an ideal choice. Using your shampoo is not recommended because it is not formulated for your dog’s coat.
Brush Your Dog’s Coat
Lastly, you should brush your dog more often to control their shedding. Brush them right after a bath to remove any excess fur that the water did not wash away. You can also brush them without bathing if you’ve noticed them shedding more.
A shedding tool is great to use for brushing your dog. It catches dead fur and forms those follicles into big clumps. Shedding tools are easy to find and quite affordable so consider getting one for your dog.
Is It Normal for a Dog to Shed More after Being Spayed?
A dog shedding more fur after getting spayed is normal. Then again, a dog shedding the same amount of fur or possibly less fur after the procedure is also normal.
You should be more concerned if the shedding is noticeable along with other symptoms. Discolored skin, a loss of appetite, and frequent vomiting are more concerning developments. Take your dog to the veterinarian as soon as possible if their increased shedding is joined by those other symptoms.