Gaining weight after neutering

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Donkeymad

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As we all know, many people claim the reason their bitch has gained weight is because she has been spayed. vets generally disagree with this. My sister disagreed unti one of her bitches had to be spayed after a litter of pups. The bitch gained weight, my sister changed her mind.

Now, it is very rare we hear the same things about dogs. I don't know if that is just because not many people have their dogs castrated.

My old fella had to be castrated at the age of 11 years due to cancer. He has always been terribly skinny and ribby and no amount of feed has put on any weight. Now, some 8 months later, he is like a different dog, nice and filled-out - but not overweight, I hate animals being overweight.

Does anybody think that this has been casued by his catsration?
 
My theory (which is probably rubbish) is that it is the hormonal changes that neutering causes, which cause the weight gain, due to the behavioural changes this causes.

Most unneutered male dogs stress and drop weight whenever they get the whiff of a bitch in season, once they have been castrated, they no longer stress, generally calm down, thus get less exercise, so gain weight unless their feed ration is ammended.
 
I had 2 terriers and had my bitch spayed at 6 months before her 1st season, she has always been on the thin side and has never been fat in her life she is 15 yrs old now. My dog was neutered at the age of 11 yrs too due to testicular cancer and did thicken out a little but was never fat. Unfortunately he died last year after choking on a peice of chicken. I now have a lab bitch who has not been neutered yet, she is a very slim athletic looking lab and I am worried about getting her spayed as labs tend to have fatty tendencies.
 
Yep both dogs and bitches are prone to gaining weight after neutering due to the decreased production of hormones....certain breeds more than others...this is easily remedied with a reduction of food and increased exercise.....i have over 10 dogs of varied breed all neutered in my care at the moment and none over weight...not even my greedy rotti, infact all the dogs I ever owner are/have been neutered and none have ever been over weight.
It is suprising how much of some dogs food portions can be reduced after neutering....its just getting owners to understand this.....aswell as all those treats
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It sounds odd for the vet to say that neutering wont effect weight
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....we as a vets advise in regard to possible weight gain before the actual operation goes ahead and discuss food reduction should this occcur.
If your little dog has always been on the thin side then castration would certainley have contributed to his weight gain....and it sounds like u are doing a good job in mainaining him to prevent him from becoming over weight.
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My understanding is that its due to fact that the dogs appetite increases post op because of hormonal changes and its simply that the dog is eating more than normal and therefore gains weight. However, hormonal changes affect metabolism too so the rate at which calories are burnt off slows down.
 
Seems like everyone has a different understanding of why neutered dogs can gain weight! I understood it was because they lose that urge to run about and procreate and their instincts become dulled.

I have to say all the dogs our family have ever had, male and female, have been neutered and we've never had a fat one. I wouldn't have said mine eat less than normal though I do keep a close eye and cut back if they thicken round the middle.

If only I could be so strict with myself!
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Seems like everyone has a different understanding of why neutered dogs can gain weight! I understood it was because they lose that urge to run about and procreate and their instincts become dulled.

I have to say all the dogs our family have ever had, male and female, have been neutered and we've never had a fat one. I wouldn't have said mine eat less than normal though I do keep a close eye and cut back if they thicken round the middle.

If only I could be so strict with myself!
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Stella's fixed, and she actually seems to be getting leaner and more muscular as she gets older (she's four next month). As a pup, she had wadges of fat everywhere, but they all seem to have disappeared, bar one stubborn ring of neck jiggle. When her tuck-up starts to disappear, I do impose a treat ban, which is even harder for my husband to bear than it is for greedy guts Stella.

Note how much of a bowling ball she was at ten months, and now, at four years of age...

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i'm a vet and all of us at our practice recognise that neutered animals are prone to gaining weight and advise clients of this fact before and again after neutering to try and avoid the weight gain. i'm not entirely sure that the reason behind it is known, but there are various theories. it certainly is well recognised though.
 
it also changes the coat in some (double coated) breeds and can make it very difficult to care for , another side effect that is rarely mentioned but can have big implications for the welfare of the dog.
 
Gee, thanks for your replies. So maybe our vets in Cornwall are abit behind, Cornwall generally is for everything!!
Milor, I have a breed that is known for it's coat change after neautering, Irish setters. Fortunately castrating Ryan has not unduly affected his coat, which is unusual
Here is a photo (not recent) of my latest two Irish Setters. They are hald bothers, same mum, different dads. The Setter in question is the smaller of the two.
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Stella was a proper little fatster wasn't she! And you couldn't get a better advert for neutering than her as she looks absolutely tip top.
 
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Stella was a proper little fatster wasn't she! And you couldn't get a better advert for neutering than her as she looks absolutely tip top.

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She sure was. I guess she hadn't quite discovered the art of non-stop fetch, which gives her all that lovely muscle definition.

She was basically a blob at birth, and has only thinned out in the past couple of years. Poor girl has the metabolism of a walrus.
 
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