After a spay....

So as most of you know, Harley was spayed about 2 months ago now (phew!) Anyways, she has always been so lean, literally you could see the outline of her ribs at all times. The girl could not gain weight for the life of her.

Since her spay she has put on 5 lbs. so she is now 56# and a perfect weight for her breed and height. Is it normal for a female to fill out so much after a spay, or could it just have been a growth spurt?

I am not too worried about her becoming overweight, she runs at least an hour each day sometimes 2 or 3. I have been reading that AmStaffs are prone to hip dysplasia. Does anyone have more info on this? I am certaing she was the product of bad breeding, but she has never shown any signs of pain and the vets have always given her a clean bill of health. I would just like to know more for the future.

Sorry for the rambling, hehe, ANYWAYS, have any of your females gained lots of weight after a spay??

 

that is so typical, you just want to make sure extra # dont creep on, sounds like she is in great shape, if they start gaining weight, they will get a pooch on their tummy.

honeybear

 

yeah. Every one of ours dogs gained weight after spaying....errrr

 

From what I understand there is a change in metabolism after spay/neuter so pet then require less calories to keep lean. Natalie was spayed at 4months old and remained lean until she was about 2yrs old. Then she gained some weight because I switched foods and overfed her for a while. The spay did'nt seem to directly affect her weight at all.

 

My girls all gained a little weight after being spayed. Izzy bless her heart was on the verge of being a fatty and no matter how much exercise she got or how much I cut her portions the weight still poured on.

 

Thanks guys! I am not worried at all about her getting pudgy, she is still pretty lean. Its just that we had some friends over that hadn't seen her in a whiile and commented on how big she'd gotten.
So I looked through some pics, and she looks so much better now!! What a beauty!!

She also seems much hungrier lately. I haven't been giving her extra food because she hasn't been getting more or less excercies, so I figure she doesn't need more.
Am I right with not feeding her more? Its jsut she looks so sad when she just sits by her food bowl staring at me, heh.

 

my dog never gained weight after her spay...but we've always been so very careful of her weight due to her hip dysplasia. So I had to go on a search. And everything I found says it's not necessarily true about dogs putting on weight after a spay (no more than a woman growing fat cause she's had a hysterectomy - I probably spelled that wrong)

http://www.ratterrier.com/html/spaying.html

 

Yep same, Miah gained heaps when she was spayed.

 

As for feeding her more, I determine how much to feed by watching my dogs. You should be able to feel her ribs but not see them, and she should have a narrowing at her waist. If she is like this, she's fine. If she starts packing some on, cut back. If she starts to thin out too much, feed more!

Bonnie is starting to look a little ribby to me, so I am upping her food. I think even though she weighs about 10 pounds less than Nala, she needs to eat the same amount of food or maybe even a little more. Even with Nala's activity level, she seems to gain weight very easily so I watch her food portions closely. Nala is hungry 24/7, or so she would make you think.


Jamiya

 

Harley is still pretty lean. She has the "hour glass" figure. Small at the waist, ribs are FINALLY not showing. she looks gorgeous. I will have to get more pics.

Too bad I couldn't look like her. :wink:

 

I know what you mean. Bonnie has that build. I thought she was terribly skinny when I got her and tried to fatten her up - turns out that is just her shape! But she does seem to be getting a little ribby now so I am going to increase her portions.


Jamiya