Coat changes after neutering

[Sue and Cash]

Here is a picture of Cash since we said we would watch him to see if his coat changes.  It has been about 8 weeks I think since his neutering maybe 7.  He lost the ripples and thick stuff he had all over his spine.  It was wild at times and I am glad it is gone.  I know that he is at the age now, 9 months this week, to lose puppy coat anyway.  But the hair in its place is so dry and wispy.  Lighter in color also.  And sheds.  Not sure if it is from the neuter or the coat changing naturally.  I thought it takes months to see the changes hormonally from castration.  At least that is what I read.    Here he is as of tonight.  He was always a fuzzy wooly coated puppy.  So it might not be a fair evaluation yet.  Since he was called Chewbacca for you Star Wars fans as a baby.  He is cute though.  And the hair growing over his ankles?  Do you guys trim that?  I was told leave it as long as it doesn't grow over the ankles.  Suggestions please.

[Paige P]

Well, I love his name - kind of annoyed I didn't think of it myself!

[Sue and Cash]

Rush and Dash to go spend CASH!

[Sue and Cash]

I am in suburban chicago so I guess a play date is out of the question. But I sure would have liked that.
I think that the field bred won't get much belly coat because using them to hunt that would be a mess to clean up and care for. They are suppose to have less coat for their purpose.

[Elizabeth I Cerins]

What a discussion and I probably should have signed in earlier to it.

Rauri turns 3 in December and I made the decision to have him neutered, date is set tomorrow.  I agonized over this and read and read about the health issues and finally decided to do it.  But I am still conflicted.  His coat is gorgeous and he is healthy.  My husband does not want me to do this using the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it adage'  but I worry down the road.  As usual my vet here in Canada is for neutering but wanted to wait until Ruairi was mature physically.

 Has anyone had experience with a mature setter being neutered?

[Elizabeth I Cerins]

Further to the above...I cancelled his appointments

[Rachel Ryan]

Cash is adorable, we had our IS neutered at 16 months of age as he had a retained testicle ( we had previously posted on forum for advice). In the end we made the decision to do this to lower the risk of cancer and pain Perry may encountered due to this issue and we also live in the city and Perry mixes with other dogs etc. So far I haven't noticed any changes in his coat, its been one month. I agree with other posts that we all need to do what we think is best for our beloved dogs. It seems to be a real issue with IS whether to have them desexed or not. I have had other breeds and no one seems to care less???

Perry is happy and very loved. He does seem to be more settled, though we still have the issue of jumping up on people and other kids ( he doesn't do this to my son who is 7 and Perry is like his brother). so on a side note, if any one has any advice on how to stop IS jumping up on people to say hi, please do so.  

[Dixie Cruise]

Hi all!  I posted on this thread back in 2010 (where does the time go???!)  My advice then was that each person should choose whether to neuter or not with a clear conscience ... there is no wrong or right answer and all decisions are made with love for our dogs.  I still stand by this position, but after watching my beautiful Cosmo's coat go orange and fuzzy while his rambunctious demeanor stayed as crazy as ever, I can say that for myself I would NEVER neuter another setter again.

I still maintain that Cash is totally adorable!

[Judith Wilson-Pates]

I’m very late on this thread, but it’s only become an issue for us in the past year or two. Blaise was spayed at 6 months and kept her dark, silky mahogany coat until she was 8 or 9 years old. She’s now 10-½, has more blonde highlights than before and, of course, is getting a bit ”grey” in the face. The main concern though is her coat texture, which seems drier and fuzzier than before. She’s also either shedding more or the fuzziness is making the fallen hair clump into annoying balls all over the furniture and floor. Previously, I had a show setter (Blaise is “pet quality”—i.e., has only an 8-generation pedigree with only one champion in the line). Mariah had also been spayed early, due to an injury at 4 months. She was 3-½ yrs. old when I got her. Her coat was lighter in color (chestnut rather than mahogany) than Blaise’s and heavy with an almost wooly undercoat. I don’t know if there’s much difference in spaying at 4 months and spaying at 6 months. I assume the differences in the two females’ coats are simply genetic. But I could be wrong. In any case, it’s always seemed ironic to me that the show dog (she had a 16-generation pedigree full of champs and came from a renowned kennel) had a coat that, while superior in length and fullness, was less fine in texture with less intensity of color than the pet dog’s.

[Christina Herrmann]

Hello Sue, your boy is a beauty!! Look at the rich hair on his tail. It looks great and will continue to do so, I am sure. I think the hair above his ankles could be groomed a bit to look tidy in a good way. You are lucky Cash enjoys grooming routines. By the way he has a very beautiful head, as well!! A truly handsome boy, who may move in any time...(just kidding, of course)... Kind regards, Christina

[Sue and Cash]

[Sue and Cash]

This thread is super old.  Cash is turning 10 next month!  He is a hairy fuzzy guy and I don't mess with grooming much anymore.  Shave his neck and he fights me on trimming him up these days.  He is a wonderful dog though.  He gets to run in the woods, get himself full of burrs and just enjoy himself.  He is a pet.  

[Christina Herrmann]

Hello, I know!! I saw it the second I posted my reply. How embarassing...Thanks for the "fresh" pic of your darling boy. So sweet... Kind regards,