# Spay + Blowing coat = ack!



## Busy Procrastinator (Mar 27, 2014)

It has been a rough month with Suki’s coat. I am pretty sure she is blowing her puppy coat, lots of mats and hair combing out. We got her spayed and they shaved her tummy and a foreleg for the I.V. for her She could not be bathed and barely groomed for weeks. The E-collar matted her to bits (and bruised my shins) so we got a blow-up collar that was more comfortable for everyone, but REALLY matted her. To make it worse her incision opened, twice. So back to the vet, on a long course of antibiotics – so loose stools. It was just all gross! All this and blowing her coat – so poorly timed! Poor furbaby and poor Mommy! 

She is feeling, looking and smelling better, but it seems her lovely long coat now looks short, broken and shabby. She looks ratty. 

I would love some tips on tools and products to get her coat back in shape. I know part of it is that I look at pictures of show-dog quality Havs and expect my little fluff-puppy to be a supermodel dog and she is just a silly, rough and tumble girl! Plus, well, she IS a dog. 

The nice part to all this, is that she REALLY sweetened up. She was such a brat just before her spay.


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

I hear ya! I finally got a grip back on Archer's coat with the groomer's de-matting skills, but it had really gotten ahead of me and I am having a hard time getting bf to help me comb as he still needs multiple handlers for me to get certain spots, especially working out mats. I may have to cut him way shorter than I hoped just to keep the peace on the homefront...

Anyway it is surprising how fast the coat can go downhill. I once entertained the notion of showing Havs. Really don't know how I would ever do it!! Respect to our breeders showing their dogs.


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## BettyJ (Feb 13, 2014)

Elizabeth is scheduled for her spay November 4th. I hope it doesn't ruin her coat after all our hard work. My vet uses a body shirt. I am worried too because she likes to jump so much. Any advice?


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

Mae was spayed mid September and is going through some kind of coat change now. I tried the blow up doughnut and onesie and both were matt nightmares. I ended up making a belly band which worked out great since she didn't have much hair on her tummy and her back wasn't too bad for comb outs. I'm pretty sure a regular belly band would work too. She only needed this for 10 days so it's not too long. Good luck with Elizabeth's spay, other than Mae's emotional issues she did great physically, piece of cake.


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## Busy Procrastinator (Mar 27, 2014)

Good luck with Elizabeth's spay, Betty J. Suki actually did fine with the surgery, and that might have been part of the problem - she just kept right on running around, jumping on the furniture, etc. It never slowed her down. 

Another issue was that we think our other dog was "grooming" her incision. He was very concerned about her.

Her coat is shaggy, shabby, shorter and courser now, but I think much of it is finally blown. She is still my doll-baby and honestly, I do think her temperament is much improved! Maybe its natural maturation, or maybe the spaying, but now on the other side - no regrets.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Molly felt so good after her spay that the only way I could be positive she wouldn't jump or run around was to have her in her crate or on a leash attached to me while in the house. We also had matting issues but I had her clipped a little shorter right before her spay and that did help.


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## BettyJ (Feb 13, 2014)

Thanks for the help and comments! I think I am going to pull my 24" exercise pen out ( her current one is the next size higher) and put the top on it after Elizabeth is spayed, use the crate and keep her with me on a leash. She loves to jump straight up and is very active. Hopefully the shirt will work like the belly band. If not I'll get one. Her coat has never been cut. 

What kind of emotional issues did Mae have from her spay and is she ok now?


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

She went through a false pregnancy. The timing of her spay versus the end of her cycle changed her hormones drastically enough to simulate having a litter of puppies. It took about two weeks for her to get back to normal but she was pretty pathetic taking care of her litter which consisted of a plastic pig, red ball amoung other toys. It is pretty rare for this to happen but leave it to my girl.


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