De-sexing And Muscle Tone

[Fady]

Just wondering if getting a dog de-sexed will have an effect on his muscle tone.

My vet has told me it won't, but it's hard to believe that losing all that testosterone will have no impact at all.

What have everyones experiences been?

[Dogsfevr]

go to an agility trial & see all the spayed dogs there in great condition.

Dogs(male or female) muscle condition is all about exercise

[Faolmor]

go to an agility trial & see all the spayed dogs there in great condition.

Dogs(male or female) muscle condition is all about exercise

Completely agree.

I have 2 desexed here, and no problems whatsoever with loss of muscle tone. My dogs are fit and well-exercised. You can see the muscles moving under their coats.

[kritta]

If you don't use it you loose it

[Clyde]

They do tend to lose their edge a bit, some lose a bit of drive. So in that sense these dogs get a little more chilled/lazy and so yes, they will lose muscle tone.

However if you keep up the exercise and even up it a bit then you should be able to retain muscle tone.

All of my pets have gained weight since being desexed so it's just a matter of adjusting their diets. My Rotti went to flab when done but with a bit of work he is now in even better shape than before!

[Tiggy]

I think it does make a difference. I wish I'd held off desexing Banjo until he was 12-18 months because he did lose that edge. He's still gorgeous though.

[alanglen]

In my personal opinion I see more and better muscled desexed dogs in the agility ring or the herding fields, than in the showring with entire dogs. There is definately a difference between entire versus desexed but it's not true muscle but more in the bulk and often fat present.