I recently had Shaed spayed (sometime in May) and she had already blown her coat right before her heat. She is now blowing a little more coat.
So, I wonder if it has to do with the hormonal change, or maybe since it's been a little hot (90's for the last week and pretty humid).

Her diet hadn't been changed until today (went from EVO to HealthWise for financial purposes-both are made by the same company), there have been no other changes to note.

Also, was wondering if anyone else has had to change dog foods with the recent economic events. It's tough to have to drive 140mi round trip every month to get food for our dogs, with gas prices going through the roof and no good dog food available where we live (Alco and Pamida are the only choices for dog food in a 60mi radius, besides raw which went out the window as soon as Lily turned into the 120lb monsterous beast she is now). I also was wondering if anyone knew anything about HealthWise food besides being produced by the same company as EVO.

Keleah,

My 3 yo GSD female was spayed 8 months ago and my older GSD male was neutered a year ago. They had their annual physicals a few weeks ago and I asked the vet to run blood-work on them as well.

Both of their thyroid levels turned out to be too low. Anyway, as far as I know, altered dogs are more likely to develop hypothyroidism, and it tends to happen more in medium to large breeds. I believe excess shedding may be a sign of hypothyroidism.

Just a thought =)

My Lab has hypothyroidism, so since he got it and he's still intact I've done a lot of research. Altered females have a greater chance of getting hypothyroidism than an intact male. Certain breeds are more prone to getting it. Any spayed/neutered dog has a greater chance (3 x's the risk) of getting hypothyroidism. Some of the symptoms include and aren't limited to: fatigue, hair loss, dry brittle coat, overweight, tires easy, depressed, diarrhea, constipation, cold intolerance, etc.

Shaed hasn't gained or lost any weight that I can physically see, she isn't lathargic, doesn't get tired easy, etc. But it is a something that I should keep in mind, Melissa. I tend to forget that she's been spayed and now I'll have to watch for strange health things

I read this article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1101951/hypothyroidism_in_dogs_is_incurable.html?cat=53
and really wondered if Otto (our lab) had hypothyroidism or something else. He now has allergies and that could've possibly been the problem the whole time-we don't know for sure yet, but we'll be finding out this coming week at his checkup for his hot spot and ear infection we just treated.

As an owner of a coated breed, surge in hormones, followed by lack of hormones means coat loss. Gobs and gobs of coat loss pretty much with every heat cycle. Sometimes its enough to make a groomer want to cry.

This hormone nightmare is one of the reason in coated breeds it's very common for a male dog to have a much nicer coat than a bitch. It's also why some confirmation showers put their bitches on drugs to delay heat cycles.

So, it's been a year since the double blowing of coat within a few months (after Shaed being altered). Here's what's going on: She has been constantly shedding/blowing coat for the last 3 months. No major changes in diet (went from raw to natural kibble a couple wks ago, due to financial situation, and all have been doing fine with that), no changes in exercise/activities, the only thing that's different is the weather has been more humid than normal.

I seriously wonder if she's shedding/blowing coat like this because she's been spayed (lack of hormones possibly causing it to last longer?). She had no problems after she blew coat the last time (last year), no major shedding, nothing. So, for her to be going on about 3 months of heavy shedding, kind of driving me nuts-all the hair all over my house (more than the norm and me being preggo doesn't help). Her coat isn't thin by any means, no other health issues. We have helped her drop some of the weight she put on over the winter (she had gained 10 lbs), just has me scratching my head in wonder.

Anyone else have something similar happen once they spayed/neutered thier GSD (or similar shedding breed) and have it not be a thyroid prob?

Guess not... hmmm.

Good thing I've devoloped an OCD for swiffering and vacuuming my house on a daily basis, or I'd go absolutely insane because of all the dog hair all over the place.

Sorry! I have experienced that with mine (non GSD's though), hair everywhere. The worst offenders had thyroid function checked and all normal, reason unknown. So I chalked it up to a new test for me to overcome, patience! Plus wear mostly dark clothes

Take her in to a groomer and have them blow out every loose follicle on that german shedder. Then see how much you're getting. It's possible there is a thyroid issue. Or it's possible she just is holding onto coat that would have shed out if her coat weren't so thick. I've worked on GSDS where after the blow dryer I can see a neat outline of a german shepherd on the wall from all the hair that got blown out.