Hormone replacement therapy in neutered and spayed dogs – Dr. Dobias Natural Healing

Knowing this, your dog may be very lucky

In the last email about Pax, I explained why many dogs end up with health issues after losing their sex hormone producing glands and that we must change the way to prevent dog overpopulation and homelessness.

I mentioned the very important work of Dr. Michelle Kutzler, Dr. Linda Brent, Dr. Karen Becker, and Dr. Ruth… which strives to change the status quo through research, petitioning, and education about hormone-sparing birth control.

The argument makes sense: people aren’t neutered and spayed to prevent unwanted pregnancies, so why should dogs be allowed when hormone-sparing birth control is available?!

Vasectomy and hysterectomy allow puppies to grow into healthy, strong adults without increasing the number of homeless dogs.

In the past, I also mentioned that for some time, my dog ​​Pax was affected by a lack of testosterone. About six months after he was neutered, he started getting injured. I began to question why, and to be honest, seeing my dog’s decline was very painful, not only personally and emotionally but also on a professional level.

So, I started looking for answers, knowing it wasn’t an issue of nutrition, a balanced diet, lack of exercise, or lack of chiropractic and rehabilitation. I did all that but;

Something is missing…

I was very lucky to stumble upon the research of Dr. Kutzler and Brent and after conducting several interviews and studying the available research, I took the route of least regret and started Pax on a hormone replacement therapy protocol.

My account of the experience so far

First stage of treatment:

I put Pax on Suprelorin, an under the skin implant that lowers pro-inflammatory LH (luteinizing hormone) levels about a month ago (second half of March 2024)

The night after the implant, Pax was just himself run a marathon. He slept and slept and I almost worried that something was wrong.

The next day, he woke up fine and for the next two weeks, friends repeatedly commented on how happy he was. He doesn’t move anymore and to be honest I was shocked at the speed of the change.

The only side-effects I have seen are increased itching and a change in the texture of Pax’s coat. It was courser and he pulled out some hair which initially concerned me.

Second stage of treatment:

Pax received his first dose of testosterone one month after his Suprelorin implant. I separated the treatments to have a clear idea of ​​their individual effects.

To clarify, giving a physiological dose of testosterone to a male dog that has been neutered is very different from bodybuilders who use and abuse this hormone at higher doses.

I used a dose of 0.5 mg/kg (about 0.25 mg/lb), a total of 14 mg of testosterone subcutaneously with an insulin syringe, a 30-gauge needle, about as fine as an acupuncture needle. Pax barely noticed. Personally, I feel that the 25G needle is better, because the liquid is quite thick.

Veterinary literature suggests an intramuscular injection, however, there are studies done on humans that prove that subcutaneous injections are just as effective and clearly less painful, so I went for this route of administration with a plan to give it once a week.^[1]

My observations so far

Lasting about three days after the injection, Pax was bouncier, happier, and more than what I expected from a 5 years old dog He did not show any negative changes in his behavior, did not try to “hump” other dogs, and he also stopped itching, which is clearly related to the reduction of LH.

I will be frank, there is no clear explanation of why he was injured is very difficult. I asked what I was missing and why my dog, who was getting the best nutrition was declining and NOW I KNOW.

I suspect that there are many dogs out there that suffer from this spay and neuter syndrome, and sex hormone deficiency is at the core of many chronic medical conditions some of which have been confirmed by research.

There are studies of neutered and spayed dogs affected by higher rates of cruciate ligament tears, hypothyroidism and cancer.

So where do we go from here?

I will continue to share my experience of treating Pax and am grateful to have found this valuable piece of knowledge.

But the work is just beginning

because we need to change the status quo.

We will do our best to connect with rescue organizations and veterinarians to bring this issue to their attention and do our best to move toward hormone-sparing birth control dogs.

If you have a male dog that has been neutered, I suggest the following:

1. Ask your veterinarian to measure your dog’s luteinizing hormone levels to see if they are elevated. They are likely to be high.

2. If your male dog suffers from any inflammatory conditions – from skin, allergies, digestive issues, hormonal or organ disease or joint and mobility issues, ask your vet to start Suprelorin treatment which accompanied by testosterone.

3. If you have a female dog, it’s possible that they don’t suffer from hormone deficiencies as severely as male dogs. This is because the reproductive cycle of female dogs changes naturally. However, research on this topic is still ongoing and I will keep you updated with any new findings. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that estrogen replacement therapy has been used in female dogs to treat urinary incontinence. If your dog has chronic unresolved symptoms mentioned in this article, this may be an option worth considering.

In the next article, I will write about the whole behavior of the male dog and if are they more aggressive or not.

Make sure you don’t miss this and other updates



Sources:

(1) Gagliano-Jucá T, Basaria S. Testosterone Therapy With Subcutaneous Injections: A Safe, Practical, and Reasonable Option. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022Nov1;107(11):30893098.

(2) Animals (Basel). 2020 Apr 1;10(4):599. doi: 10.3390/ani10040599. Possible Relationship between Long-Term Adverse Health Effects of Gonadal Avoidance Surgical Sterilization and Luteinizing Hormone in Dogs. Michelle A Kutzler

(3) Volume 261: Issue 3. doi.org/10.2460/javma.22.08.0382. Vasectomy and ovary-sparing spay in dogs: comparison of health and behavioral outcomes in gonadectomized and sexually intact dogs. Chris Zink DVM, PhD, DACVSMR, Mikel M. Slim PhD and Judith L. Stella PhD

(4) Top Six Med. 2021 Nov:45:100565. doi:10.1016/j.tcam.2021. 100565. Epub 2021 Jul 28. Restoring Reproductive Hormone Concentrations in a Male Neutered Dog Improves Health: A Case Study Linda Brent, Elaine A Lissner, Michelle A Kutzler