Raising Awareness on Canine Hormone Health or Advocating for Hormone-Sparing Solutions

It has been four months since I started Pax on hormone replacement therapy, and it’s time for another update. If you missed the previous ones, here’s a brief recap:

Pax grew up as a healthy and strong puppy, and I thought I had natural health nutrition dialed in. However, life always has something new to teach us about dogs, especially when we “should know everything”.

As a service dog for my sleepwalking, Pax had to be neutered to be officially certified.

Six months later, he started getting injured, which I now know was due to the absence of testosterone and related muscle loss.

It took me a couple of very frustrating years to figure this out. I was worried and knew there was a missing piece of the puzzle.

But I never give up!

After a relentless search, I came across the research of two amazing colleagues, specialists, and scientists, Dr. Linda Brent, PhD, MBA, MS, BS and Dr. Michelle Kutzler, DVM, PhD, DACT and it all clicked!

Pax was getting injured as a result of having no testosterone, which we now know is crucial in the muscular-skeletal health of male dogs.

Thanks to the help and support of my dear colleagues, I was able to gather all the necessary information and started Pax on hormone replacement therapy.

How is sex hormone replacement therapy done in dogs?

The treatment consists of a small, microchip-sized implant of Suprelorin (deslorelin) that reduces the unnatural levels of LH (luteinizing hormone), which increases in all neutered and spayed animals. The elevated levels lead to inflammation and a tendency to injuries.

After a month of deslorelin, I started Pax on testosterone, added JointButter advanced mobility support, and regular laser treatments.

Here’s a timeline of progression and what you can expect if your dog has been suffering from conventional spay and neuter decline and you decide on hormone replacement therapy:

PHASE 1: Pax received Suprelorin (March)

I noticed an almost immediate change in his behaviour. The first day, he slept as if he ran a marathon, but the next day, he was brighter, more alert, and happier. However, I noticed him itching, his coat became coarse, and he shed heavily.

PHASE 2: Pax started receiving weekly subcutaneous injections of testosterone cypionate (April)

While some sources suggest monthly injections of 2mg/kg, I started Pax on 0.5 mg/kg weekly under the skin (SQ). Based on the research done by Dr. Kutzler and Dr. Brent, male dogs do better on smaller, more frequent doses to avoid severe hormone fluctuations.

Almost instantly, the itching stopped, and his skin was no longer “twitchy” along his spine, which usually comes with para-spinal muscle strain and inflammation.

He started gaining muscle, and the change was very noticeable within four weeks.

Unfortunately, at this point, Pax continued to limp intermittently with lameness shifting from one hind leg to another. I was still very worried.

PHASE 3: We started Pax on JointButter and laser therapy (May)

During the first three weeks of laser treatments and daily JointButter doses, we began to see shifts in the level of muscle and joint inflammation from his sacral-lumbar and iliac-sacral area (the hip region) to the calves, heels, and feet until one day, he was no longer limping!

It took three years (!!!) to find a solution; you can imagine how thrilled we are! Pax is happy and running, and while I am still careful, he appears to have completely recovered, which makes me feel so happy and grateful.

What’s next?

There is an issue we need to solve!

For decades, we have been unknowingly causing damage by taking our dogs’ hormones away which has led to many health issues. Just thinking about how many dogs have been affected by the same problems as Pax makes me feel like I have no choice but to sound an alarm!

What problems are caused by this issue?

Based on research, the absence of sex hormones in dogs can affect muscles and joints, lead to cruciate ligament tears, thyroid gland dysfunction, organ failure, fearfulness, and aggression (due to brain inflammation), and increase the incidence of some types of cancers, such as lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma and osteosarcoma.

How can we prevent this from going on?

As a community, we need to promote hormone-sparing sterilization and inform people that conventional neutering and spaying procedures are no longer acceptable methods of preventing dog homelessness.

About a month ago, I met with Dr. Michelle Kutzler and Dr. Linda Brent and decided to organize an information campaign to make the necessary shift.

We now need a few amazing volunteers to help us raise funds and get organized for the most significant impact so we can prevent more dogs from being affected by the absence of vitally important sex hormones.

If you would like to contribute to this mission, please click here to tell us what skills you would like to offer, or if you would like to contribute financially to the campaign.

If you suspect your dog has been affected by the absence of hormones, send us an email to customercare@peterdobias.com to share your dog’s story.

Tens of thousands of dogs are neutered and spayed conventionally every day, and suffer from the consequences of lack of hormones.

I really believe we can change this together with you and all the open vets out there.

Our dogs need our protection to live many happy and healthy years by our side.

Thank you for considering being a part of the solution.