07/14/2025
Attached is a different study not referenced to or linked in DVM Becker’s article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34332118/
Obviously not all dogs are candidates; BPH, for example.
I’M ON TESTOSTERONE REPLACEMENT!
🥜New Study Shows Testosterone Therapy May Help Neutered Dogs Feel Better🥜
A new veterinary study found that giving testosterone, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), to neutered male dogs may help correct health and behavior issues caused by hormone loss (not so shocking to doctors that practice functional wellbeing: lifelong hormones matter!).
NO ONE IS AGAINST STERILIZATION (please read that again, before you comment); it’s the updated surgical techniques that vets need to learn to sterilize AND preserve crucial hormones.
When males have their go**ds 🥜 cut off as puppies (vs. a sterilizing vasectomy) they lose their supply of lifelong testosterone, and then what happens?
“Spayed and neutered dogs have been reported to have a higher incidence of obesity, urinary incontinence, urinary calculi, atopic dermatitis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, hypoadrenocorticism, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, immune- mediated thrombocytopenia, inflammatory bowel disease, hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate ligament rupture, aggressive and fearful behavior, cognitive dysfunction syndrome, prostate adenocarcinoma and transitional cell adenocarcinoma. Musculoskeletal issues may be especially significant for large breed dogs gonadectomized before they have finished growing, as bone physeal closure is delayed,” says reproductive expert Dr. Michelle Kutzler, DVM, PhD, DACT, Professor of Theriogenology (all of her statments are backed by studies, of course, link to Dowoadable PDF of research also in comments).
This group of symptoms is sometimes called “spay-neuter syndrome,” and in this most recent study, researchers gave weekly testosterone injections to neutered male dogs for 90 days. They tested different doses and monitored the dogs closely.
What they found:
* The treatment was safe, even at high doses.
* Testosterone levels returned to normal, without side effects.
* Hormone imbalances improved, especially the levels of a hormone called LH, which rises after neutering and may be linked to certain cancers.
* The dogs’ general health, behavior, and lab values stayed stable or improved (like Homer’s!).
This is the first published safety study using HRT testosterone injections in neutered dogs. It gives veterinarians a starting point for helping dogs who may be struggling with life after des*xing 🥳!
Why it matters: This research offers hope for dogs who suffer from hormone-related issues after being neutered. Hormone replacement—when done safely and under veterinary guidance—can improve quality of life in a way we haven’t been able to offer before— I know because I’m doing it for my neutered rescue dog, Homer (who, at 17, needed this therapy to bring him back to vigor 💥).
I advocate vets learn different sterilization surgical techniques for this very reason: vascetomy and hysterectomy remove reproductive potential without compromising endocrine balance, but until these newer techniques are taught in vet schools (hopefully y’all have signed my petition begging vet schools worldwide to teach these simpler alternatives, link in comments), we’re left with learning more about HRT for pets. I’m so grateful to the Parsemus Foundation for investing in this critical research (link to the study in comments); when we know more we can do better 🙏🏼. Read my comments about females, cats and vets that offer alternatives in the comments ⬇️.
