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What makes EstraPet biscuits so special?
The mission of EstraPet is to raise the level of health and longevity of spayed female and neutered male dogs. EstraPet addresses the unintended physiologic consequences of sex hormone loss from spaying and neutering. This loss (either gradual or abrupt) adversely affects bones, joints, ligaments, bladder function, muscles, and the cardiovascular system, as well as brain, eye lens and retina tissues. (Just like in people.) The rich isoflavones that are the patented hormone replacing ingredients of EstraPet have the proven benefits of compensating almost entirely for all of the effects of this loss. The scientific evidence for the benefits of EstraPet's ingredients is presented in “THE SCIENCE OF ESTRAPET" section. Over 100 articles with the abstracts and a "Dr. Phil's Comments" explanation at the end will help explain the meaning and significance regarding your pet’s health and longevity. Should there still be question you can reach Dr.Phil directly by clicking on the "TALK TO THE DOCTOR" section. He will personally respond as accurately as possible.
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My dog was spayed as a puppy. What are some of the symptoms of her hormone loss, and how does EstraPet help her?
The most recognized symptom for our "fixed" male and female dogs (as in humans) regards the skeleton. We humans get osteopenia (bone thinning) and osteoporosis that manifests as compression fractures of the spine, fragility of the ribs and hips, as well as “arthritis”, and loss of height. Dogs have skeletal symptoms as well, but it shows up as “degenerative arthritis” that first affects the joints. Their bones are thinned by hormone loss, just as in people. However, they seldom go on to frank osteoporosis with spontaneous fractures, etc. Their manifestation is a 50% + incidence of “arthritis” by the age of 7. The other main manifestation of hormone deficiency in dogs regards the premature incidence of periodontal disease and tooth loss. Teeth that are anchored in better and denser mandible and alveolar bones simply last longer and do better. The isoflavones in EstraPet restore bones to full strength and density. The evidence is cited in “THE SCIENCE OF ESTRAPET” in the “Bone / Joint” section. There are many other manifestations of sex hormone loss, but this should get you started.
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Why has it taken so long for it to be recognized that our dogs suffer from sex hormone loss? And why hasn’t anything been done for it sooner?
Tim M., Martinez, CA
The short answer is because the linkage between cause and effect is not immediately apparent. The hot topic of the early 1980s was trying to identify the cause of AIDS. The long disparity between the infection with HIV and varied manifestations of the disease made it hard for researchers to identify and establish the link of HIV with offbeat but identifiable infections. It has taken over 30 years to generally recognize the harmful effects of prolonged sun exposure regarding skin cancers. When I was in premed the high “normal” cholesterol level was a whopping 300 mg/dl! Now we are striving to keep it under 100 mg/dl. We in the medical and veterinary community have been well aware of the adverse effects of sex hormone loss from the very first basic sciences courses we took in med and vet school. The overwhelming need for humane animal population control relegated these troublesome “side effects” of spaying/neutering to the back burner. As to why it took so long to do something about this problem I can only speak for myself. It took me a very long time to grasp the principle that sex hormone deficiencies are a spectrum of signs and symptoms affecting various organ systems in my patients. Not every patient has the same set of complaints or clinical presentation. Regarding my dogs and further research, the same principle holds for mammals in general. Humans get hot flashes. Most mammals don’t except monkeys and rats. Humans get osteoporosis. Dogs and cats don’t. Dogs do get an exceedingly high incidence of “degenerative arthritis” and middle age tooth loss. All of us mammals tend to get fat. Also I was conflicted by a number of issues. First, I DO agree on the compelling need and the greater good of humane animal pet population control. That is a slam-dunk! Second, if we were to do vasectomies for the males and tubal ligation on females that still leaves us pet owners dealing with the twice a year estrus cycles (heat) with all the mess and all the male dogs in the neighborhood hanging out at our door or our male dogs running off after a female that is in heat. Third, doing a “full spay” on females and complete castration (neutering) on males and then giving them natural hormone replacement would require many vet visits, prescriptions, lots of expense, hassle, and could easily increase gender related cancers. My menopausal patients in the throes of the “change of life” were not usually adequately relieved of the anxiety, insomnia, and flushing symptoms using soy isoflavones as hormone replacement. It seemed that there simply wasn’t an easy way to have the absolute contraception required for humane pet population control as well as normal physiology and a robust, full lifespan for our dogs at the same time. Nothing changed until several years ago while my wife and I were discussing the continued weight gain of our spayed dogs in spite of daily jogs of several miles. She suggested that our dogs were in menopause (from spaying) as were many of my overweight patients. That, along with ongoing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment of both my mother and her brother (yes, men get breast cancer, too), compelled me to revisit the latest understanding of sex hormones and what could be used as a safe and effective substitute.
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Why is EstraPet a biscuit treat?
What dog likes to eat bitter pills? Giving our dogs a treat is a no-brainer. We pet owners do this at least once a day. Getting my dogs to eagerly chomp on a delicious 40+% chicken, multigrain and whole kernel barley (for plaque and breath improvement) biscuit treat with 60 mg of soy isoflavones requires only resisting their entreaties for more. In this age of multi-tasking it makes sense to make a treat that simultaneously is delicious, eagerly devoured, and functionally restores sex hormone loss from spay/neutering. Your dogs will think that it is a real treat but you will know better!
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Where can I buy EstraPet biscuits?
You can order online at www.estrapet.com. Also, we will be posting a list of stores where you can purchase them.
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How many treats can they have per day?
The recommended starting level is one biscuit per 20 lbs of weight each day. Safety studies show safety in isoflavone content is greater than 83 biscuits (that's over 40 lbs of biscuits) per 20 lbs dog weight per day.
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