Prostate Disorders in the GSD - Page 2

haines04, a GSD can have HD with no symptoms that suddenly flares up due to inflammation and referred pain from prostatitis.  Another reason why this disorder is so difficult to pick up and why it can be so sinister.  Some reproductive vets thing that chronic prostatitis is a lot more common in middle aged male GSDs than commonly known.  That is why it is important to have a very good Vet who is able to do a good exam of your dog's prostate.  Any GSD used for breeding or that has had any suspicious symptoms or urinary tract or prostate symptoms should have a baseline ultrasound of the testicles and prostate.  Do your research and find a good reproductive Vet, they are often less expensive than regular vets for ultrasound.  GSD enthusiasts need to be informed about prostatitis and how it presents so obliquely.  It can create a great deal of suffering for the male GSD if ignored and left untreated.  You can be certain that there are at least a handful of famous top winning zuchtschau GSDs right now that need treatment for this sinister disorder. Ultrasound is the only definitive way to diagnose it.

There is usually and advantage for buying online.

Check out another link for the 200 mg tabs of Zinequin: http://www.thepetdrugs.com/index.cfm?page=products_detail&productid=461 At $8.50/tab, this would total a months supply to $255.00. Still a considerable savings.

Just curious about the success of preventive measures to prevent bacterial infections and prostatic hypererplasia.

For example, I have two stud dogs (7.5 years old and nearly 10) whose grandsire became sterile at ~8 years of age. In order to preserve the health of their male reproductive systems, starting about a year ago, I began maintaining them on oral supplemental zinc, Saw Palmetto, L-arginine, vitamin E, Tribulus Terrestris (cycling this product on and off). 

About two years ago, after a month of 3 digit weather, I noticed that the quality of the semen of the primarily outdoor dog was not as good as that of the indoor dog. I know that excessive ambient temperatures may adversely affect semen production. Therefore, both my boys remain in the air-conditioned house during the daytime in unusually warm weather.

While I don't know if there is a causal relationship, both of my males have excellent levels of libido and produce large, heathy litters.

I'm also wondering how efficacious all of the above measures woud be if applied to a dog successfully treated with Zinequin and Proscar (and weaned from these medications.

Louise, your ideas on temperature range affecting fertility of the male have been proven in human medical research, as have your use of supplements (there are medical studies showing that combinations of vitamin E, B6 and zinc promote prostate health--this is Rx'd by some urologists to their prostate patients).  Ity is well known that too much heat reduces sperm count and motility. 

As far as the other supplements, I was told by a credible source that saw palmetto in large doses can kill prostate cells (don't know if this is good or bad, may be linked to obstructing flow through the prostrate which could promote cysts), but may help shrink the prostate in small doses. There is strong evidence showing that a zinc deficiency and a vitamin E deficiency is linked to increased prostate problems.

Louise, you are way ahead ahead of your time and it is great to hear about someone providing such good overall care for their beloved GSDs.  Medical researchers are now starting to seriously consider the effects of diet on prostate issues (including prostate cancer) and have pinpointed hormones in meat from feed used to promote animal growth, and fat in red meat as likely culprits. It is possible that most treatment in the future for prostate will be purified plant based supplements.  I do know that there are studies going on now looking at the ability of certain parts of green tea to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. It is suspected that green tea extract helps promote health and some are using it as an anti-aging life extender.  One can buy this at any health food store at a reasonable cost inconcentrated form and add a few drops each day to one's dog's water or food.  The best thing anyone can do is keep their GSDs off of fluorinated water and then provide good nutrition and moderate exercise.  It is known that fluoride promotes the calcification of glands and reduces thyroid function, as well as promotes certain types of cancer.  Any additional supplements without getting extreme in dosage can enhance the dogs health and condition.  Research has shown that many of the effects of aging can be mitigated by a low fat diet, keeping one's weight reasonable, eating foods with lots of anti-oxidants in fruit and fresh vegetables, and taking reasonable amounts of basic good quality vitamins.   

Preston: Louise, you are way ahead ahead of your time and it is great to hear about someone providing such good overall care for their beloved GSDs. 
 

I'd better be ahead of my time. If I wait for the times to catch up with me, I will be dead--LOLOL!

Forgot to mention that salmon oil acts as anti-inflammatory and promotes prostate health.

My dogs are my pets but also reflect a considerable financial investment. When their grandsire became functionally sterile in the late 90's, I did a litte research (using the human male as a model) and restored his fertility with the above supplements. When I told my repro vet what I had done, that bitches were now becoming pregnant, and asked if she wished to do another semen analysis, she shook her head and replied: "why bother?".

Louise, I will list below a recent formulation based on some of the latest medical research on prostate.  It was done by MD reserachers for humans but should work just as well on GSDs.  MD urological specialists formulated a proprietary mixture of supplements based on this research.  Below is their formulation.  So far it has a good track record for promoting a healthy prostate gland.  A number of Vet reserachers have stated that the dog's prostrate can serve as a model and test bed for treating male prostate problems and that those treatments that help the human male will also help the canine male.  Thus we now see the use of proscar to shrink the prostate by Vets in older GSDs who start to have difficulty urinating or defecating due to an enlarged prostate.  If you want further information on this supplement which is now sold by a group of these MDs, PM me and I'll give you the information:

Vitamin D 1600 IU;  Vitamin E 100 IU; Selenium 200 McG;  Soy (as Novasoy 40% or 50MG isoflavones) 125  MG;  Lycopene 30 MG

Recent research has shown that purified fish oil has strong anti-inflammatory action, enhancing brain and nerve function, as does flax seed oil.   Olive oil is well recognized for lowering the uinflammation of blood vessels and helps prevent hardening of the arteries.  Old time Vets used to claim that using natural apple cider vinegar in a bitches food every day (2 tablespoons/day) would enhance fertility and produce shorter delivery times and healthier puppies with better coats.   Some farmers used to feed this to their pregnant cows also and claimed it minimized delivery issues.  Supposedly there are a lot of essential minerals in apple cider vinegar which are helpful to health.  I am referring here to the type sold in health food stores, I don't know if the product sold in regular grocery stores is as good.