Solid Gold's Latest Idiocy

Just wondering,do you think Solid Gold isn't any good?  I've been feeding it to my dal for awhile and it's about the only one she does relatively well on(allergies). I know the owner has Great Danes  and claims she has done much research when she was in Germany.I actually talked to her directly about allergies in dals and she was very knowledgeable. She has a Master's Degree and began a doctoral program at the Universaty of Berkely and finished at Universaty of Southern California.  She is the one who  started holistic dogfood in the U.S.  I don't know much about breeding,but I would think she does,as she went to Germany to get her danes and was a breeder since 1958.  Again,I hope what she claims is true.

I have no problem with their food ingredient wise. Part of Ginny's roation is actuall BATM. They are fine in that department.

 I just think they are terribly, terribly overpriced.

 My main issue is with their supplements, because they throw things in willy-nilly and charge you a buck and a half for it in addition to the food. And something like this I think could be actually dangerous to a pregnant/conceiving dog. A DVM/PhD in theriogenology (reproduction) at my school and I were talking about repro nutrition, and she mentioned this to me and how ridiculous it was...I looked it up for myself and cannot help  but agree

 I think Solid Gold's dog food is very good.

However, many companies that make great dog food make stupid decisions in other areas (like Timberwolf Organics and their less-than-stellar customer service). Just because they're making a dubious supplement doesn't necessarily mean you need to be afraid of their kibble. :) 

 At first glance i cant see anything wrong with the ingredients in this supp. Although i hav'nt studied each one in depth,so cant say for sure one way or the other. I would have thought that if there was anything "dangerous" in this supplement then they wouldnt be selling it...Surely they looked into each of them before putting them on the market.

I know RRL is used quite regularly by breeders,or used to be anyways. 

What are the side effects/contraindications of these that worry you so much WTFrequency?

Even if Wild Yam is a natural source of progesterone (which I don't think it is, but I could be mistaken), it would not be harmful to a pregnant dog....this supplement may not "work" as intended, but it certainly isn't going to be harmful. 

My issue is --

NO ONE KNOWS if this is going to be harmful or not. No studies were done. No testes were done. These compounds have been shown to have effects on humans, variable effects, but effects nonetheless (wild yam extract is used in a lot of natural peri-menopausal supplements in women). Without real canine studies, I would not put a potentially hormonal product on the market.

Over-administration of progesterone can cause endometrial hyperplasa and subsequent inflammation, as well as potentially interfering with other hormones released at the time of parturition. Too much progesterone in the system (it is stored in the body, usually fat, so if you supplement a lot you can have an excess) can also cause partutition issues since prog usually drop at that time. If it doesn't, smooth muscle contraction, etc will all be inhibited.

I repeat again, I have no issue with their food besides the price. It is just "specialty" junk like thus.

I'm not tryint to be an alarmist, it just really bothers me that people are so keen on messing around with something important like hormones.

whtsthfrequency

Over-administration of progesterone can cause endometrial hyperplasa and subsequent inflammation, as well as potentially interfering with other hormones released at the time of parturition. Too much progesterone in the system (it is stored in the body, usually fat, so if you supplement a lot you can have an excess) can also cause partutition issues since prog usually drop at that time. If it doesn't, smooth muscle contraction, etc will all be inhibited.

It would take direct injections of HIGH concentrations of P4 (progesterone) to cause endometrial hyperplasia...that is a very rare occurence.  P4 supplementation during pregnancy is actually pretty beneficial if you have an animal that has problems carrying their pregnancy to term.  Some dogs have issues with their neurotransmitters and the "positive feedback loops" from their placental lactogen that causes the continual release of P4 which maintains the pregnancy.  When the animal is about to give birth, the hormones from the fetus cause the ovaries to produce oxytocin which in turn causes progesterone to decrease, and uterine contractions to occur.  Because of this, no matter if there is a supplement or not the fetus is going to release the precursors to oxytocin which will cause contractions no matter what.  The only time this would not occur is if direct injections of high concentrations of P4 were administered on a daily basis which MAY extend the pregnancy (there have been studies in which animals gave birth despite the injections).  If this supplement actually has therapudic levels of P4, then hopefully the breeder/whatever knows that when the due date is near they should stop any P4 supplement...the fact that the supplement says it "helps maintain pregnancy" should be a good indicator that it should be discontinued when parturition is due to occur.  However, I am willing to bet the trace amounts of P4 in "wild yams" (lol) is pretty darn low.  

 

For that matter, I don't think any herbal supplements are tested much--and none are FDA approved. She had gone to Germany and noticed that the danes lived longer there than in the US. She attributed that to the more natural diet they were receiving in Germany. No one was into holistic than.  Now, it's everywhere--animals and humans. And yes, it is expensive, but it also is expensive for human consumption. I still feel your're better off with natural versus all the chemicals in todays foods, be it animal or human.  She certainly would'nt sell anything to harm an animal,being a breeder,herself. And I still would trust her more than all these producers of meat and poultry who bombard these poor animals with God knows what chemicals to make them fat,less fat,juicy etc. And that is for human consumption.How many times have drugs been put on the market, only to be withdrawn because of birth defects or seizures,etc.Supposedly those were all tested and look what happened.I guess what I'm saying is I don't think much can go wrong with holistic,providing you follow directions.

How many times have drugs been put on the market, only to be withdrawn because of birth defects or seizures,etc.Supposedly those were all tested and look what happened.I guess what I'm saying is I don't think much can go wrong with holistic,providing you follow directions

You can't trust it just becasue someone slapped the word "holistic" and "organic" on it. So you're saying you don't trust drugs because they are tested and recalled...how do you know holistic ones are any better, they haven't even been tested?

Remember a chemical is a chemical is a chemical, whether it is made in a lab or is found in the leaves of a plant, whether it is "synthetic" or "natural"

You make an excellent point. I'm a huge proponent of organic foods for people and pets. However, just because it says "organic" or "natural" doesn't mean it may not be as dangerous as food with "synthetic" chemicals. Research is still needed to find out why we'd want to feed something, organic or otherwise to our dogs.

I did say as long as you follow the directions--meaning, if it states you are taking any certain types of medications,there may be a reaction of some sort if not taken properly. Actually,I was thinking of giving my dal echinachea to help with her immune system,but after reading about it, I decided against it.It stated it should not be taken for a long period of time,so therefore I figured it wouldn't be of much help to her for her allergies long term.  I'm not for everything natural myself,depending on what it is and how long you take it,but many other countries go for more natural things and it seems they are healthier.  And in this case, are you not talking about only when a dog is pregnant?  I mean,I thought wild yam is full of anti-oxidents and good for you during menopause.  I just feel certain natural things aren't bad for you or can harm you.  I'm not arguing with you,I do think the Solid Gold woman does do her research--but than again,I'm no scientist.

 Non-drug supplements do not to be tested in the U.S.

What Solid Gold is doing is taking a supplement that is currently available to humans and making it available to dogs.

 ANYONE, taking supplements for ANY reason, needs to do their homework and make an educated decision.  The same holds true for people who supplement dogs. 

The problem is not Solid Gold making a supplement - the problem is people who don't make educated decisions.  I'm not going to blame SG for that, anymore than I blame the vitamin companies for selling things I'm not personally hot on.  People have choices.  In the absence of proof that a supplement is harmful, I support others having the option to use it if they believe in it.