Wakefield vets' warning as 12-week-old puppy 'in season' after 'absorbing' owner's HRT hormone cream

Lilly was taken to Paragon Veterinary Referrals and was in season, which is unusual for such a young puppy. Investigations established Lilly had been in contact with hormonal cream a household member was using on their forearms. She had absorbed the cream when close by and displayed signs of season.

Hormonal cream containing oestrogen (HRT) can be life-threatening to dogs but Lilly has made a full recovery. Lilly’s owner Kirsty Mattinson said: “Lilly’s vulva seemed to be looking more swollen each day and we thought it may have been an allergy.

“We very concerned but the team at Paragon were excellent and kept us constantly updated. I’ve learnt an important lesson and my advice to dog owners is to keep them away from hormone products that you may use on your body.”

In more prolonged cases, the consequences can be dire as they can cause life-threatening bone marrow toxicity in dogs. Lara Baptista, a clinician in small animal internal medicine at Paragon, said: “Lilly is fortunate as her owners realised something was wrong and took action. By identifying the cause of the problem Lilly was no longer exposed to the hormonal cream. Once the contact with the cream is stopped, the signs should resolve themselves.

“We would echo Kirsty’s advice in that dog owners using hormonal cream containing oestrogen (HRT) shouldn’t let their pets come into contact with the area where they are applying the cream as the consequences can be very upsetting.”

More information on Paragon Veterinary Referrals can be found online.