Shocked Wakefield vets highlight danger of human HRT cream after puppy left in pain

The team at Paragon Veterinary Referrals were stunned to be presented with a 12-week-old Dachshund called Lilly who was in season, which is very unusual for such a young puppy.

However, investigations at the practice established that Lilly had been in contact with hormonal cream as a household member was using it on their forearms, causing her to absorb the cream when she was close by and display signs of season.

Lilly has made a full recovery, but in more prolonged cases, the consequences can be dire as they can cause life-threatening bone marrow toxicity in dogs.

Lilly’s shaken 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.”

Lara Baptista, 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.”

For more information on Paragon Veterinary Referrals, visit www.paragonreferrals.co.uk or search for Paragon Veterinary Referrals on social media.