15/05/2026
We have had a very interesting case recently and the owner wanted us to share it as a warning to other owners!
We had an older female dog who had been spayed several years ago when she was younger. Just recently she had started to show signs of being in season again. Blood tests were taken to check that she had no remaining ovarian tissue (this can occasionally happen as a complication of surgery) but in this instance, this was not the case.
An ultrasound shows some slightly abnormal tissue at the "stump" of the uterus (womb) - possibly had an infection. There was no response to antibiotics and so an exploratory surgery was performed and found the remaining section of uterus was swollen and cystic. This is highly unusual in a dog that has been spayed.
This tissue was removed and send for histology and the results came back that it was hormonally reactive. We were struggling to work out how this was possible when one of the vets remembered reading a paper about dogs being affected by HRT treatment.
We spoke to the owner and we discovered that she had indeed started using HRT recently and the dog liked to cuddle and lick against her arms (where the cream was applied). We think she was getting enough oestrogen from this cream residue to "unspay" herself and start becoming hormonally active again.
Sure enough - once the owner prevented this contact with the cream, the dog's symptoms disappeared really quickly.
Studies have shown that pets can absorb enough hormone through their skin (or mouths if they lick) to be affected by them!
So please - if you are using any medicated skin creams/gels - please be careful not to let your pet come into contact with it!
(Thank you to the owner of this dog for actively wanting to share this information for the benefit of other pets!)
