My Dog Ate Estradiol What Should I Do?

Do you have estradiol medication at home? This is a very common medication used to treat a wide variety of health issues in people. But can it make your dog sick? Is estradiol toxic to dogs?

What is Estradiol?

This is a female hormone that’s used for a wide range of health issues. In fact, this is a hormone that is often used by both men and women.

This medication can be used to treat:

• Menopause symptoms (including hot flashes)
• Treat osteopenia
• Prostate cancer in men
• Breast cancer in women
• Women who can’t produce enough estrogen
• And more

But is estradiol toxic for dogs?

Estradiol & Dogs

If your dog only eats a couple of pills, you probably won’t see any symptoms. However, the higher the dose of estradiol, it can become toxic. How toxic the medication depends on the dosage ingested and the size of the dog.

Symptoms of estradiol toxicity in dogs can include:

• Fever
• Lethargy
• In female dogs, bleeding from the vulva and/or enlargement of the vulva
• Fluid build-up of the vulva
• Enlarged nipples
• Hair loss
• Persistent or recurrent infections
• Infertility
• Symptoms of being in heat
• In males, can cause decreased libido
• In male dogs, can cause heighten the sex drive
• Blood in urine
• In males, a mass on the testicles
• In males, differently sized testicles and/or decrease in penis size, as well as enlarged prostate

If your dog shows any of these symptoms after ingesting estradiol, then be sure to call the vet right away.

Treatment of Estradiol Toxicity in Dogs

If your dog has ingested only a couple of pills, chances are he will not show any symptoms afterward. Some dogs may have a little vomiting and diarrhea, which will be short-lived.

On the other hand, if your dog ingests a large number of estradiol pills, then you’ll need to call the vet right away. You’ll want to check in with the vet to see if your dog needs to be checked or not. Here, again, if your fur baby eats a bunch of pills, he’ll probably end up with diarrhea and vomiting. And then he’ll feel better.

However, in dogs who gain access to estradiol pills on a regular basis, then this is when they could develop symptoms of estradiol toxicity.

So, be sure to keep estradiol pills stored where your dog can’t access them. The best place is somewhere high where you don’t can’t reach or climb to get at the pills. In addition, you may want to put some type of child-proof locks on the cabinet, just in case your dog can climb up there!