My female started her first heat cycle and her uterus has swelled up so much that it is blocking her cervix and she is having to strain to go poop. She has been to an internist and they feel she is producing to much estrogen and this is causing all of the swelling. Has anyone ever had a situation like this happen to them before? If so, is there any medication or treatment that can help reduce the amount of estrogen that is being produced?

TIA

Yes, I had a bitch that did that. I kept a close eye on her during her heat cycles, but it never progressed to anything serious. Just one of those odd things...

Did the swelling go down as her heat cycle ended?

This is a subject I have lots of experience with!
I have a girl whose first season around 12 mo was a nightmare. Big estrogen flush and she gradually slowed down in her ability to pass stool, squatting and straining until we thought she might have an obstruction and took xray (she was still a chewing puppy). Nothing evident and vet put her on high residue diet to push things through. WRONG! Next xray showed grossly impacted intestine and a mega-colon type reaction where the overstretching caused all peristalsys to stop. Numerous enemas, added lactulose to low residue diet and pills to increase muscle movement(sorry, have to look up the name)didnt make much difference at this point. We are now day 8 of season and vet thinking a soft obstruction like stuffed toy, went in for exploratory surgery. Nothing blocking,just lack of movement! Got her cleaned out and she gradually recovered with low residue diet, lactulose, pumpkin, rice etc. and was fine.

Now I was scared about her next season and what happens if she has pups....
Questioned many longterm breeders who have NEVER seen this, but found an ancestor in the pedigree who had a similar problem.
Heard that some girls will have dry and ribbonlike poop that exhibits flattening during the first part of cycle, but it usually sorts itself.
It was also suggested that these girls with the huge estrogen flush are 'Fertile Myrtles' and sure enough,she had 10 pups in her first litter with good contractions!

This girl has had numerous cycles since and I found that if I micro-managed her first 10 days, we were fine
Her b movements got slower starting day 4, so I reduced her amt of kibble food, split her meals up, added 1/3 can of pumpkin each time, lactulose syrup from the pharmacy (mineral oil is yucky and didnt work)and more water than usual. I gave her a good run each day and reduced crate time, watched her like a hawk and made sure she moved a little stool each day.

After her second cycle, I dropped the lactulose and we were fine with just lots of pumpkin. She now has normal seasons but I still keep pumpkin in the cupboard and I tend to give her more vegetable scraps.
The trick is to not let it get out of hand and be vigilant day 4 to 10. At the first sign of dryness or flattening, help her out with pumpkin! Yes, it will improve in the latter part of the cycle.

I have also monitored all her daughters and they had normal first seasons. Now that I have seen this, I am super vigilant with my puppy girls.

Good luck with your girl! Email me if you have any questions.
Anne

We had a bitch swell up like a baboon. She would travel all over the yard to poop, seemed like forever. I took her to the vet and she told me to put Prep H on her behind. I also bought some Tucks pads. I laughed like crazy, but within two days the swelling came down and she was pooping normal again Since then she has had two more heat cylces and it wasn't as intense as the first time. She is bred now and due in December. I hope you girl feels better.

WOW! Thank you so much Anne and Shelley. That is exactly what happened to my girl. First heat 12 months all swelled up making it hard for her to poop. She is doing better now, she is on a stool softner, low residue dog food and I am watching her like a hawk.

Thanks again, it is nice to know I am not the only one.

How is she?

She is doing fine now. Her stools are almost back to normal. We are at day 16 of her season and the swelling has gone down. I am still feeding her the low residue diet to be on the safe side. I have stopped using the stool softener because it does not seem like she needs it anymore. Hopefully we are in the clear now. Thank you for asking.