Phantom Pregnancy

[lionqueen]

Hi all,

My AST is 18 months old, and has had 2 seasons so far.

Her last one was early december, and since then she has swelled noticably in the breast area.

There doesn't seem to be any actual "milk" present though.

The last few days she has started "nesting" and is destroying the yard...

I am concerned about her as this is the first time I've seen it in a dog...

She is vomiting a lot and lacks energy.

I asked my local vet if there is anything I can do to ease the hormonal side of thing and hopefully nip it in the bud but they were quite unhelpful. (Small town -rural area for you...grrr!)

I have read about treatments that are often used involving hormone shots and herbal treatments, but they didn't seem to want to help.

We are trying to sell our house at the moment so it's really not an option to keep letting her go for it (she has nests everywhere!).

I have been crating her to keep the fuss to a miminum.

*Has anyone tried any sort of treatment that may work or help prevent it recurring?

*How long can I expect the digging and lethargy to last with her?

Any tips at all would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Miranda]

The only cure for false pregnancies is desexing, sometimes having a litter may help, but often it doesn't make any difference. If you are planning on breeding from this bitch I wouldn't be experimenting with any form of hormone treatment. Really you just have to put up with it, it varies, but the symptoms shouldn't last longer than a week or so.

I have never had a bitch who vomited during a false pregnancy, I suppose it's possible because bitches frequently vomit just before or during the early stages of labour, but it's something I'd be monitoring pretty closely, continued vomiting combined with lethargy might be a sign of some other problem unrelated to the phantom.

[lionqueen]

The only cure for false pregnancies is desexing, sometimes having a litter may help, but often it doesn't make any difference. If you are planning on breeding from this bitch I wouldn't be experimenting with any form of hormone treatment. Really you just have to put up with it, it varies, but the symptoms shouldn't last longer than a week or so.

I have never had a bitch who vomited during a false pregnancy, I suppose it's possible because bitches frequently vomit just before or during the early stages of labour, but it's something I'd be monitoring pretty closely, continued vomiting combined with lethargy might be a sign of some other problem unrelated to the phantom.

Hi Miranda,

Thanks for the reply.

I am hoping to breed from her in future if she passes all the relevant tests, so will steer clear of anything that may jeapardise fertility.

I have been keeping her crated to keep her calm, so just waiting for it all to blow over...

Thanks again

[Janba]

My dally bitch gave birth to some toys and tried to raised them when she had a phantom If she is like my girl the nesting should stop at about 9 weeks after the fertile period in her season about the time she would give birth if she was pregnant.

I read somewhere that it is a remnant of a survival mechanism in wolves. The bitches in a pack come into season at about the same time but only the alphs bitch conceives. If something happens to her then the bitches having phantoms can take over the rearing of cubs. I don't know how true this is.

[lionqueen]

My dally bitch gave birth to some toys and tried to raised them when she had a phantom If she is like my girl the nesting should stop at about 9 weeks after the fertile period in her season about the time she would give birth if she was pregnant.

I read somewhere that it is a remnant of a survival mechanism in wolves. The bitches in a pack come into season at about the same time but only the alphs bitch conceives. If something happens to her then the bitches having phantoms can take over the rearing of cubs. I don't know how true this is.

Thanks Janba,

How interesting!

I have read similar things on the net about those theories and why it happens!

I have also read of women getting pregnant and their dog having a phantom...

I am actually 12 weeks preg at the moment, she might be trying to help me...LOL

Far fetched I know...!

Thanks for the reply.

[Miranda]

All bitches have phantom pregnancies because their bodies produce the same hormones regardless of whether they're pregnant or not. However how they react varies, some bitches will nest, produce milk, collect soft toys etc and some bitches will be totally asymptomatic. There is some evidence that bitches that have severe symptoms are more prone to develop pyometra, so sometimes it's a good idea to mate them sooner rather than later and get them desexed as soon as their breeding/showing career is over.

[lionqueen]

All bitches have phantom pregnancies because their bodies produce the same hormones regardless of whether they're pregnant or not. However how they react varies, some bitches will nest, produce milk, collect soft toys etc and some bitches will be totally asymptomatic. There is some evidence that bitches that have severe symptoms are more prone to develop pyometra, so sometimes it's a good idea to mate them sooner rather than later and get them desexed as soon as their breeding/showing career is over.

Hi again Miranda,

Thanks for clarifying that for me, I guess that explains why I've not noticed it before in my previous dogs.

From what you say it's not that they didn't have them, rather that they didn't display major symptoms!

Thanks a lot.