False Pregnancy

[justjas]

My bitch is having another false pregnancy and is full of milk . Does anyone have any ideas of how the dry up her milk supply. All suggestions greatly appreciated.

[lucknow]

To be honest we never had any trouble with cases seen at work as it is a supply and demand issue - no milk stripped off means it dries up relatively quickly. Keep an eye on her for any signs of mastitis starting up and if she gets too uncomfortable cabbage leaves from the fridge (a la nursing mothers trick) laid over the udder can help give relief.

You may get some far more knowledgeable asnwers (than mine I mean) if you post in the breeders forum.

[GSDhandler]

Are you going to end up breeding her? just becuase if you are only thinking about it, or you arent sure, then please get her spayed, as bitches who have frequent false pregnancies are more likely to develop things like mammary cancer.

but yeah, agree to ask in the breeders forum.

[Miranda]

as bitches who have frequent false pregnancies are more likely to develop things like mammary cancer.

A bitch's body produces pregnancy hormones regardless of whether or not they have actually conceived. Technically all bitches have a false pregnancy after every season, it's just that some show major symptoms such as weight gain, milk and behavioural changes and others remain almost entirely asymptomatic.

[Lab_Rat]

as bitches who have frequent false pregnancies are more likely to develop things like mammary cancer.

A bitch's body produces pregnancy hormones regardless of whether or not they have actually conceived. Technically all bitches have a false pregnancy after every season, it's just that some show major symptoms such as weight gain, milk and behavioural changes and others remain almost entirely asymptomatic.

I find this quite interesting as I was quite unaware this was the case until my bitch had her first phantom pregnancy! I didnt however realise that they would be more susceptible to mammary cancer - or does this go for ALL unspeyed bitches?

I have my girl on breeders term, however am hoping like hell my breeders decide NOT to breed from her. In the time Ive had her, and joined this forum I have definitely decided that breeding is not what I need to be doing.

Justjas - I do remember reading somewhere just recently that any stimulation on their belly/mammary area will encourage milk production - so no belly rubs!! I do sympathise with you. Although my girl doesnt produce milk, she does offer some other symptoms. Going completely off her food for about 4 days, becoming very protective, adn having BIG teats! Ive never seen a dog refuse food as she does - she actually curls her lip up in what looks like disgust at anything offered to her by hand. If theres food in her bowl, she will sniff at it, then back up so quickly you'd swear there was - geez, I dunno - a BATH! in her bowl. Poor girl, I do feel for her.

RG

[GSDhandler]

the stuff i was given said that a bitch that has false pregnancies is more suceptabel to cancers and defects that affect intact bitches almost exclusivly. the big one to look out for is pyometras. however the more seasons your dog goes through the more likely it becomes. try and find out asap. my vet clinic (of course they want to encourage spaying) said that 25% of all older bitches have pyometras.

hope things look up soon.

maybe give her something to snugle for a bit, just to settle her down a little.

[justjas]

the stuff i was given said that a bitch that has false pregnancies is more suceptabel to cancers and defects that affect intact bitches almost exclusivly. the big one to look out for is pyometras. however the more seasons your dog goes through the more likely it becomes. try and find out asap. my vet clinic (of course they want to encourage spaying) said that 25% of all older bitches have pyometras.

hope things look up soon.

maybe give her something to snugle for a bit, just to settle her down a little.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Looks like no belly rubs for her for a while. We have a show next week-end and I was hoping she would be tucked up by then.

[pebbles]

An old fashioned remedy for falsies who produce milk was to swab the teats 2 or 3 times a day with vinegar - I've used it and it worked - but then again maybe they would have gone down anyway! Worth a try?

[morgan]

There is a homeopathic remedy that will dry up milk in a few days if you have a friendly local homeopath. Unpasteurised apple cider vinegar is what we always used for the cows and horses - in their water and sponged on diluted in water. Ditto on the cabbage leaves for any discomfort to prevent mastitis.

That 25% figure for pyos in entire bitches is a bit of a furphy - my personal figures for it are under 2.5%, less than a tenth of that figure. Checking on the temp of a bitch every couple of days for a month or so after each season could help pick up any problems before they become too extensive. For the truly concerned, a blood test checking white blood cell count will let you know if pyo is developing or not.

[Bokezu]

My young bitch had a false with her first heat and it seemed to last forever! I was told to give her rasberry leaf tabs, which I did, but that was later on and it did subside, but I think it had run its course by then anyway.