My Dog Has Had A Phantom Pregnancy....

[guppy_man]

a few days ago MOLLY our jackrussel cross yorkshire terrier, was acting strange, not eating propperly, sleeping alot, and not even wanting to go out for walks, now if you knew my dog there was kno way you could stop molly from going out for walks, thats what molly waits for every day.
anyway, my mum rang the vets earlier, and asked if we could bring molly down for a checkup, so we did, when he had alook at her, he said that she could be pregnant, because she was actually leaking milk, but i had a think, the last time she had contact with any dog was around september - november, even then it was aimpossible becasue the dog had been done, (so to speak).

The vet said to leave her there for an hour or so, so he could have a scan done, to see if she was going to have pups.
after around half an hour he had done the scan, and found no pups, he said that she was having a PHANTOM PREGNANCY, i never even knew there was such thing
anyway he has give us some medication, to help her get through it, shes been home for atleast 3 hours now and she looks like shes a little better.
i don't think shes up for going for a walk yet though, maybe tomorrow

anyone else's dog had a phantom pregnancy??

 

[KathyM]

I've treated dogs with phantom pregnancies (when I was a VN) and it's a pain in the arse for them. Would definitely be worth getting her spayed, in my previous experience, bitches that were prone to phantom pregnancies seemed to be more likely to develop pyometra (a deadly uterine infection). Spaying would eliminate that risk and help prevent mammary cancer too.

Hope she's feeling better soon!

 

[Judmacaroni]

strangely enuff when I fell pregnant lasst year my dog had a phantom pregnancy too! didint realise until we took hr to the vets to get her nuetered. she was producing milk too. WE were given medication and told to disrupt her routine as much as possible and take all her toys off of her!! i felt so bad she was a poor wee soul for about a month then right as rain have had her neutered now but almost wish she had been pregnant as she would have made such a good mum!

hope shes feeling better soon.

 

[fenwoman]

a few days ago MOLLY our jackrussel cross yorkshire terrier, was acting strange, not eating propperly, sleeping alot, and not even wanting to go out for walks, now if you knew my dog there was kno way you could stop molly from going out for walks, thats what molly waits for every day.
anyway, my mum rang the vets earlier, and asked if we could bring molly down for a checkup, so we did, when he had alook at her, he said that she could be pregnant, because she was actually leaking milk, but i had a think, the last time she had contact with any dog was around september - november, even then it was aimpossible becasue the dog had been done, (so to speak).

The vet said to leave her there for an hour or so, so he could have a scan done, to see if she was going to have pups.
after around half an hour he had done the scan, and found no pups, he said that she was having a PHANTOM PREGNANCY, i never even knew there was such thing
anyway he has give us some medication, to help her get through it, shes been home for atleast 3 hours now and she looks like shes a little better.
i don't think shes up for going for a walk yet though, maybe tomorrow

anyone else's dog had a phantom pregnancy??

I had a boxer once who had phantom pregnancy. I had her spayed. That cured the problem.

 

[chardonnay1000]

my nans poodle had tons of phantom pregnancies, she never had her spayed and she lived til she was 15!! she did turn a brownish pinky colour once and took her to the vet, she had been feeding her on fresh liver for ages cos she was a picky eater!!!! nans are barmy

 

[l.michelle]

One of my boyfriends' dogs has those sometimes. Last March we were thinking for sure she was abotu to have pups any day, as she got very very large, and burrowed in the stacks of hay in the barn, and made sort of a nest. And we didn't see her for about a day. But then the next day she was back down to her regular size, was racing around, eating and playing, we searched for pups, but didn't find any, so we realized she was not pregnant to begin with.

 

[fenwoman]

my nans poodle had tons of phantom pregnancies, she never had her spayed and she lived til she was 15!! she did turn a brownish pinky colour once and took her to the vet, she had been feeding her on fresh liver for ages cos she was a picky eater!!!! nans are barmy

my goodness. The dog was lucky to be alive.Dogs are omnivores not pure carnivores. The trouble with not spaying a female who has phantom pregnancies is that every 6 months they get hormonal and distressed. It isn't good for them. Plus there is a good chance they will get pyometra. If the owner isn't on the ball it can kill them within 24 hours. I used to show poodles and did poodle rescue for a while. They live a long life. Most of the oldies I took in were over 15 and hale and hearty. The last one I took in was 18 years old!
Apart from vile rotten teeth and a terrible coat through being fed exlusively on chicken portions, he was fine. I got his teeth sorted and got him onto proper dog food and he lived for another 2 year but like a different animal. All of a sudden he had bags of energy and tottered around in the yard in all weathers with the other dogs. I used to groom a couple of 21 year old mini poodles too.

 

[LisaLQ]

I agree, best to get her spayed as soon as it's safe to.

Sky had seasons every 6-12 weeks, she was very irregular, and it was really distressing for her - she had particularly horrendous ones leaving her very poorly - but was having them too close together to leave it the required time in between. In the end we had to risk it, and she's not looked back since - she's happy, she doesn't get PMT any more, and she's got a much lower risk of some kinds of cancer.

IMO all non-breeding potential pedigrees should be spayed unless there is a medical reason not to. Spaying early enough virtually eliminates the risk of mammary cancer, and even the best owners can have their dog escape and it only takes one time for them to end up pregnant. It's cheap enough too nowadays, and for those on low incomes it's only around £20-30 with a spaying voucher.

When I say apart from breeding potential pedigrees - I dont mean all pedigree bitches by a long shot. There's far too many folks that think papers mean their ***** is good breeding potential, when in fact that's very rarely the case, and it just means they're a certain breed.

 

[Rhiannon]

Unfortuantly women can have phantom pregnancies too. They are called Blighted Ovariums.

It is extremly sad for the lady, thinking she is pregnant, showing all symptoms possible, but no baby upon ultrasound.

Its very traumatic and distressing if you really wanted a baby.

I guessed animals could get it to, how sad for your pup.

 

[LisaLQ]

A blighted ovum isn't a phantom pregnancy - it's an extremely early unexplained miscarriage. It's a pregnancy that actually occurs but never develops.

http/www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy...ightedovum.html

What is a blighted ovum?
A blighted ovum (also known as “anembryonic pregnancyâ€￾) happens when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine wall, but the embryo does not develop. Cells develop to form the pregnancy sac, but not the embryo itself. A blighted ovum usually occurs within the first trimester before a woman knows she is pregnant. A high level of chromosome abnormalities usually causes a woman’s body to naturally miscarry.

A phantom pregnancy is hormonal, hormonal imbalances are common in unspayed bitches - the increase in progesterone after a season leads to pregnancy symptoms:
http/www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/false.html

Incidentally, dogs can be very distressed during and after a season, much like our PMT, they get a huge surge in hormones that can lead to depression and/or irritability - even sometimes aggression. It's simple really, dogs that aren't being bred from should be spayed (unless there is a medical, or severe behavioural reason not to) - not only for extremely sound health benefits, but because seasons in many dogs are very distressing for them.

 

[Rhiannon]

I'm a midwife (non practising atm due to SAHM), thats what we have had explained to us as a phantom pregnancy.

Anyway, doesnt matter, humans or pets, its not a nice experience, and I recommend to get your dog spayed.

There is nothing worse than a litter of pups or kittens that go to homes wanted, but then become unwanted.

 

[LisaLQ]

Aaah well you know for the future - it does matter to those who've had one - it means that they were actually pregnant in the first place, whereas in people a phantom pregnancy is often wrongly put down to being all in the head.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

in people a phantom pregnancy is often wrongly put down to being all in the head.

welcome to the patriarchy

 

[kanzaris]

I've treated dogs with phantom pregnancies (when I was a VN) and it's a pain in the arse for them. Would definitely be worth getting her spayed, in my previous experience, bitches that were prone to phantom pregnancies seemed to be more likely to develop pyometra (a deadly uterine infection). Spaying would eliminate that risk and help prevent mammary cancer too.

Hope she's feeling better soon!

Hi

I have a 8 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel ***** She had her first season a month ago. My neighbour had a puppy 2 years ago from the first litter. As soon she had her spayed the dog became big and the coat is gone all curly. She doesn’t over feed the dog and it gets plenty of exercise. I have seen loads of dogs from this breed being far to big and every time I ask the owner says it’s since she been spayed. I am sure that having a very over weight dog is not very healthy for the dog. On the other hand I don’t want the risk of cancer. I really don’t know what to do?

Thanks

Sabby

 

[LisaLQ]

Unless you're showing her, coat shouldn't be an issue.

There is only one reason a spayed dog gets fat. And that is because the owner either feeds them too much and/or exercises them too little. If a dog puts on weight, you alter their food intake and up their exercise. Problem solved.

And I'm sure a pyometra or cancer would be much more worrisome than a bit of extra weight. After all you can put your dog on a diet, but you cant bring them back from the dead.