Phantom/False pregnancy - how common?

Eriskayowner

Eriskayowner

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My 18 month lab x retriever bitch was in season in November but recently have noticed her mammary glands getting slightly bigger and she's off her food a bit (fussy but still eating it - she's like this when in season when the hormones are changing). Otherwise her behaviour is the same.

She was kept separate from entire dogs (although we do want to breed from her with a friend's black lab dog) but there were a couple of neutered dogs around her.

I can't think of any way that she could be pregnant so I'm thinking it's a false pregnancy but how common are they?

Many thanks x
 
Well my rottie had one litter. Since then she had a couple of false ones.You can get the vet to give her something to stop the false pregnancy that is if you are sure she's not nipped out for a quickie while your back was turned :D:D
Last false pregnacy she had ended up in her getting a pyometra so we had no choice but to get her chopped she would of died otherwise.
As I said I would get the vet to give her the once over just to be sure.
 
Digger123 said:
Well my rottie had one litter. Since then she had a couple of false ones.You can get the vet to give her something to stop the false pregnancy that is if you are sure she's not nipped out for a quickie while your back was turned :D:D
Last false pregnacy she had ended up in her getting a pyometra so we had no choice but to get her chopped she would of died otherwise.
As I said I would get the vet to give her the once over just to be sure.
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Yes I have heard of a few getting infections through having false pregnancy, my mum's jr had a fp just after her first season before she had the operation. She took the dog leads out of the cupboard and took them into her bed to feed them. She also got quite protective over them.
 
Pretty common.
It can indicate that they are more likely to develop pyometra, a horrible, deadly fast-acting infection, we nearly lost a great dog to it but others on here have not been so lucky :( I would spay and do spay any of ours who have that aren't to be used for breeding, to be on the safe side, especially if they suffer phantoms, it's not worth the risk.
 
C_C,

is there any evidence, that "allowing" a bitch to have a litter of puppies, in any way, alleviates the problem? Is it simply myth?

As a very small boy, we had a bitch which was prone to false pregnancies, and strangely, when she was so afflicted, then the only person who she would allow near her was me. Perhaps she saw me as a lesser member of her pack, so no threat. I don't know, but I could lie in her bed with her. Others approached her with trepidation. She was vile, and meant it!!

I've always had a great deal of sympathy for those bitches, so affected.

Alec.
 
Alec from all the research i have done on it they say that it is mostly a myth and that dogs that are prone to phantoms will continue to get them just with a break in the cycle for a year or sometimes a few years after they have a litter.

OP I would seriously have your girl spayed. For her own health and for the hundreds of mixes that are already in shelters.
 
There is no need for bitches to endure the very real mental suffering it causes,a few days worth of Galastop drops (from the vet) and everything will be back to normal. Breeding from them can make it more severe,like really knowing what they are missing.Apparently pseudos are natural and to a greater or lesser degree occur every time,according to a fertility vet from the USA called Dr Hutchison anyway.A dog would normally concieve every six monthly season,that is the natural way ..and healthier way..for bitches.We don`t allow that to happen,every pseudo causes wear and tear on the uterus leading eventually to a Pyo.
Bull terriers are very prone to pseudos and do get very emotional,so mine are treated at the very first signs.
I do wonder incidently if this natural pseudo and the way bitches synchronise their seasons has a purpose in nature ,so all the bitches can take turns puppy sitting and feed the litter whilst the rest are off hunting.:confused:
 
My JRT bitch developed one after repeated rapings of Zarno :p she is due to be speyed now because I wont risk her health, can't say I'm not worried about the op though *gnashes teeth*
 
Alec, I know a few people who believe in the 'flush 'em out' (yeuch!) method.
I don't, for one, my bitch had two litters, the last quite traumatic, all dead.
We didn't have the heart to mate her again and spaying wasn't that popular then, but she then had a phantom/pyo then emergency spay, in later life, aged 11 so would not have been able to mate her at that age anyway, and another user lost an older bitch too with little prior sign :(

Also, it is one of the worst reasons to produce a litter of pups that I can think of (potentially 8, 9, 10? to find homes for, plus all the associated cost, when all you want is to stop a potential phantom?) in this already crowded little island!
And who is to say she won't miss, if her system is already volatile.

And in my own case, my bitch, who has had a phantom, is not breeding quality, and spaying is next on my list of things to spend money on! It was at the top, until last week, grr.
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I will get her to the vet to check her over but I'm
99% sure she can't be.

As to the overbreeding/over population/only breed from pedigree argument, if we do have a litter from her we already have homes lined up for as many as she has and we would keep a female from her. She is beautiful, well mannered and has a fantastic temperament, and has been very easy to train. Could be worse!
 
If you want to do it right, as well as all the temperament issues, please look into having her hipscored, and the stud too, just to make sure everything is perfect, labs and retrievers can both be prone to hip dysplasia (as are GSDs, of course!) and that's not something you want passing on to future generations x
 
Thanks CaveCanem. Amb is a lab x golden retriever so should be ok but yes, well get her checked. Our friend has a stunning black pure lab but he has been tested for everything and passed with flying colours. They would be a fantastic combination and would produce 3/4 bred pups which would be nice, I think!
 
Outcrossing doesn't mean that hereditary conditions don't get passed on and both labs and retrievers can have it, so you're best to be on the safe side, and I am sure she will have a nice low score and it will be another reason to be very happy with her :)

Sorry for harping on but the reason HD is a problem in our breed is because people put a nice dog to a nice bitch and hoped for the best and because their dogs weren't cripples, thought they were OK, but it's not something you can see with the naked eye very often, a proper x-ray can confirm :)
 
In answer to your false pregnancy question , yes they are common, and can lead to pyometra, and as someone who is still raw from losing a bitch to pyo I would encourage you to spay her, after her litter if you breed from her but please do it at some point.
I know I will get shot down, but because she is a lab x golden retriever does not mean she will be okay (presume you are referring to hips and elbows). They are 2 of the breeds with the most problems with hips, along with GSDs. If your friends lab has low scores I would imagine she will not want him to be used on an unscored bitch anyhow, so it really would be best to have her done.
 
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