phantom pregnanacy

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c7mlm

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have just taken daisy to vets for pre op as she was being spayed today, and he says she is having a phantom pregancy. she has been moody for a week now guarding her bed and she growled at me today which is very out of character. he has said to leave it a month as she has milk. has anyone else come across this as why do they have them

thanks
 
Our old bitch had one at about ten or 11 years old, just one of those things, a hormonal imbalance.
She actually "mothered" some items from our laundry basket and ate a couple of pairs of balled-up tights (small, dark, baby-puppy shaped) and one ended up getting wound right up around her intestines - cue very expensive operation and vet handing my mother a clear bag with a pair of navy tights covered in green goo inside - hilarious, Drew!
Just keep an eye on her, especially if she has any cuddly toys or items she could become possesive of.
 
at the moment she is "mothering" a pair of smelly dirty ariat paddock boots
blush.gif

i had noticed her being moody and protecting her basket. i looked in it on saturday as i thought she might have nicked some food and hidden it.
 
It seems to be a hormonal imbalance. It can affect them in various ways, but normally about 3 weeks after their season they become lethargic, as you describe, eat more and can get an enlarged abdomen. Some will then get restless and start making beds and collecting toys, slippers,etc to "nurse" as if they were pups. There mammary glands often get enlarged and they may even produce milk a few months after the season. If they get this bad, there are hormone tablets that can be given to help reverse the signs. But you can help now by trying to get her to exercise more and actually cut down on her food quite a bit. If she is getting less energy in her food and burning up more by exercising, then her body will not have any spare to go to producing milk, etc { which takes a huge amount of energy }. I know it sounds a bit hard, but it will speed up the false pregnancy and you can give her lots of attention and playing to burn up some energy and take her mind off it ! I am glad that you are going to get her spayed. It is the correct thing to do and will save you all some heartache. Good luck,

Also giving Ignatia is a good homeopathic rem to help reduce phantoms.
 
One of the reasosn I had Buffy spayed was because she had several false pregnancies as well as abnormal seasons, definitely a hormone imbalance in her case. Last time she mothered windfall apples from the garden, it was quite pitiful to see her lying in her bed with her apples lined up against her. As she had seasons every 4 months it was quite a challenge fitting in spaying her between seasons and false pregnancies, but she was done in April and came through the op really well.
 
my older bitch has had several PP her last one was about last xmas which only lasted a few days...like o thers have said they can mother objects such as toys , balls or anything really...some people take the the 'babies' away and ignore it, which i have done in the past

both my bitches are unspayed and my 3yo hasnt had any PP
 
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