Question:
Hi there,
I recently took my dog in for boarding. I picked her up approx. two weeks ago, and she was only in there for three days. However, when I picked her up I noticed she was acting very funny. Tired all the time, didn't show emotion like she did before. I finally took her in to the vet today, because I was worried that something was really wrong. The vet told me today that she feels Zoi is experiencing a false pregnancy. She was in heat like two months ago. Right now she is actually lactating milk. The vet said that was normal in a false pregnancy, that the hormones are there, so Zoi actually believes she is pregnant which is why she isnt as active as she used to be. Has anyone ever heard of this happening??? Now that I think back, I took her to get groomed recently after she was finished being in heat. I guess in a strange way it's possible she could have found a little friend there and mated with him. The vet felt her tummy today and said she didn't feel any puppies. But, she did gain almost two pounds since the last time she was at the vet about two months ago.
Please tell me if you have heard of this or experienced this before. I'm wondering now if she could possibly be pregnant, who knows?
Thanks so much!
Donna

Answer:
Wow I can feel the flames already...... If your dog is not a titled show dog perhaps your dog would be happier spayed. This is a pro spay/neuter board so expect some harsh words. Yes false pregnancy does occur in un-spayed females. This is extremely hard emotionally on your dog. She feels like she has puppies and will carry something around for a while. This object will be her baby. If you have another pet in the house she could get aggressive with it. She is after all protecting her baby. Even if you dog is pregnant you still can get her spayed. Good luck and let us know how she makes out.

Answer:
Like Shaykeija said I also could feel it gettin alittle hot in here, my neighbours tiny little chi goes through this all the time, she also is un-spayed and 10 yrs old and every cycle she carries this little red clifford dolly everywhere with her, she won't leave it alone, she becomes very aggressive and tries to bite you if you go near it and yes she's little but the actions are still the same, she stops eating, won't go outside to potty and if you and that's a BIG if you can get the dolly away she goes crazy just frantic, is quite sad. I think the best thing for your dog and your piece of mind is to have spayed, she will be much healthier and happier in the end, good luck

Answer:
You can end the pondering very soon by just getting her spayed. Then you won't have to wonder everytime she's not in your sight. Make the appointment with your vet, it's the kindest thing you can do for your dog.

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A vet should be able to confirm whether or not she is pregnant, I am not sure if they can do a urine test likle on humans but an ultrasound can definetly be done and then you would know for sure if she is pregnant or not, aborting the pups could likely also be done if early enough.

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I finally get to fell like an expert! lol! WE just did the puppy thing with my own dog. I've been working with a breeder for quite sometime and have seen several dogs go through pregenacy, and I just assisted in an actual birth. I've also expereinced false pregnacies and I know how difficult it can be.

First some basic's in timing. A dog can ONLY get pregnant during her heat cycle. From approxamitely day 10 to day 17 depending on the dog. IT is a very VERY short window of time. Also gestantion for a dog is approaximatly 62 days or 2 months. So IF your dog got pregnant two months ago during her heat cycle, she would be ready to deliver ANY minute. And at this point in the game you wouldn't be thinking maybe, you would KNOW.

She would be HUGE, She would have TONS of milk, her vulva would be swollen again, you might also notice that the area bewteen her vulva and her anus is swollen as well. Your dog would have absolutely NO energy. If you have not created a birthing area and shown it to her, she would be creating one of her own. You would also notice that she spends more time in quite dark places (behind chairs, under beds and tables, in closets). She would also eat you out of house and home! Pregnant dogs eat about double their usual intake, especially at the end. After the birth they can eat three to four times more. On the off chance that she got pregnant with only one puppy, she might not get so big, but at this point you would definately be able to FEEL the pups, when she's laying on her back or side you may be able to see them move. Even if your inexpereinced you can tell that there are balls in her tummy that aren't normally there and your vet would have felt them for sure.

With a false pregnancy, your dog will lose energy, she will seek dark places and start taking on some of the behaviours of a pregnant female. She will get milk, but only a little bit and she would not be as big. A dog can put on a couple of pounds in a false pregancy because, just like with a real pregnancy, your dog would eat more and the milk will add extra weight.

Lastly, you said that your dog was lactating, this starts the last WEEK before birth, if it has been longer than 1 week without pups, you know 100% that it's false.

If your dog is pregnant it is too late to have her spayed until AFTER the pups are gone and your dog has finished producing milk. The pups would be too old to abort at this age. I would suggest that if you do not plan to breed your dog that you get her spayed ASAP.

Answer:
Originally Posted by bethaliz
If your dog is pregnant it is too late to have her spayed until AFTER the pups are gone and your dog has finished producing milk. The pups would be too old to abort at this age. I would suggest that if you do not plan to breed your dog that you get her spayed ASAP.

Can't you actually do a pregnant spay?

Answer:
Originally Posted by pitgrrl
Can't you actually do a pregnant spay?

Yes, Some vet's will still go a head and spay a pregnant female. However this is only done if the dog is NEWLY pregnant. If this dog was in heat 2 months ago, then she had to have gotten pregnant 2 months ago and gestation for a dog is 2 moths. Doing a pregnant spay at this stage would be like having an abortion at 8 months. The pups are too far advanced now. Being EXTREMELY generous and saying that the dog got pregnant at the end of June, the dog would be some where around day 50 at LEAST, so she would be giving birth in the next week and a half. However freeknsgal stated that the dog is lactating, which tells me that if this is a real pregnancy that dog will have pups in less than 1 week. If you can express milk than it's normally less than 5 days from the birth. So IF this dog is pregnant it's too late for a pregnant spay, the vet wont do it.

I personally agree with the vet that this is a false pregnancy, because at this stage of pregnacy you KNOW that your dog is pregnant. they seem to get bigger everyday, they look big and fat like a pregnant woman. And even with a small litter of 1 or 2 pups the Dam is looks slightly bigger and you can DEFINATELY feel the pups, sometimes you can see them move

Answer:
When I got my Rottie Keira, she was 8 months old and went into heat on a trip. She never got pregnate but fully went into a false pregnancy. SHe too produced milk, became lethargic and started to find herself some places to "give birth"

I found it was the saddest thing ever! SHe was spayed shortly after the whole ordeal was over. I couldnt bear to see her 'wanting' pups so bad that she imagined she was pregnate ( that was my interpretation) after her spay she never experienced it again ( obviously)

Nikita was spayed after her first heat. There was a chance she had gotten pregnate too, so we rushed the surgery. It was an extra $80 if she would have been pregnate. She wasnt anyway, but she is spayed now, TRUST me, there is nothing more relaxing then knowing YOUR dog wont contribute to the animal overpopulation problem. DOnt get me wrong I would love to have had an offspring from NIkita, but her 2 breeds are notorious for large litters. THat could have been 10 pups added to the problem if i would have allowed her to reproduce.

Seriously now, if those 10 pups were allowed to reproduce then there would be that many more potentially abused and unwanted pets out there. I do NOT regret having her spayed. SHE TRUELY is a happyer dog now! And I am a happier owner!

Answer:
Thank you all so much for your help!!! I definitely agree on getting her spayed. I just never wanted her to go through the pain of the surgery ( I have had many other dogs in the past and have always gotten them spayed and neutered). But with her she is very small and didn't want her to go through the pain. But yes, I talked to the vet yesterday, and she said to wait two months until this passes and we will definitely get her spayed. It's so horrible to watch her go through this "depression". I did get her a new stuffed animal yesterday that is the same color as her, and very soft so it would almost feel like one of her babies. Only a few times has she picked it up and then layed on top of it. But other than that, she hasn't gotten angry if I have moved it or anything. She is 5 and has been in heat obviously many times, but this is the first time she has ever done this. So, needless to say we will be making a trip to the vet for her to get spayed. Thank you all again for the advice, she is my baby and I just wanted to make sure the vet wasn't feeding me a load of lines with the whole "false pregnancy" thing.
Thanks again,
Donna

Answer:
Glad to hear you are going to get her spayed. Spaying and neutering is one of the best things you can do for a dog.

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Great to hear you're getting her spayed Donna, good luck and keep us posted (pics are always welcome too )

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YAY,!!! Good to hear you are getting her spayed!!!! She will recover in a jiffy ( yup a jiffy) I'd recommend paying a bit more for the laser surgery. ( Heals much quicker and a lot less blood loss too)

Love to see some pics of your fur baby. ( Although she is a bit depressed right now)

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