Dog phantom pregnancy

[BrambleB]

Has anyone any experience of their dog having a phantom pregnancy? Our two year old beagle is just getting over one, and I was shocked at how poorly she seemed (not wanting to eat/drink, sleeping all the time digging nests and very distressed. She is booked in for spay surgery at the end of feb and I’m dreading it!! So worried about her getting the operation and recovery etc but the vet advised this is the best option as if we don’t have her ‘done’ she will continue having phantoms after each season and they are likely to get worse - AIBU to be so worried about getting her spayed? - even though I know it’s the best thing to do and will also take away the risk of pyometra...

Yes why are you worried about having her spayed? Had you done it sooner you could have prevented her being so unwell. I don't mean that in a critical way, merely it has its benefits.

Spaying is such a routine procedure, vets carry out dozens a week, there really is very little to worry about. Obviously no surgery is without risk and complications can occur but they are very uncommon in the grand scheme of things and the benefits outweigh the risks especially in this case.

Thank you for responding - I know it’s a very common practice, especially in the UK, although in some other European countries it isn’t the norm. I have thought in the past that unless it was absolutely necessary then I didn’t want to put her through the operation, she was very poorly as a pup and was at the vets a lot- She is strong and healthy now though . There are pros and cons to neutering, Apparently weight gain can be common after spaying and incontinence in some dogs plus changes to the coat and a higher risk of certain cancers and joint problems - Now however because of the phantom pregnancy and how it affected her, I will get her spayed and on the flip side, there’s the lower risk of mammary cancer and pyometra risk removed..

We are currently going through same situation with our 2 year old dog , she wasn’t eating and nesting and carrying a toy in her mouth all day and crying . We need to get her spayed shortly too . I wish we had done it earlier now .

I’m a dog behaviourist/ trainer. Please don’t get her neutered whilst she is in phantom pregnancy. They can stay in that phase if you do.

Wait till all the signs have well and truly gone. No milk etc.

@BrambleB

Thank you for responding - I know it’s a very common practice, especially in the UK, although in some other European countries it isn’t the norm. I have thought in the past that unless it was absolutely necessary then I didn’t want to put her through the operation, she was very poorly as a pup and was at the vets a lot- She is strong and healthy now though . There are pros and cons to neutering, Apparently weight gain can be common after spaying and incontinence in some dogs plus changes to the coat and a higher risk of certain cancers and joint problems - Now however because of the phantom pregnancy and how it affected her, I will get her spayed and on the flip side, there’s the lower risk of mammary cancer and pyometra risk removed..

She won’t gain weight if you cut her food. About 25% of her calories currently go towards her reproductive organs. Cut her food after you get her done. I’m a vet.

Oh it’s awful isn’t it, Our girl was like a different dog for about a week- so out of character, normally she is so happy, playful energetic and so greedy! Apparently the best time to Spay is 3-4 months after season and when everything is settled down. After the season is over, hormones are released for a couple of months regardless of wether the dog is pregnant or not and at the time the puppies would have been born - that’s when the phantom pregnancy can happen. Her mammary glands were so swollen, the vet did a scan to check for mastitis, all ok though and she has bounced back now, eating well and happy again. I hope your girl feels better soon and good luck with her spay.

My lab springer cross had phantom pregnancies after her first two seasons. We'd intended to get her spayed anyway but her first season was at just over 6 months old and I didn't want to put her through an op while she was so young.

My vet advised spaying 3 months after her second season and that if she was still showing signs of phantom pregnancy they would give her medication for a week or two before the op as they don't recommend spaying during a phantom pregnancy. She didn't need any medication and she was spayed at 15 months without any complications.

Be prepared that she will be poorly for a few days after being spayed, I slept next to my dog for a few nights as I didn't want her to be distressed and alone. Recovery was quick though and I'm very glad we had it done as the phantom pregnancies were quite distressing for her.

Thank you - I was planning on doing so- I’ve got some scales to weigh her dry food and will be careful as I don’t want her to gain weight if at all possible, I thought I could give her more wet food than dry and add a few fresh vegetables as a topper to fill her up. She is fed on forthglade wet and dry, also a few times a week little pieces of lean meat/fish veg as a topper and a few cod skin dog treats which she loves and are low fat/calories.

That’s good to know your girl recovered well - and no more phantom pregnancy distress for her

Thank you - yes I have heard that can be the case, the appointment is not for a further 6 weeks, so hopefully all signs will be gone by then - I would say since last week there has been a vast improvement- she is like her old self again and the mammary tissue has shrank right back down, she is eager to play with My mothers new puppy and eat drink and go out for her walks, so hopefully by the time she gets spayed all will be back to normal.

A dog we had when I was growing up at these. She became jealous of anyone going near a toy or anything she adopted as hers. She started going for people. Ot was awful. Eventually we had her spayed.
In those days fogs weren't routinely spayed. The vet didn't advise it and we didn't know better. Since her, Al the dogs that have come into the family are neutered and spayed. I think its best for them and for us no more stressing over real pregnancies and illnesses related to the uterus.

Phantom pregnancies are normal in bitches - they all have them, as in they're all hormonally 'pregnant' as far as their bodies are concerned (which is why we can't do hormone based tests on bitches to see if they're pregnant, as they'd all come back positive post season).

Whats not so normal is the phantom litter - where they think theres a litter of puppies, make nests, collect soft toys, remote controls, anything small and oblongish, things with rubbery buttons on seem favourite, lactate...

In the wild canid, this is a helpful thing, bitches within a social group will feel maternal towards any puppies and may help raise puppies, may even help feeding them.

In your home... not so helpful.

Reduce her food and up her exercise so her body thinks she can't support puppies/milk production (you don't have to go crazy over this and she needn't feel hungry, just offer foods that have a high bulk/low cal. ratio, like chunks of raw veg/fruit).

Spay her 3 months from the time you noticed she was in season, and she should be fine...

If you're concerned about spay, speak to your vet, find out which kind of spay they do, many vets do keyhole spays now, some are doing ovary only spays (the uterus then shrivels up once the hormones are gone), but either way, the keyhole option is a faster and less invasive op than the traditional version and recovery is also much faster.

Our Labrador girl suffered terribly with phantom pregnancies - she was utterly miserable, like a different dog. Not eating/drinking, pacing all day/night, crying in pain, nesting, believing her squeaky duck was her puppy & taking ducky everywhere with her.

It did strengthen our resolve to get her spayed, which we did once she was fully grown at 18 months (as is the advice for larger breeds). We paid the extra for keyhole surgery and it was SO worth it as within 48 hours she was entirely back to normal, tearing around the garden. In fact, the biggest issue we had was trying to keep her calm and rested when she wanted to do zoomies all the time. The scars are tiny and healed within days - she was begging for tummy rubs as normal within hours of the op.

Some say that keyhole doesn’t eliminate the risk of pyometra as well as the full spay but our vet was adamant that just removing the ovaries was sufficient as they normally release the hormones which increase the risk of pyo. We did lots of reading and research and felt that keyhole was best for us.

One thing to mention is that DDog’s spay was rescheduled 3 times before it went ahead. Her phantom lingered on and on and on; they were rightly adamant that they wouldn’t operate until entirely clear of the phantom, for fear of locking her hormones into a permanent phantom state.

She then caught a D&V bug and then Kennel Cough (despite being vaccinated) in quick succession as her immune system was so buggered from the phantom. We were grateful that our vets were cautious and rescheduled each time until she was fighting fit but still, mega frustrating for her and us that the phantom meant she caught anything and everything.