has my dog gone mad ????

[Thehusbandsatcricketagain]

any advice appreciated

we have a sprollie,3 yrs old & un-spayed,we have had her for a year,previously we know of her history that she was taken from mum at 4 weeks & a man looked after her until 16 weeks then said she was too much hard work for his disability issues.She then went to a bc rescue where she was re-homed to someone who moved house,got married,had a baby,went back to work.

So we took her on & she is a love,this is when she is not being a grumbly old bag

So,in the last few days she appears to be nesting at about 2-3am,waking us up as she scratches the carpet,her bedding ect.She normally has no interest in other dogs esp males but all of a sudden she is all over them like a rash,she is not due in season for 4 months & we wanted to have her spayed next month.She is currently spending all day sleeping & is not interested in food.Now I don't think for a minute she is ill at all as I would have taken her to the vets,she is just acting all girly & motherly

any ideas please

You've described a pretty text book phantom pregnancy.

Are her nipples boob like? Is she making milk?

No way she could be...up duffed?

Sounds like she may have a false pregnancy (unless there's a chance she could actually be pregnant...). It's not uncommon after a season- if she's due a season in about four months am I right in thinking she's not that long ago had one? Common signs are mothering of toys or sometimes random objects, grumpiness, digging, nesting and they can be generally miserable too. Some dogs will get mammary swelling and milk. If you're concerned or if she has milk it would be a good idea to get her checked by a vet, alternative causes of these signs are pregnancy or possibly a uterine infection (is there any discharge?). If she's badly affected or has milk she may need a short course of medication to dampen the hormones down, if it's mild it'll pass. Once she's spayed it'll never happen again as she won't have any more seasons, if left entire it's likely to happen again after every season.

Mant thanks for the replies.I had never thought of a phantom pregnancy but this does sound about right.No milk & no swelling there either.She has been going into my dd bedroom to steal her small white soft duck,then hiding herself & said duck under our bed & is very protective if you try to get her to hand it over.No discharge so think all is ok in that area.

&chickens no there is no way that we could be soon to be pup owners as we were ultra careful whilst she was in season

Bless her, she thinks she's got puppies.

Phantoms are hard for the bitch - and do make their behaviour very odd indeed. I'd talk to the vet, especially as you hope to spay before her next season.

Vets often tend to let them run their course - but I have had to insist on an injection in the past for one of mine because she was just dripping milk everywhere and really, really suffering.

Treat her very gently - she has no idea that she's behaving oddly - and talk to the vet.

She honestly thinks she is a Mummy and will be very protective of her pup/duck. Poor girlie.