We try here to describe our own experiences of the dog's false pregnancy as carefully as possible and to get the preface in this guide for that experience. Furthermore, we have collected the most common symptoms, methods of treatment and the causes of the false pregnancy for you to read from different sources. During the false pregnancy the dog seems to be in its totally own worlds and is it this that also makes the owner stressful. Therefore it indeed is important that the dog owners who are beginning particularly know already before the coming out of the case from where this kind of conduct starts, what are the symptoms and how this can be treated.
According to clinical experiences the symptoms of the false pregnancy are more typical on bigger breeds than small. From the matter no examinations exists from this issue, so this can not be generalised (false pregnancies are not rare with smaller breeds either!).
The false pregnancy is a natural state to the dog, but you must remember that it can be extremely stressful and hard to the dog. Bitch might get very stressful and sometimes also the owner... If the dog has difficult and strong symptoms, it is in accordance with the interests of both the dog and the owner to try to relieve symptoms.
The dog's heat circulation is divided into four parts. The first stage of the heat circulation is a heatless season when the dog does not have a hormonal action. In the second stage (in an actual heat) happens the possible begetting from which a pregnancy may follow. At the same time the hormone level of the bitch begins to rise and this leads on many bitches to a false pregnancy (with the ones which are not pregnant). In the heat circulation the third stage corresponds to the pregnancy time. The fourth stage is when the bitch has whelped (puppies have been born) and they are going to be separated from their dam.
Heat, in other words season will refer in the spoken language usually to the period which lasts for about the three whole weeks when the bitch is bleeding. The bitch will come for the first time to the heat when 6-12 months old and after that at intervals of 3-13 months (in other words the heatless stage lasts 3-13 months depending on the individual dog).
The season of the sexual activity (heat) of the bitch begins as a preseason (proestrus) which lasts about 10 days. The season continues as an actual heat (estrus), which lasts about 5 days when the sexual attraction and pairing desire of the bitch are at their biggest and egg cells capable for conception. The last part of dog's season is after-heat (metestrus), which lasts about 15 days. The season ends to this part or pregnancy or the false pregnancy. A bitch is served by a dog during the heat or not, it go through the same hormonal changes during the circulation.
The dog's pregnancy time lasts about 63 days. This means the dog will whelp after 63 days on an average from the service. The false pregnancy will start about 60-70 days after the season/heat. Sometimes the symptoms of the false pregnancy may appear also during another time. One good example of this is when the other bitch of the family is whelping or when a new puppy arrives to the family. In that case the bitch will suppose itself that she has whelped herself (the so-called mother's instincts wake).
The cause of the false pregnancy is the normal variation of hormone quantity in the dog's blood after the heat. Then the percentage of prolactin of the dog has risen. The excretion of the prolactin is depended on the season. Because the prolactin is excretioned by the brain block, the sterilised bitch can also be false pregnant.
When a bitch is having a false pregnancy, it really believes that it is pregnant and whelping soon. The number, type and force of the symptoms vary between different individuals a lot. So it is the typical symptoms' of the false pregnancy and it is unlikely that all of these would appear on your bitch when it has a false pregnancy:
- rise of the weight and swelling of the stomach (the puppies "are" in the stomach)
- swelling of teats (caused by the milk production)
- milk excretion, as normally on bitch after whelping (milk is often yellowish and sourly smelling)
- changes in the behaviour: the bitch builds the nest, taking care of the puppies (toys), a restlessness, depression, sometimes aggressiveness, phlegmaticness, caprices
- loosing the appetite or overeating (the eating disorders)
- the symptoms of giving birth
A few concrete symptoms:
- digging the sofa and putting some toys and other stuff under herself (to eat some milk...)
- whining nights and days
- unwilling to come out and outside wants soon to go back inside (the puppies are inside and the dam is worried how they do)
- your dog wants to be near you especially at night and needs some vicinity
- may be a bit angry to other dogs (it defends "puppies")
False pregnancy is a natural state to the bitch and it disappears at the latest when the bitch moves back to the heatless season in its circulation. The false pregnancy does not require a visit with the vet. With home tricks the dog's and also owner's circumstance can be facilitated when the symptoms of a false pregnancy have appeared. Sometimes the symptoms can also be so strong that the situation requires absolutely separate care (maybe even visiting the vet).
The absolutely best method of treatment for the false pregnancy is the adding of the physical education. Furthermore, the restricting of the feeding can come into question. If you take an interest in something with your dog, this hobby should be continued during the false pregnancy in a normal way (and perhaps little more). The activation remove the dog's thoughts from the false pregnancy and "puppies". Furthermore, the physical strain relaxes the bitch in which case it will sleep better its night. The removal of toys from the inside your house (and also from outside) will come into question if the symptoms of the false pregnancy begin to disturb the family (if no one can sleep at night for example).
Our hint (we ourselves use these when the bitch has a false pregnancy and if the symptoms are strong):
- Do not despise your dog even if it behaved peculiarly (for example it would show its teeth), but give to your dog the attention wanted by her and begin the home care as soon as the symptoms of the false pregnancy begin.
- Do not start to blame and scold the dog, if it behaves "foolishly" during the false pregnancy (for example when it digs the nest, whines or growls). The dog cannot do anything for herself then (the instincts) and this way of blaming it you may only make the dog's depression worse and thus the symptoms of the false pregnancy also. Try to think this matter more with the humour.
- Activate your bitch as much as possible so that it will get something other to think about (go for a walk outside more often and be for a longer time there). We have found the swimming relaxes the dog well (and it spends a lot of energy by swimming).
- Reduce the dog's feeding and restrict also drinking , if the milk secretion is abundant
- If the dog's symptoms are not strong, you can let it be such as normal (no particular treatment needed)
- If the dog's symptoms disturb the family (for example no one can sleep at nights because of the dog), take ALL the toys from the dog (so remove "the puppies"). Take away also all the other things which the bitch can consider instead of the toys as its puppies.
There were our home-made tricks in the care of the false pregnancy. So if none of the previous ones helps, you can only resort to the vet's help. The vet will prescribe to the dog a medicine treatment which reduces milk production and helps to the behaviour disturbances ("care behaviour").
In the old days the false pregnancies was treated with the help of hormones but because of the side effects caused by them this has been given up (furthermore, the symptoms often returned immediately when the treatment had stopped/done). Some hormonal products may for example mix the dog's heat circulation or may cause a dangerous womb inflammation. Nowadays a medicine called Galastop has not been noticed that which will cause serious side effects (on the dog only a slight sleepiness, lack of appetite or vomiting which all are of a temporary nature). This medicine is often used in the medication of false pregnancies here in Finland. The second medicine to be used is called Parlodel. The medicines are available and as tablets and fluid. These medicines have a counteraction to the prolactin hormone and they relieve the milk secretion and disturbances of behaviour caused by the false pregnancy .
The acupuncture treatment has also been found as a way to treat false pregnancies and its symptoms. The symptoms will often disappear already after the first treatment. Furthermore, this method of treatment does not have at all side effects.
If on your dog has often false pregnancies (for example after every run), sterilising (the womb and the ovaries are removed) may come into question. The default of the heat circulation as a result of this operation may help to the symptoms of false pregnancies even though even this is not a hundred-per-cent sure method of treatment. The sterilisation operation is made when the prolactin is not on the rise (in other words there is no symptoms of the false pregnancy). Many people have prejudices in regard to the sterilisation of which one should get rid. With the right care the bitch neither gains weight nor become lazy (this is what is often afraid of). The only disadvantage of the sterilisation naturally is the sterilised bitch can not get pregnant or whelp. Instead many advantages are:
- the heats are excluded (and caused by this also shedding of hair, changing the pants of your bitch and being careful with neighbourhood's dogs are history)
- very often the symptoms of the false pregnancy also are excluded
- caused by the previous ones the womb inflammation risk disappears
- the sterilisation that has been made to a young bitch considerably decreases the possibility of mammary gland tumour
- Pet magazine (Lemmikki-lehti) 01/2001 (s. 9)
- Guide about the issue in Internet written by Veera Hovila: False pregnancy