False Pregnancy

[Millet 4,497]

She is as fit as a 10 1/2 mth old pup should be and muscling up well..she deffinitely is not flabby Penny apart from a couple of mammaries..she has been doing some good run's on the lamp also and catching well..but i will hold back on the lamping for now.. ..

As you know the vet's alway's try to get you to have your dog spayed..and the vet i seen yesterday siad she will keep having false pregnancies..what are the odd's of that happening as i don't trust my local vet's.

[skycat 6,173]

It's difficult to say anything without seeing the bitch, getting hands on her. Like I said, softening of muscles and increased mammary size is normal after a season: I wouldn't call that a true false pregnancy. Real false pregnancy is when the bitch's abdomen swells up and she nests, digs holes, mopes around like a dying duck in a thunderstorm etc etc It's like a real pregnancy but there's no puppies. From around 2-4 weeks after the imaginary pups have been born, she snaps out of it again as her hormones go back to a 'resting' stage. The actual changes in hormones are a lot more complex than we'd imagine.

 

Most vets are desperate to spay and castrate everything, and whilst it is true that there is a slightly chance of pyometra (infection of uterus) it is obvious that having no uterus (spayed) they can't get pyometras! I've only had one pyometra in over 40 years of keeping bitches so I doubt it's that common.

 

It's up to you whether or not you get her spayed, but if you do, wait until at least 3 months after she has finished a season.

[alfieboy87 0]

Galastop is a diuretic: it can dehydrate a bitch. It is an outmoded method of drying up milk, and can really take it out of a bitch, and IMO has no place in sensible animal welfare. Working a bitch hard when she is already dehydrated is a recipe for potential disaster. If a bitch is milked up it is much better to use something safe such as Urtica Urens 3c available from: http://www.dorwest.c...E--100-pillules

 

But it's not only the milk that causes a problem: ligaments slacken, muscles, soften and fat builds up round the heart and other internal organs> bitches shouldn't be run hard in that state as they are far more likely to suffer from muscles tears and joint damage in this condition: its like running a really unfit dog when they're like this.

 

Many bitches stay in this state for anything up to 3 months from the end of their season. If you know how your bitch's muscles feel when she's fit, you'll see a huge difference in the spring and tension of the muscle tissue when they are in the middle of a phantom pregnancy. It pays to handle your dog daily and really try to observe how she looks and feels like at the different hormonal stages of her cycle.

 

I thought Galastop was a prolactin inhibitor? My bad.... Nothing in the data about dehydration and its not an effect I've seen, used a bit in working Spaniel and Labs but not working lurchers/greyhounds. Not really a fan of the herbal stuff but each to their own.....

[skycat 6,173]

To be honest, I've not used it myself, and am only repeating what others have told me: I should have stated this when I first posted But I have been told (and read) that it can cause vomiting which can lead to dehydration, as well as hypotension (low blood pressure).

 

'Herbal' remedies can be just as dangerous as man made stuff, but Urtica Urens has long been used to increase or suppress milk production (depending on the strength used) and there are no known side effects. I've used it myself regularly (on the bitches!) and it really does work.

[Millet 4,497]

I used the Galastop that the vet give me and at £50 a pop i was not going to leave it on the shelf.. ... the pup is more or less back to normal now and they was no noticable side effect's from the medicine..