beast 1,884 Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 didnt want to hijack the other thread, so here's a question. if a bitch suffers from phantoms, will taking a litter off her stop them in future? or do bitches ever have phantoms after their first litter if they have never had them before? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 6,174 Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 How do you define a phantom? Most bitches put on a certain amount of soft weight after a season, their mammary glands swell up, some may produce milk, their muscles lose tone: I would not class that as a phantom. To me a proper phantom is when the bitch believes she is pregnant, right up to the nesting, nursing behaviour, sometimes with abdominal swelling as well. I've only had one bitch do that, and she had been mated, but hadn't taken. So I don't have much experience with phantoms, but the bitch in question only did it the once after she had been mated. After other seasons she just put on a bit of weight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sirius 1,391 Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 didnt want to hijack the other thread, so here's a question. if a bitch suffers from phantoms, will taking a litter off her stop them in future? or do bitches ever have phantoms after their first litter if they have never had them before? Bitchs can have phantoms or pseudo pregnancies at any time as skycat says to varying degrees. Every bitch is different and its often a reoccurring problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 6,174 Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 Starlight, RIP, was actually a lot worse after having had a litter than before. I wouldn't have called them full blown phantoms, but she got tits like an old sow after a season, didn't actually produce milk, but got so soft and blubbery I used to call her the Teletubbie. Pretty useless for work for at least 4 months after a season Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beast 1,884 Posted August 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 thanks folks. none of my bitches has suffered from this to any degree so i'm no expert but we had a bitch when i was a kid which after every season would take to her bed with a squeaky toy and great udders full of milk and stay that way for what seemed ages. cant remember what my folks used to do , just let it run its course as i recollect, but would this not potentially lead to mastitis? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 6,174 Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 BItches who suffer from severe milking up do have an increased tendency towards mastitis and also to mammary cancer in later years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beast 1,884 Posted August 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2013 BItches who suffer from severe milking up do have an increased tendency towards mastitis and also to mammary cancer in later years. yep, she had mammary tumours when she got to about 15. lived to 17 though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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