Phantom Pregnancy And Speying

[jinnyfizz]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

One of my brindle twins, Ella, was 2 years old at the end of June.

She had her first season at exactly a year old and followed up with her second 10 months later.

On each occasion she has had a phantom pregnancy, and on this occasion she is now producing milk.

All the research I have done points to speying as the mandatory solution but I wondered if anyone else has had this situation and if speying helped?

I understand that phantoms can still occur, even in the speyed bitch, and I am also worried about Ella's weight as she is prone to being labrador sized

Have you had a whippet girl with the same problem and did you have her speyed?

What has she been like since?

Poor little Ella isn't happy so I must help her somehow

Decisions, decisions :wacko: :unsure: :sweating:

Thanks in advance for your input :thumbsup:

 

[affieluver]

jane i had exactly the same problem with angel in the end it got to a point of no return as she was having phantoms every season including the nursing of imaginary puppies :wacko:

not only was she miserable she was starting to be aggressive to daisy when i had her which was totally out of character for her since having her spayed 3 months ago i have a much happier dog with none of the added stress of imaginary babies keeping her weight down is a problem but one i think is minimal to the risk of cancer she would have had if i let it carry on i was under the impression that as long as you were at least 3 months clear of her last season before having her spayed the risk of her having another phantom is very slim and angel certainly hasn't thought about it since

it was definately the best decision for us all good luck with whatever you decide :luck: )

 

[Hula]

They shouldn't get phantoms as long as they are spayed when they are not in a phantom pregnancy .

If they have phantoms they are more likely to have mammary tumours and/or a pyometra

 

[AnnSa]

Sada didnt have phantoms but she was really miserable when in season.

So after the second one i had her speyed, she's a much happier girl

without them. But i really struggle with her wieght...........but saying

that she was 'big boned' before as well :lol:

 

[Trish]

Ive had the same problems in the past , firstly molly,she had a phantom after every season and at 7 years old i decided to get her speyed as she was so miserable every time, speying gave her a new lease of life and no more seasons or phantoms

millie had her first season at 13 months and 8 weeks later a phantom and again after her second season so she was booked into be speyed and again shes so happy and doesnt have any phantoms

 

[whippetmad]

Whatever the advice and decisions Jane,hope its sorts itself out hun :luck:

 

[lorna anne]

One of my brindle twins, Ella, was 2 years old at the end of June.
She had her first season at exactly a year old and followed up with her second 10 months later.

On each occasion she has had a phantom pregnancy, and on this occasion she is now producing milk.

All the research I have done points to speying as the mandatory solution but I wondered if anyone else has had this situation and if speying helped?

I understand that phantoms can still occur, even in the speyed bitch, and I am also worried about Ella's weight as she is prone to being labrador sized

Have you had a whippet girl with the same problem and did you have her speyed?

What has she been like since?

Poor little Ella isn't happy so I must help her somehow

Decisions, decisions :wacko: :unsure: :sweating:

Thanks in advance for your input :thumbsup:

I had a similar problem with my Doberman bitches a number of years ago. Their hormonal cycle was messing with their heads something terrible. From week to week their entire temperaments would change - one week loving, calm, happy dogs, the next week neurotic and possessive about toys, the next week miserable and off their food, the next week digging holes and trying to make a nest for the 'puppies', the next week aggro and snappy, and so on . . . . . After they had been spayed these dreadful swings in temperament disappeared overnight. It was undoubtedly the best decision for them.

About the weight. Try and get the weight off BEFORE you spay. And then, just be very strict about not letting the weight creep back again. The low calorie dog foods do help, as does increased exercise obviously. I have found feeding them carrots and apples as treats between meals fills up their tummies and helps with the hunger pangs and doesn't put on weight. Good Luck. Lorna

 

[devonmaid]

its a difficult one ,coping with phantoms or keeping your dog hungry to prevent weight gain ,in the past i,ve used evening primrose to help bad moods lol, raspberry leaf is supposed to help to prevent milk ,and galastop to stop milk .ohhh and one of my poor dogs had a terrible experiance with epsome salts when i was advised to use it and didnt know the doseage not sure if it worked or she was just so dehydrated from the loose stools (w00t) and the milk dried up anyway :x

 

[whippetwise]

Lucy had a phantom pregnancy after her first season, I decided to get her spayed after that as I believe everyone should spay and neuter so as not to add the the dog overpopulation problem. Also there are health benefits from spaying. After the op the vet told me when they took out her womb it was full of cysts and she had the start of pyometra. If I had left her and not gotten her spayed when I did I could have lost her.

 

[peppermint sue]

We had flo spayed early this year she was so unhappy when in season she is a different dog now .

I also had problems with her weight before spaying she would pile the weight on .

since spaying her weight is spot on well pleased we had her done

 

[beaker]

About the weight. Try and get the weight off BEFORE you spay. And then, just be very strict about not letting the weight creep back again. The low calorie dog foods do help, as does increased exercise obviously. I have found feeding them carrots and apples as treats between meals fills up their tummies and helps with the hunger pangs and doesn't put on weight. Good Luck. Lorna

really agree here, also reducing her weight now should help reduce the length of time her current phantom lasts for, hopefully if her system registers that there isn't enough 'spare in store' to feed puppies it will decrease the chances of further phantoms happening.

and if you do spey her it's so much easier keeping it off than getting it off

it bloomin tough though trying to convince them that the diet is good for them

 

[meddling]

I had Daisy Spayed when she was two, after a rather disasterous litter.

She has had 'seasons' in her head ever since (randy little bugger!!!) and false pregnancies also, but not to the point of producing milk, just behaviourly! She's a hopeless case as she is now 11 1/2!

 

[bertha]

I have two spayed girls, the greyhound is a different dog now. She got so upset with her rear end when she was in season, crying and washing. Then she would have a phantom so I get her done. Best for her as she has no problems to worry about now. Poppy I had done when I got Pye, she's fine, had her done between seasons, she has become a puppy again, all playful again. I am sure it is for the best for some bitches.

It certainly makes life easier if you don't intend to breed.

 

[FeeFee]

I've only had experience of this with a foster dog, she came into season shortly after arriving in her foster home then had a phantom pregnancy that seemed to last weeks. Almost as soon as that stopped she came into season again, and then had another phantom, and so on. Poor little dog was so distressed with the phantoms she hardly knew where to put herself.

We found out she'd been going through the cycle of frequent seasons and phantom pregnancies for years before she came to us

The vet did warn us that we had to be very careful not to spay while her hormone levels were out of kilter, or it could make her worse. I seem to remember she had an injection to end a phantom pregnancy eventually, as we were beginning to despair of ever finding a safe time to spay her. She was a different dog once she'd been spayed - no more problems at all and a new lease of life, bless her.

All my own bitches have been spayed and I've never had any problems with them gaining weight. I think it's a bit of a myth that spaying makes dogs fat, so long as they are fed sensibly and get enough exercise there really shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Hula]

My dogs are always spayed and I have never had a fat dog . They can only get fat if the get too much too eat in relation to how much exercise they get

 

[eve]

I agree. Spayed bitches only get fat if they are overfed in relation to how much exercise they get.

My bitches have always been spayed at whatever age they have come to live with us. Lilly was the only one that we have left for a while. She had been a very nervous little thing and became much calmer and relaxed and if anything more playful.

I do find that my spayed bitches need slightly less (about 10% less) food (sorry girls ) I think that they metabolise food slightly differently as they lacking certain hormones and are not having spend energy on manufacturing hormones either.

I am sure poor little Ella will feel a lot better when her phantom pregnancies stop.

 

[jinnyfizz]

Thank you for all the advice, everyone!

I shall wait until Ella has finished her phantom and then try to trim her weight down for a month or so before having her speyed.

She is already into month 4 following her season so I do hope she isn't planning on another in October :blink: ....... it was 10 months between the first two :thumbsup:

 

[saraquele]

jane i had exactly the same problem with angel in the end it got to a point of no return as she was having phantoms every season including the nursing of imaginary puppies :wacko:

not only was she miserable she was starting to be aggressive to daisy when i had her which was totally out of character for her since having her spayed 3 months ago i have a much happier dog with none of the added stress of imaginary babies keeping her weight down is a problem but one i think is minimal to the risk of cancer she would have had if i let it carry on i was under the impression that as long as you were at least 3 months clear of her last season before having her spayed the risk of her having another phantom is very slim and angel certainly hasn't thought about it since

it was definately the best decision for us all good luck with whatever you decide :luck: )

have to agree with everything kelly says ,i had jan neuterd 2 months ago and so far havent looked back

 

[teresa]

jane i had exactly the same problem with angel in the end it got to a point of no return as she was having phantoms every season including the nursing of imaginary puppies :wacko:

not only was she miserable she was starting to be aggressive to daisy when i had her which was totally out of character for her since having her spayed 3 months ago i have a much happier dog with none of the added stress of imaginary babies keeping her weight down is a problem but one i think is minimal to the risk of cancer she would have had if i let it carry on i was under the impression that as long as you were at least 3 months clear of her last season before having her spayed the risk of her having another phantom is very slim and angel certainly hasn't thought about it since

it was definately the best decision for us all good luck with whatever you decide :luck: )

have to agree with everything kelly says ,i had jan neuterd 2 months ago and so far havent looked back

 

[teresa]

Had the same dilemma this time last year. Kitty had phantoms after each season and was becoming very attractive towards other dogs(especially other bitches surprisingly). Finally made the decision to spay and haven't regretted it , she has put on some weight but as she is 7, some of that could also be put down to the fact that dogs quieten down with maturity!