Has it ever happened to you that your dog has symptoms such as a discharge of milk, but you are more than sure that she is not pregnant?
This has a name and it is "a false pregnancy”, Or psychological pregnancy, and it is nothing more than a hormonal imbalance that occurs in the production of progesterone, which and consequently, usually conditions the body of bitches for pregnancy.
My dog has milk but is not pregnant, why?
Psychological pregnancy is the reason why we begin to notice milk production in bitchesas it increases the production of prolactin. In this way, we can also notice a maternal behavior in the bitches, practically the entire symptomatological package of a pregnancy but without the most important product, the offspring.
False pregnancy is one of the reasons why our dog can begin to secrete milk without being pregnant. It is also known as pseudopregnancy.
What are the symptoms of psychological pregnancy in bitches?
The most common symptoms are the following:
- It usually prepares the spaces for the apparent arrival of the young.
- You do not menstruate.
- It hides from practically anything the dog may consider threatening.
- Constant nerves, this being the reason why it tends to hide easily.
- Enlarged abdomen
- The breasts tend to grow, although it is not in all cases.
- Segregate milk.
- Irritability.
- Decreased activity.
- Anorexia or loss of appetite.
- In some cases they have weight gain.
- Changes in your behavior.
- Vaginal discharge
- Moaning and constant crying.
- Excessive maternal instinct, they tend to adopt an object as if it were their child and protect it in an exaggerated way.
Faced with these kinds of symptoms It is highly recommended to take our dog to the vet as soon as possible, in such a way that it is possible to carry out the pertinent tests to determine whether or not there really is a pregnancy in it.
Is there any psychological treatment for these situations?
Indeed, it is possible to accompany our dog during this difficult time with a few simple tasks. The vast majority of these aimed at reducing the levels of stress that our dog can present, as well as the anxiety and bad behaviors.
Hand in hand with this, it is important to give him a lot of love and companySince even dogs can use a lot of company and human warmth, it is therefore important to give them all the support they need during this situation.
It should be noted that psychological treatment does not consist of a series of steps, nor is it a set of guidelines that must be followed. It is simply necessary to ensure that our dog remains as comfortable as possible.
What effects can psychological pregnancy have on bitches?
The most frequent are usually:
- Anxiety, stress, hyperactive behaviors more and more frequently and for no apparent reason.
- Fever, complications with movement and carrying out daily activities.
- Infection in the breasts.
- Depression.
- Excessive milk production can cause mastitis.
Is it possible to prevent psychological pregnancy?
There is a very effective method, which in fact does not present any margin of error and it's about castration. Thus, their reproductive hormones will not be able to give rise to unevenness that can cause this kind of reactions in the bitch herself. In this way, it is possible to completely eliminate pseudopregnancy, as well as save ourselves having to treat all the symptoms previously exposed to save the life of our dog.
How long does the psychological pregnancy last?
It is not possible to indicate exactly how long a psychological pregnancy lasts in a bitch, since in each case this may vary. However, it is estimated that it can last between 1 and 3 weeks, time in which the symptoms of this begin to diminish.
But if more than 4 weeks pass with these symptoms, the bitch may have a more serious hormonal lack of control, having to be treated by the veterinarian with the appropriate treatment. You should also bear in mind that it is possible that this situation is frequent in your dog and that in each heat she has it occurs.
What to do when faced with a psychological pregnancy?
If your dog has the symptoms of a psychological pregnancy, you should follow the following tips to make the situation more bearable for you and her:
- Get him to try to forget a bit about what he's going through, increasing his walks and daily exercise. With this you will ensure that he does not become obsessed with psychological pregnancy.
- In this time your dog will be very melancholic and sensitive, so it will be necessary that you give him extreme affection. Give him a good dose of pampering!
- If you notice that she is trying to create a nest for the “arrival” of her young, try to avoid it at all costs, as this will only reinforce the maternal behavior she is having at the moment.
- Remove inanimate objects such as stuffed animals and toys from their reach, that can lead to your dog wanting to create a nest for them.
- Avoid as much as possible that your dog licks her breasts, since this self-stimulation will activate the secretion of milk. If necessary, use an Elizabethan collar for this.
- As well avoid excessive water intake, since in this way the production of milk in the bitch is also stimulated.
- Avoid giving home remedies, since many of these are not endorsed by veterinarians and can end up affecting the health of your dog.
Of course, take it to your trusted vet so that he is the one who confirms the state of health of the dog and indicates the appropriate treatment that she should receive.
Can you castrate a bitch with a psychological pregnancy?
The best thing to do in case of a psychological pregnancy or pseudopregnancy is to wait, since if the dog is in this situation at the time of surgery, first would not solve the problem immediatelySecond, by acting near the bitch's breast tissue, which is inflamed, healing problems can occur that will cause greater discomfort to the bitch in her scar, among other ailments.
Taking the above into account, veterinarians consider it prudent to wait for the bitch with this disease to stop producing milk in order to perform the surgery.
My dog has yellow fluid coming out of her breasts, is it normal?
When psychological pregnancies occur in bitches, yellow fluid may occasionally come out of the breasts with an expected texture. This is because we are in the presence of a mastitis, an infection of the bacterial type and that can be given to one or more of your breasts.
This kind of disease requires to be seen by a veterinarian, since in the bitch it can cause fever, depression and lack of appetite. Also, your breasts may turn blue and cause a lot of pain.
The veterinarian who treats the bitch will prescribe antibiotics and some procedures so that you can empty the contents into her breasts.
My dog gets brown liquid from her breasts
If your bitch's breasts are secreting brown liquid and she is not freshly delivered, may be due to a tumor in one of their breasts or in several of them, which is common in females that have not been sterilized and that usually manifests itself after six years of age.
Bitches presenting breast cancer, have a painless mass as the main symptom, which can cause a skin ulcer and bleeding. It is a rather delicate disease and it must be treated immediately, since it is possible that it will recur and metastasize in the dog's lungs.
Can a neutered dog have a psychological pregnancy?
After castration in a bitch, they may experience a psychological pregnancy, where one of the possible reasons may be that the surgery that was performed was not completely done, that is, the removal of one or both ovaries.
Another reason that can cause pseudopregnancy in castrated bitches is the existence of residual tissue in a different area of the ovarian region, which, as a general rule, can be found within the ovarian ligament or at the junction that exists with the abdominal wall.
The difference of neutered bitches, is that these will not present vulvar dischargeAlthough they can present a vaginal smear due to the presence of estrogens, but in general terms it has an appearance similar to that of bitches that have not been neutered.
Similarly, castrated bitches have a growth on the vulva, which attracts males due to their smell and may even present sacred in those with ovarian remains or in those bitches whose ovaries were removed, but not the womb.
In order to make a proper diagnosis in the neutered bitch, the veterinarian will have to perform a cytology or a blood test that determines the presence of progesterone or estrogens in it. Said tests must be repeated, since on several occasions it may not be determined, since they do not manifest themselves in a striking way.
After the determination by the veterinarian, he will tell you if the bitch will require a new operation to remove the ovarian remains or the most advisable treatment to perform.
Can you apply any homeopathic treatment?
In the presence of a psychological pregnancy in your dog, it is possible that some homeopathic treatments will be applied to them, which allow to alleviate the effects of this on your pet. They will perform an analysis and ask you a series of questions to find out in what condition the animal is. With all this information, they will give you the most appropriate treatment for her.
In any case, if your four-legged friend's case is serious, she must take some medication prescribed by her veterinarian. Remember that this can be a very painful process for the dog and what you have to look for is to be able to help her to be as good as possible.