home Folk remedies Where does a dog's milk come from? False pregnancy in dogs: symptoms, treatment, how long it lasts, what to do. Drug assistance for false pregnancy

Where does a dog's milk come from? False pregnancy in dogs: symptoms, treatment, how long it lasts, what to do. Drug assistance for false pregnancy

After the completion of the long-awaited birth of a pet, the owner faces many concerns about caring for the new mother and her offspring. For a number of reasons, the female cannot always provide sufficient milk to the born puppies. In this case, the owner needs to take measures to activate lactation in the dog and take charge of feeding the babies.

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How to tell if your dog has low milk supply

In the first hours and days after birth, colostrum begins to be produced in the mammary glands of mammals. The secret is highly nutritious milk with a high content of immunoglobulins, vitamins, proteins and complete amino acids. Colostrum is a natural immune defense for newborns from pathogenic microbes and viruses, protecting the baby’s body from infections in the first days and even months after birth.

Approximately 3-4 days after the birth of the offspring, the secretion of the mammary glands becomes similar to cow's milk. Its composition contains approximately 2 times more fat than whole cow's milk. For newborns, it is the source of all nutrients and is well absorbed by puppies.

The absence (agalactia) or insufficient amount of milk (hypogalactia) in a domestic dog is not so difficult to recognize. As a rule, the problem is indicated by the behavior of the offspring. Well-fed newborns are not fussy, but calm, sleeping almost all the time, huddling together near the warm belly of their mother. Hungry puppies become active, crawl around the nest in search of food, and squeak a lot.

An owner can also suspect hypogalactia in a dog based on thinness or lack of weight gain in the offspring, with regular monitoring of the newborn's live weight gain.

The problem with a lack of milk secretion is indicated not only by the behavior of the puppies, but also by the mother herself. The dog can leave the nest for a long time, when trying to suckle, it runs away from the babies, sometimes even showing aggression towards them. This behavior is associated with pain when puppies suck on empty mammary glands.

The owner can make sure that the dog has no milk on his own by pressing on the milk nipples. Their examination reveals cracks and roughening. A change in secretion (watery or mucous discharge, abnormal color) may indicate that the animal has mastitis.

Causes of lactation problems

According to veterinary experts, the following reasons can cause agalactia or insufficient production of milk secretion in an animal:

The animal gives birth for the first time. Lack of milk in a primiparous female is a fairly common phenomenon associated with the slow production of hormones that stimulate milk production. The stress that dogs experience when encountering unusual sensations in their bodies for the first time also delays the normal production of secretions by the mammary glands.
Complicated labor. Difficult labor, significant blood loss, and the use of antispasmodics are factors that provoke agalactia and insufficient milk production. The cause of impaired secretion may be a caesarean section performed on the animal.
The reason for the lack of milk in a new mother is often diseases of the genital organs(endometritis, vaginitis, inflammation or ovarian cyst, etc.). Under the influence of inflammatory and hormonal factors in the dog’s body, the processes of milk production and separation are disrupted.
Disturbances in the feeding system of a pregnant female. Inadequate diet, low quality feed, lack of vitamin A, E, and ascorbic acid in the diet negatively affect milk production in the female who has given birth.
Unsatisfactory living conditions for the animal. The lactation process can slow down significantly if the dog is kept in a cold, damp, unheated room.

Veterinary experts note that agalactia or insufficient milk production is often caused by certain medications used to treat a dog during pregnancy.

What to do to increase milk supply for a nursing dog

When faced with the problem of insufficient milk production in a pet that has given birth, the owner should take the following measures to restore it:

Stimulate milk production by developing the mammary glands. The last pair of nipples is the most productive. If the litter is large, then the healthiest and tallest puppies should be placed near the first nipples so that they develop them and thereby increase milk production. The owner can also regularly massage the dog’s mammary glands on his own.
You can increase secretion production by including certain foods in your animal’s diet. First of all, the dog should be fed liquid food. It is necessary to increase the amount of liquid consumed by the pet - water, milk. To stimulate milk production, experienced breeders give the new mother cow's milk and honey.
Walnuts have a milk-containing effect. They should be given one three times a day. The dog's diet should contain dairy products - cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, natural yogurt. According to experienced dog breeders, the use of biogenic stimulants, such as Apilac, has a good effect.

On the recommendation of a veterinarian, the animal may be prescribed hormonal medications. Oxytocin is most often used to activate the milk production process in obstetric practice. The hormonal substance stimulates the formation of milk in the dog’s mammary glands and relieves pain when puppies suck.

In some cases, the inclusion of calcium supplements in the diet helps to activate milk production. The mineral is lost by the mother's body during pregnancy and often leads not only to postpartum eclampsia, but also affects milk production after the birth of the offspring.

How to feed puppies if lactation cannot be established

In the case when the dog cannot quickly restore milk production, or the mother’s milk is not enough for the babies, the owner needs to take care of feeding the puppies. The best substitute is a specialized mixture for newborn puppies. You can buy powdered milk at a veterinary pharmacy or pet store.

A substitute product, for example from Royal Canine, is usually a set of dry mixture, a bottle with marked divisions, a measuring spoon for the correct dosage and several nipples of different sizes.

If there is no special formula for newborn puppies, you can feed the babies with boiled cow's milk. For half a liter of whole product, add one chicken yolk and 100 ml of cream. Many dog breeders successfully feed newborns with goat milk. You can also add one beaten chicken yolk to it. When feeding puppies natural milk, you should boil it and carefully monitor the baby’s intestinal function.

Feeding puppies with formula milk

Ready-made infant formulas are suitable for artificial feeding. Taking into account the fact that bitch's milk is fatty, infant formula must be diluted not in water, but in boiled cow product.

The prepared substitute should be fed warm. The frequency of feeding depends on the age of the babies. In the first 7 days of life, puppies should receive another portion of food every 2 hours. When babies are 2 weeks old, they are fed 10 times, at the age of three weeks - 8 times a day.

When using a ready-made specialized mixture, the instructions provide detailed feeding schemes for various breeds of animals (multiplicity, serving size). If whole cow's or goat's milk or infant formula is used for artificial feeding, then the owner needs to control the weight gain of the young animals using special tables for a particular breed.

The strength of lactation in a dog after birth depends on a number of reasons. In some cases, the owner is able to quickly establish the process of milk production by including special supplements in the diet or using medications on the recommendation of a veterinarian. However, a responsible dog owner should be prepared to bottle-feed newborns using special formula or whole milk.

Useful video

Watch this video about artificial feeding of puppies and kittens:

Lactation

Lactation is the last stage of the female's reproductive cycle. Milk secretion is stimulated mainly by the action of appropriate hormones and the act of sucking - one of the first innate reflexes of the cubs. When sucking, the nerve endings of the mammary gland are irritated, which is reflexively transmitted to the pituitary gland, causing it to release lactogenic hormones that promote the production and separation of milk.

The mammary glands are derivatives of the skin, that is, a modification of the skin glands. The female has 4–6 pairs of mammary glands, located in two rows on the lower part of the abdominal and chest walls. Before the first pregnancy they are usually poorly developed. After fertilization, in the second third of pregnancy, the glands begin to enlarge, swell, become more tense and sensitive. This is the preparatory period for the release of milk. Milk secretion usually begins 2-3 days before birth.

Regulation of breast functions

The changing hormonal status of the bitch during pregnancy leads to an increase in the size of the mammary glands and the development of glandular tissue in them.

By their origin, the mammary glands are modified skin glands. Each gland is represented by one or one and a half dozen separate lobules, between which lie layers of adipose and connective tissue. In each lobule, tiny thin blind-ending tubes are found - alveolar milk ducts, at the end of which there are alveoli. The glandular cells of the alveoli lying in one row on the surface of the basement membrane - lactocytes with a well-developed endoplasmic reticulum and a transport system for synthesized substances - secrete a multicomponent secretion - milk, which is secreted into the lumen of the alveoli. Contractions of the stellate myoepithelial cells lead to the release of milk from the alveoli into numerous alveolar milk ducts, which in turn empty into the milk ducts, through which the resulting milk passes into the mammary sinuses, which serve as milk reservoirs. Each milk sinus opens on the nipple. Under the influence of hormones during pregnancy, the number of alveolar ducts and alveoli increases and the mammary gland is capable of producing large amounts of milk. In addition, the skin of the nipples contains a large number of nerve endings, the irritation of which contributes to the implementation of the milk secretion reflex.

In the activity of the mammary gland, secretory and motor functions can be distinguished. First - milk secretion - is the process of milk formation in glandular tissue. The second is related to secretion of milk from the milk ducts, occurring when the smooth muscles of the milk ducts penetrating the gland tissue contract, and the smooth muscles of the main duct, the cistern, relax at the same time. This reaction is called the milk ejection reflex. The arc of the milk ejection reflex lies in the higher parts of the central nervous system. Nervous influences on the mammary gland occur through various pathways. The extremely easy inhibition of the process of milk ejection itself and its dependence on external stimuli indicate a large role in this process of the cerebral cortex.

Rice. 14. Lobe of the mammary gland: 1, 2, 4, 5 - excretory lobular ducts; 6 - excretory duct of the lobe; 3 - secretory sacs of the gland

Regulation of the secretory activity of the mammary gland is carried out with the participation of a special mechanism that functions depending on the influence of the nervous system on the pituitary gland and other endocrine glands. It has been established that the condition of the mammary glands during pregnancy is closely related to the function of the ovaries, as described above. Their growth during puberty is due to the action of estrogens; After castration at a young age, the mammary glands do not develop.

The hormonal mechanism constitutes an important efferent link in the reflex from the nipples to the mammary gland and regulates the process of milk formation. It has been established that the enlargement of the mammary glands during pregnancy is influenced by both estrogens and gestagens (progesterone). Estrogens stimulate the growth of milk ducts and connective tissue, and progesterone stimulates the development of alveoli. Both of these processes are observed throughout pregnancy.

Irritation of the nipples by the baby causes a reflex release of the lactogenic hormone - prolactin - by the pituitary gland.

Prolactin - lactogenic hormone of the pituitary gland - stimulates the development of mammary glands during pregnancy and after childbirth only in combination with the hormone of the corpus luteum - progesterone. In addition, as mentioned earlier, the development of the mammary glands is also affected by chorionic somatomammotropin.

The reflex formation and separation of milk is facilitated by irritation of the cervical receptors in the process. In this case, the pituitary gland secretes oxytocin, which is the releasing hormone of prolactin.

The receptor function of the mammary gland is carried out by irritation during sucking of the interoreceptors of the mammary glands, embedded in the vascular bed, cisterns, small excretory ducts of the glands, and receptors on the skin surface of the nipples.

Rice. 15. Scheme of regulation of breast function

Rice. 16. Composition of dog milk,% (according to R. Flindt, 1992)

In newborn puppies, as in all mammals, the permeability of the cell membrane of the intestinal cell is extremely high. Digestion in the cavity of the stomach and intestines is poorly developed. In the first days, the primary role is played by intracellular digestion, which takes place according to the type of endocytosis, that is, there is an intensive absorption of macromolecules by intestinal cells and their delivery to the internal environment of the body. This mechanism ensures the entry of immunoglobulins from mother’s milk into the newborn’s body. However, when replacing bitch milk with surrogate milk, foreign antigens will enter the internal environment of the newborn’s body, since at an early age the immune barrier in the gastrointestinal tract does not yet exist. This can subsequently cause the development of many immunological disorders and diseases. It follows that all newborn puppies in the litter should receive only mother's milk. The introduction of surrogate supplementary feeding is permissible only in the second week of the puppies’ life, when the process of endocytosis ceases to play a major role in the digestion of puppies.

If for the first three weeks all the energy needs of puppies are met by mother’s milk, then starting from the 21st–22nd day of life, that is, from the moment when enzymes designed to break down meat proteins are activated in the intestines of puppies, there is an urgent need for additional amounts of proteins. , fats and carbohydrates with new types of food.

The quality and quantity of milk secreted by the bitch may depend on the composition of the food, the amount of liquid the dog drinks, and on its individual characteristics. One of the most common mistakes made by breeders is to intensively pump up milk from the very first hours after birth. The bitch is given liters of tea with milk, which increases the diarrhea, although it actually causes an increase in the amount of milk, which the puppies are not able to suck out. The mammary glands swell, stagnation of milk forms in them, which easily leads to mastitis - inflammation of the mammary glands. But most importantly, the lactation process slows down sharply, since the signal entering the brain and stimulating the pituitary gland is precisely the emptying of the mammary glands. Ideally, puppies should suck all the milk that has been produced so far. After they stop sucking and fall asleep, the mammary glands are practically empty. By the next feeding, after 1-2 hours, they will be filled with milk again. A sign that the bitch has enough milk is the condition of the puppies. Well-fed puppies are elastic, shiny, warm, with full bellies; after feeding, they sleep in a small group. They are growing normally and gaining weight. Hungry and underfed puppies look thin, their stomachs are sunken, their skin is flabby, they squeak while feeding, and when the bitch leaves, they crawl around squeaking in search of their mother. If a bitch does not have enough milk, the mammary glands do not fill up for the next feeding. Sometimes it happens that the glands are filled with milk, but something prevents normal milk production. Perhaps the nipples are not developed enough and the puppies have difficulty sucking, or the glands are too swollen and hard, or the milk simply does not come out. In the first two cases, vigorously, but at the same time quite gently, take the nipple with two fingers, express excess milk and place the nipple in the puppy's mouth. Work out all the nipples this way. If the bitch really has little milk or it does not separate, urgent medical intervention is necessary.

A very unpleasant situation can arise when there are only one or two puppies, but there is too much milk. In this case, it is necessary to completely eliminate dairy products for one or two days and sharply reduce the amount of fluid consumed by the bitch. Puppies should try to be applied equally to all nipples, first of all to the most swollen ones. You can express milk from hardened glands once (but no more!). It is useful to apply a pressure bandage to the upper glands, leaving one or two pairs of nipples on the abdomen free. Usually the rear pair of nipples is the milkiest for a bitch; puppies often prefer the nipples of the second pair, obviously they are the most comfortable. After two or three days, milk flow should improve and the bitch can start feeding normally. But in any case, a litter of one or two puppies and a litter of five to six or more puppies require a completely different approach. Dogs typically nurse puppies until they are 6–8 weeks old. There is no need to try to stop lactation prematurely, citing the fact that you do not want the bitch’s nipples and belly to sag excessively. With a normal build, there is absolutely no need to be afraid of this. After the end of lactation, the glands will tighten and the bitch will quickly restore her waist, even after several births, unless, of course, you fatten her up.

Pregnancy is an integral part of the life cycle of any living creature. This process is accompanied by changes in the pet’s behavior, mood, lifestyle, and awakens its instincts.

But what to do when changes occurring in the body, masquerading as pregnancy, actually have serious consequences for health and life? You need to keep your eyes open to help your four-legged friend avoid lifelong injuries.

False pregnancy is a special physiological state of an animal that not an abnormality or disease. It occurs not only in dogs, but also in other mammals (rabbits, cats, ferrets), although it is most noticeable in dogs.

False pregnancy occurs in unmated bitches after estrus or after mating that did not result in fertilization. The dog’s body begins to produce the same hormones as during true pregnancy. Therefore, on a physiological level, the bitch feels pregnant. Almost all the signs are the same:

mammary glands swell;
the stomach increases;
prolactin fluid appears from the nipples;
sometimes there is discharge from the loop.

When does it occur and for what reasons?

One of the reasons for the manifestation of this condition is considered to be periodization of the appearance of puppies in the pack. In nature, everything is arranged in such a way that the females of one pack are in heat (estrus) and give birth to puppies during the allotted period.

In order for the maximum number of individuals to survive, even in unfertilized females in the flock, the mechanism of false pregnancy is activated. Lactation of such bitches allows them participate in the process of feeding someone else's offspring. False pregnancy usually appears 4-9 weeks after estrus.

Signs

Let's look at everything in detail manifestations of false pregnancy with a description of the reasons.

Enlargement and swelling of the mammary glands. It is caused by the secretion of prolactin, a breastfeeding hormone that is released during true pregnancy so that the mother can feed her offspring.
Changes in breast pigmentation also due to the release of prolactin and changes in the structure of the epithelium in the glandular zone. The skin becomes softer and more porous so that the puppy can drink milk without difficulty.
Formation and secretion of milk from the mammary glands, as a consequence of the previous two factors.
Swelling of the loop and the appearance of discharge from it. Why does this happen: when the concentration of prolactin, according to the daily cycle, falls, and progesterone increases, since these two hormones have a feedback mechanism.
Loss of appetite. The mother's body is under stress and all resources are directed towards raising the offspring. This lowers the priority of all other life systems.

Changes in behavior

How does falsehood begin?

When the moment comes when the female is ready to mate, her body has increased estrogen and pheromone levels, attracting males. If the rest of the dogs in the social group are ready for mating physiologically and morally, then individuals who do not want to mate are still subject to hormonal changes.
During the mating process there should be fertilization of the uterus, after which the processes of “motherhood” are launched. This is provided by nature by default. That is, the options in which the mating is interrupted, the puppies were born unhealthy and died, a miscarriage occurred or intrauterine death of the fetus are unnatural and do not interrupt the hormonal cycle.
Dogs lack the part of their brain responsible for logical cause-and-effect relationships. First of all, it is controlled age and seasonal instincts. She looks at the dogs around her and adapts to the circumstances.

REFERENCE! In case of hormonal abnormalities, injuries or death of the mother, her puppies begin to be fed by other, usually childless, females.

How to prevent it?

The only way to prevent pregnancy is limit dog contact with other members of the pack during puberty and adulthood. If a dog was adopted by people into a family as a puppy, and grew up without communication with other females, its instincts will be in an inactive state.

You can also carry out HRT (hormone replacement therapy), I regulate hormone levels manually. But this method can have side effects and affect the dog’s health and future ability to have healthy offspring. In addition, the procedure is expensive and requires constant monitoring of tests.

Can the symptoms be eliminated?

To speed up the course of a false pregnancy you need to:

Eliminate everything from the female's diet dairy and lactose-containing products(milk, whey, cottage cheese). This will reduce the volume of milk or stop lactation altogether.
Limit water consumption(if you fed your dog dry food, switch it to regular food, because access to water will be temporarily limited). To avoid harm to your health, increase the amount of liquid food.
Reduce your usual portion of food, but increase the number of meals.
Exercise your pet physically. Create conditions in which she will move more in order to divert her attention and normalize her physical and psychological state, as well as distract her from caring for imaginary offspring.
Don't express milk- this will only increase its production, since the dog thinks that puppies drink its milk and needs more of it.
Hide all the toys(especially those that look like dogs), limit your dog's exposure to other puppies and females.

IMPORTANT! With some types of poisoning, dogs exhibit similar symptoms, including discharge of fluid from the nipples. But this substance is mucus that passes through the skin under the influence of pressure in the abdominal cavity.

In this case, fluid accumulates in the stomach and intestines, which is difficult to remove and interferes with digestion. Just in case, if you experience bloating and fluid discharge visit your veterinarian for an accurate diagnosis.

How to avoid relapse?

As described above, a dog living in a social group (pack) undergoes massive seasonal changes, which does not depend on its desire to mate. The changes are hormonal in nature, and their mechanism of action resembles unconditioned reflexes.

Neither sterilization nor childbirth stops this process, since its frequency and chance of occurrence is determined by genetic predisposition.

In other words: if a dog was born to become a mother, this will happen in any successful case. With or without reason, symptoms of false pregnancy will arise, and each time the female will be sure that her mother’s hour has come.

Useful video

In this video, the veterinarian will talk about the causes, as well as symptoms and treatment of false pregnancy in dogs:

Conclusion

Sometimes the brain and body deceive us, giving us wishful thinking. And if a person can objectively assess his condition or be diagnosed by a doctor, then our smaller brothers rely only on the call of nature and primitive instincts. Watch closely for the health, mood, behavior of your pet, because we are responsible for those we have tamed.

In contact with

Most often, unexpected nipple discharge should be a sign of concern, but such signs do not always indicate that someone has a serious illness. The mammary gland is a gland for which the process of secreting secretions is natural. Therefore, discharge from the nipples does not yet indicate any violations and it is quite normal that they sometimes appear. Among the causes of this kind of discharge from the nipple, cancer is quite rare.

Nipple discharge in dogs: what is it?

If the dog does not feed the puppies, the fluid that is released from the nipples of its mammary glands during this period is considered discharge. This secretion flows in the same way as breastfeeding milk. Discharge from the nipple can occur on one side or simultaneously on both sides. They can be released independently or due to mechanical action - pressure on the mammary glands. The discharge is either milky or specific: brown, yellowish, greenish, sometimes bloody. The consistency of the discharge also varies depending on the thickness, up to liquid. With age and the number of pregnancies experienced, the frequency of nipple discharge in a dog also increases.

What you need to know when consulting a veterinarian

Before examining the dog, the veterinarian will ask the owner a number of mandatory questions in this case.

Therefore, the owner must be prepared for such an interrogation, and operate with the following information about:

Color of nipple discharge;
Number of discharges;
The place where the discharge comes from means that the substance is released from both mammary glands or from one;
The production of discharge from one or more holes on the nipple;
About the nature of their appearance: independent discharge or under mechanical influence.

The doctor will definitely ask about other accompanying symptoms, such as:

Lethargy;
Fever;
Pain in the mammary glands;
Visual impairment;
Presence of wounds and chest injuries;
About medications that may be currently used to treat your dog.

Only after a detailed interview, the veterinarian performs an examination and examination of the mammary gland. Depending on the test results obtained, there may be a need to conduct additional research, which include;

Mammography;
Blood analysis;
Ductography is a special study that makes it possible to bring everything necessary to the maximum condition of the ducts of the mammary glands.

Causes of nipple discharge in dogs

Discharge from the nipple may be physiological in nature. In the modern world, in almost all countries, some changes are occurring with dogs, but, as a rule, they do not require special intervention. Irritation of the nipples occurs, which is caused by squeezing the nipples to contain the secretions. For example, stimulation itself is often accompanied by discharge from the nipples.

At the same time, discharge from a dog’s nipples can also be caused by certain pathological processes. Such processes include:

Ectasia of the milk ducts

This condition is a common cause of nipple discharge. In this case, inflammation of one of the milk ducts occurs. This duct is filled with a mass of thick and sticky consistency of greenish or blackish shades. To somehow alleviate this condition, you can use warm compresses. To reduce pain, anti-inflammatory drugs are used. Most often, for inflammation, the veterinarian prescribes antibiotics. Sometimes it is necessary to resort to surgery to remove the duct.

Intraductal papilloma

It looks like a small formation in the milk duct. As a rule, such papilloma is benign. The reasons that provoke its appearance have not yet been clarified. The discharge is bloody in nature, appearing either after pressing on the nipple or on its own. In the nipple area, formations may appear that feel like a tumor.

Breast injuries

Breast injuries are the most common causes of nipple discharge. They may be transparent or bloody in nature.

Mastitis

This is an inflammatory process in the mammary gland. It occurs due to the accumulation of pus in the mammary glands, which is secreted by the milk ducts.

Fibrocystic mastopathy

Mastopathy is characterized by a condition that results in an imbalance of the mammary glands, namely an imbalance of the cystic and fibrous components. The reason for this is considered to be a hormonal imbalance.

Breast cancer

Nipple discharge can even indicate cancer. You may experience itching in the area around the nipples, redness or darkening of the areola. The shape of the nipple may even change. Nipple discharge in dogs can also be bloody.

Thus, nipple discharge in dogs varies in nature and is caused by a variety of reasons. Some of these discharges are completely natural and safe, others require examination by a veterinarian and appropriate action.

Pseudopregnancy can hardly be called a disease. This is a physiological condition, the symptoms of which are observed periodically in 60% of non-pregnant females. During this syndrome, the bitch exhibits all lactation in the absence of fertilization. Signs of pseudopregnancy mainly appear 1-2 months after pregnancy, most often in older females, regardless of whether they have brought puppies before or not.

What is a false pregnancy in a dog, its causes and how long does it last?

As a result of false pregnancy syndrome, dogs experience mental and physiological changes. The exact reasons for the development of this condition have not yet been identified. There is an assumption that it occurs as a reaction to hormonal changes at the end of estrus due to excessive production of the lactogenic hormone.

Causes of the syndrome:

irregular breeding activity;
metritis (purulent inflammatory processes);
uneven or excessive production of a hormone that should only be produced during pregnancy.

In the third phase of the estrous cycle, females produce corpus luteum producing pregnancy hormone. If fertilization has occurred, other types of hormones come into play. If there is no pregnancy, the corpus luteum is gradually depleted and the body returns to its previous work. The lifespan of the corpus luteum lasts, like pregnancy, up to 70 days. It turns out that, regardless of whether fertilization has occurred or not, pregnancy hormones are released in the female’s body and their quantity determines how pronounced the symptoms of pseudo-pregnancy will be.

If the female has gone through mating, the cause of her false pregnancy may be the resorption or death of the embryos. Embryos can be absorbed up to 4 weeks into pregnancy. The offspring may die due to changes in housing conditions, incompatibility of male and female, or violation of the feeding regime.

During this period, females maternal behavior is observed and milk is produced. Most bitches begin to carry small toys and shoes around the house and put them in their bed. A severe case is considered to be the situation when the female begins to tense up, as during childbirth.

What are the signs of false pregnancy in dogs? Pseudopregnancy begins 5-8 weeks after estrus. During this process, the female mammary glands swell with the subsequent production of milk, the animal begins to whine and build a nest for itself. Outbursts of aggression may occur.

Clinical symptoms also include loss of appetite, desire for solitude and refusal to walk. In some females these symptoms can be pronounced, in others they go unnoticed.

In particularly severe cases There is lameness on the hind legs, a stiff gait and unsteadiness of the rear. Here it is necessary to exclude the possibility of developing diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Treatment of false pregnancy in dogs

Most cases of false pregnancy do not need treatment. Signs of neurosis will go away much faster if you take away from the female all the toys that she mistook for puppies. In the absence of incentives for further lactation, signs of pregnancy may subside spontaneously.

If a false pregnancy is acute, is accompanied by apathy, restricting the diet does not contribute to improvement, it is imperative to visit a doctor.

The most effective treatment in this case is hormonal therapy. Preparations containing estrogens, progestogens, androgens and their combinations should be used with caution. The consequences of taking them can manifest themselves in baldness at the injection site or discoloration of the fur, the return of lactation after stopping the drug, etc.

Hormonal therapy should not be used in females who have not reached puberty or during their first estrus. Such treatment is not harmless to the animal’s body and can have many consequences.

If a female has ever experienced pseudopregnancy, this condition may return to her after each heat. If this happens all the time, and the female has no breeding value, she is recommended to avoid problems with oncology.

Pseudopregnancy can damage not only the animal’s nervous system, but also its physical health, since milk stagnation may cause inflammation of the mammary glands.

Taking action in advance it is possible to prevent the onset of the syndrome. On the 12th day after estrus, you need to count down on the calendar and mark 9 weeks. A couple of days before this date, it is necessary to reduce the amount of feeding the animal by three times and give a minimum of liquid. After the marked period, the bitch does not need to be fed for a couple of days. Such measures will not cause any harm to the animal. Diet restrictions should be followed for another 3-5 days while nipple swelling is observed. In order not to irritate the animal, it is better not to eat or prepare food in its presence.

With increased exercise (walking long distances) and reduced fluid and carbohydrate intake, milk production will decrease. Specially express it or drag the udder Absolutely forbidden. Those females who suck milk themselves need to wear a blanket. If the glands sag too much, they can be tied with an elastic bandage or towel. As an exception, such milk can be used to feed other people's puppies.

Myths about false pregnancy in dogs

There is a false belief among dog breeders that bitches who have had a false pregnancy are more susceptible to pyometra than others. What these two phenomena have in common is that they develop at the same stage of the cycle. The risk of developing pyometra occurs only in those animals that have undergone hormonal treatment.

Another common myth is the ability to have the litter will save the female from pseudo-pregnancy for life. This technique works very rarely - in 15% of cases.

Video about false pregnancy in dogs

We invite you to watch a video where you will learn general information about false pregnancy in dogs, its causes, symptoms and other useful information on this topic.

Some dog breeders claim that after sterilization the animal experiences urinary incontinence. Is it so? Should a female be spayed to prevent a false pregnancy? Readers who have encountered a similar problem can leave your opinion by filling out a special form.