Dog... Fantam Pregnancy. what should i do?

[josaphine32]

My little dog has been acting really weard over the last 3 days, it started on saturday when she kept crying for no reason, and then if i gave her her toys she would walk around holding it and than hide with it, now today she has not wanted her tea, I checked her all over gums where fine temperature was fine and so i thought about checking for milk, and she has started secreting clear fluid...... otherwise she is ok she will play and still loves walks, do i take her toys away from her as we think she thinks that they are her babies, also would she need to see a vet or will it subside....... she seems ok just acting weird, all advise would be greatly appreciated......her first season was may 08 and i will get her spade but not until october time

[EmEd1984]

oo my friend's young dog has this at the moment! poor things got boobs and everything and is really clingy to her owners :) they took her to the vet and he gave her some tablets to ease her through it. they've not done anything else at all and said it'd pass in a couple of weeks. just out of curiosity, why are you waiting til october to get her spayed? x

[jules77]

I give my bitches evening primose oil, which I found really helps. One would carry toys around, and cry after them and become very clingy, but it will pass.

I would just be very mindful of her having a pyo, and if she stops eating, is sick, has a temperature or seems lethargic, please take her to the vets, as it can come on very suddenly and if you dont recognise the signs, it can be fatal. It is rare for such a young bitch to have a pyo, but not unknown.

My vets prefer to spay a bitch at least 2 - 3 months 'after' they have finished their season, to give the womb chance to get back to normal.

[josaphine32]

Hi, the reason i am gettingher spade in the winter is that we have a caravan that i am in now so to get her spaid now it would cause so many problems as she loves the big outdoors and to confine her to her cage for 2 weeks would be awful for her as she would not understand why she could not walk for miles with the other dogs and she would be able to hear all the other dogs but would not be able to communicate and play ...... in october it would be easier for us and her.....should i remove her toys whaen we are finished playing, also she ate her tea after a little persuison....she is not poorly but beeing a little over protective

[jules77]

She would not need to be confined to a cage for two weeks after being spayed.........I have recently had one of my girls very poorly with a pyo, and she was running around back to normal within 24 hours of having an emergency spey. Admittedly you have to be careful with them jumping and doing too much running for around 10 days, but she went a walk with the other dogs the next day.

She would have to have been sedated to be confined to a cage!!

You could remove her toys, but it may make matters worse as she will go hunting for them. Keep her occupied in other ways.........lots of mental stimulation, and exercise and she will be too tired to worry about her non existent 'babies' for too long.

[peppermum]

Too late for you as she will not be having any more seasons, but for future reference if you have a bitch that has had phantoms in the past try homeopathy, Pulsatilla for the gentle natured type and Sepia for the snappy, bad tempered sort, I X 30c tablet daily from the day her season starts.(about �6.00 for 100+ tablets). In general I would suggest having them spayed though, take a look at how many unwanted puppies are in rescue centres before addiing to them (10 days inconvenience after spaying will save a lot of misery!)

[Snappy]

My bitch is having a phantom at the minute. She's driving me up the wall with her whinging at everything, LOL!

What i do is, take away the toys she's mothering, restrict her water intake and exercise the legs off her. She'll soon snap out of it :-)

[gelda]

NEVER restrict a dog's water intake !!!

[lankeela]

Taking her 'babies' away is cruel and unnecessary. It won't make the phantom stop any quicker. The vet can give a jab of Delvosterone which will make it cease, and epsom salts can be given to dry up the milk. Try to ignore the nesting behaviour, increase the exercise but do not restrict water intake - ever.

[lankeela]

Also it is not something they can 'snap out of' - they don't do it out of choice, it is something that their bodies do without them knowing, it occurs at the time they would have pups had they been mated.

If you leave it till October, she may come in season again, half way between is the best time, so August would be the best time to spay her. She just needs watching for a few days, definitely not confining to a cage.

[josaphine32]

Thanks lankeela, Lilly has never been confined to a cage, the vet advised if i was to get her spade then i should cage her fof a couple of days as she is always begging on 2 legs (a westie thing) She seems a lot better today, not wyning, she has taken a liking to a certain toy not in a nasty way but she walkes around crying with it in her mouth, i will book her in to get spade when she is back to normal as its not fair to waite till october, how long does a fantom usually last for?