# Phantom Pregnancy after spay



## Picklelily (Jan 2, 2013)

Hi all I had my 16 month old schnauzer cross spayed on Wednesday after her second season back in April.

The vet though she had some mammary development on Wednesday morning- she had a phantom pregnancy a month after we rehomed her in December.

Coming home after the spay she has been very distressed and anxious with large mammary glands at her 48 hour vet check, 72 hours post spay she was lactating nesting and collecting socks and shoes as puppies.

Its now 6 days post surgery and she is hot, not eating, producing loads of milk and still quite stressed. The vet has started her on antibiotics and hormone supplements to try and stop the phantom pregnancy.

Has anyone any experience of this or advice for me we are feeling a bit exhausted at the moment. She is so stressed during the night and keeps insisting on checking on all of us frequently through the night.


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## EmCHammer (Dec 28, 2009)

My girl had a phantom after being spayed, although I am not to sure she wasn't having it before but at that point i knew nothing about them. 

She was quiet after her spay, but then we noticed her leaking milk about a day and a half later, and she made a bed in the cupboard under the stairs with my slippers (which she then shredded a day later). We could hear her making noises in the night and she had got into the cupboard and got the ice packs to make a new nest with.

I can't remember her being that bad, but not had a bitch spayed before that either so not sure how worse it was, I can't recall it taking that long before she was back to normal, she had antibiotics and also meds from the vets

Have heard people say if they are spayed during a phantom can cause hormonal changes, but never found any vet based evidence/ information on this all heresay. My girl can be a fiesty madam, but I only had her 3 weeks before we got her spayed so she might have been like that anyway.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Picklelily said:


> Hi all I had my 16 month old schnauzer cross spayed on Wednesday after her second season back in April.
> 
> The vet though she had some mammary development on Wednesday morning- she had a phantom pregnancy a month after we rehomed her in December.
> 
> ...


Depending when her season was in April, even when it appears to have finished after the approx. 21 days, and there is no more external signs like swollen vulva and discharge, the hormone levels (progesterone is present in a canine season if pregnant or not) are still very high for about another 60/90 days. Its during this time Di-estrus that infections and phantom pregnancies usually occur. So spaying doesn't take place usually until the end of diestrus when the hormone levels have returned to normal. Often if they have one phantom then they tend to have another, it sounds like she was already having the phantom when he spayed her by the enlarged nipples.

If she still has toys that she is collecting up and nesting its usually best to take the toys away, If there is several try to remove them one at a time when she is out the way on her toilet breaks etc. Try to discourage nesting too. If she starts to lick or wash her stomach near her teats try to discourage that too as it can increase the milk as it can stimulate more.

Keep an eye on her teats as they can be prone to Mastitis, if producing lots of milk and no pups to drink it she should be Ok on the antibiotics, but if the teats get really swollen, hard and hot and seem painful and especially if they start to leak a puss that smells or really change to an odd colour you will need to contact the vet.

I know that bitches after whelping can develope something called milk fever proper name enclampsia its caused by depletion of blood calcium levels not sure if it would apply in her case though as there is no puppies to feed but if she is really producing a lot of milk I suppose it could be possible perhaps.

Causes

Eclampsia is caused by low blood calcium levels (hypocalcemia) in dogs. The lactating (milk producing) bitch is especially susceptible to blood calcium depletion because the body cannot keep up with the increased demand for calcium. This is because dogs lack the ability to quickly move calcium into their milk without depleting their own blood levels of this mineral.

Litters do not need to be large to cause eclampsia. Small breed dogs are at higher risk than larger breed dogs. The puppies themselves are not affected as the mothers milk appears to be normal during this period.

Signs

Eclampsia is a very serious disorder but fortunately the signs are fairly easy to recognize. Affected dogs may:
Appear restless and nervous. 
Walk with a stiff gait and may even wobble or appear disoriented. 
Become unable to walk and her legs may become stiff or rigid. 
Fever, with body temperature even over 105º F. 
Affected bitches often develop muscle tremors
The respiration rate (number of breaths per minute) will increase, 
Seizures may also occur, at this point; death can occur if no treatment is given.

If she did show anything like the above then you would need to contact the vet urgently as they need get her blood calcium levels back in check.

Hopefully the medication he has given will work quickly until then apart from preventing nesting and taking away the toys and things she collects up and keep an eye out for any problems that if the milk production is really excessive may cause I think that's all you can probably do.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

I did have doubts about if a bitch having a false pregnancy should be spayed of not and if it should be left until the phantom has ended. Just checked and found this it seems like spaying a bitch during a phantom or starting one can prolong it not shorten it. So if she was having one possible by what the vet noticed when she went it.

SPAY DURING FALSE PREGNANCY?

It might seem like a good idea to spay the female to end the false pregnancy as spaying will remove the ovaries and the corpora lutea they carry. Unfortunately, this does not end the prolactin production from the pituitary gland so spaying may actually prolong the false pregnancy. It is best to wait until the false pregnancy is over and then spay her to prevent future episodes.

Canine False Pregnancy


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## Picklelily (Jan 2, 2013)

I think she has actually been so all over the place with her hormones the spay was probably the best thing. She was actually due to be spayed back in May but the season in April put paid to that.

Slight improvement this morning although her fixation is now all on my son and his girlfriend who has been visiting us. So embarrassing when she bursts into their rooms to check on them although it is a good way of preventing any sneaking across the landing during the night.


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