dog whining and hiding toys

[tonym911]

Our 18-month old cockerpoo bh has in the last week or two been doing quite a lot of whining, usually while holding one of her toys which she seems to want to hide in a comfortable place eg under some cushions. The OH thinks this may be a phantom pregnancy and that we might have to get her snipped. That would be a shame as we were hoping to let her have one litter. Anyone got any similar experiences with their dogs?

[itsnotarace]

Phantom pregnancy for sure. Your vet can prescribe tablets that clear it up in a few days

[Jasandjules]

itsnotarace said:

Phantom pregnancy for sure. Your vet can prescribe tablets that clear it up in a few days

That was certainly my first thought.

My vet doesn't know of tablets though, do you have a name? (We used raspberry leaf but they didn't do much at all).. Oh, unless you mean Galastop (but that leaves them open to UTIs?).

[itsnotarace]

Need to phone my vet shortly, will ask then

[tonym911]

Thanks to both for this useful info, I've been reading up on it and have already started the non-allopathic remedies of nicking her toys and taking her out for more exercise to keep her from getting too bored in the house. Will be interested to hear the vet's view later.

[itsnotarace]

Yes, it was Galastop

[tonym911]

She's not lactating as such but does seem to be paying a fair bit of attention to her back-end bits.

[itsnotarace]

Is she quite protective of the toy? Any aggression shown if you take it away from her? Excessive whining if it's not in sight?

[tonym911]

No, I swopped the toy for a treat and then put the toy on a high shelf and apart from a brief hunt round for it she wasn't that bothered. She looks perfectly healthy in every other physical way, just a bit lethargic maybe and less joyous when 'walkies' are announced. Once you've got her outside and moving around though she seems her normal self. The whining seems to occur to her as something to do when she's been indoors and had her post-walk nap.

[itsnotarace]

Maybe not phantom pregnancy then, especially if not lactating. Ours whines a lot with a certain squeaky penguin toy. She has two identical (one got lawnmowed a bit by accident) and she only does it with that one, not the other one. Very odd.

[tonym911]

Hmm yes interesting, certainly the whining has stopped for the moment now that she hasn't got her rubber pig. She has always picked shoes up to 'present' to people coming into the house or down from upstairs in the morning. Maybe she has just got over-attached to the pig. She keeps wanting to go upstairs even though there's nobody up there. If you let her up into the bedroom she just starts whining again and adds in some door-scratching for good measure.

[bexVN]

They don't always obviously lactate in a phantom this would suggest if it is it is mild.
When was she in season?
Pseudopregnancies occur 9 weeks post season (time of whelping if she were pregnant).

Galastop is a liquid that can be used if phantom is going on for a bit or if lactation is quite bad.

Removing toys and distraction is a good start if it is.

There is no reason why you can't breed from her because of this but if you decide not to breed (and there are many reasons not to) then you should not get her spayed until this episode is over, it is not good to spay if lactation is occuring. The general guide is spay 12 weeks post season so there is little chance of accidentally spaying during a season or a phantom pregnancy.

[tonym911]

Hello again Bex, we think you're right, it is just a mild one, we're never entirely sure when she's in season as she tends to behave the same way with boy dogs irrespective of whether she's in or not (she lies down submissively then gets up to play and gives a little yelp and/or a play-nip if they get a bit too forward).

[bexVN]

Think back 9 weeks ago. Was she a bit grumpy, clingy, sl off her food, licking under her tail more than usual. These can be all signs of a season.

[tonym911]

Sounds about right in terms of time though I can't be certain as I can't remember what I did yesterday let alone nine weeks back, it's an age thing don't you know. The missis confirms Boots is definitely not lactating as a gentle squeeze on the teats gave no results.

[bexVN]

Ok. I'd say see if it runs its course over the next week, if it carries on longer then get her vet ck'd and see if Galastop adviseable. Try not to squeeze teats too much if she is having a false pregnancy it can stimulate milk production (difficult one though as this is a common technique to assess!!)

Obviously this is all on the assumption this is what she has, keep an eye on her and if worried get her ck'd

[tonym911]

Thanks for the advice Bex, very much appreciated, I'll post again in a week or so

[SPR2]

Mine has just about gone through a phatom pregnacy. First signs were for her to be off her food licking and dead keen to get out for a walk( to meet the boys)Also she turfed her bedding out and was taking my shoes into her kennel.
The trouble is she has never had a really regular season pattern of 6 months and sometimes had very little showing. I am sure she would have been a good mother given the amount of extra affection she has given me.

[bexVN]

How old is she SPR2?

[Superficial]

Most likely a phanton pregnancy, it will pass but she may need an injection to help it on it's way. Don't spay her while she is experiencing a phantom as she can get stuck in that phase.

Hope you don't mind me saying but I hope you will reconsider breeding from her. There's thousands of unwanted dogs in this country already without more being brought into the equation. To be a responsible breeder would you be willing to health test both parents for common ailments and look into previous generations to ensure there is no predisposition to health problems? Would you be able to offer a lifetime of advice to new owners and be in a position to take back any puppies whose homes didn't work out for whatever reason? Would you be able to keep all the puppies if worst case scenario you couldn't sell them all? Do you have the time to homecheck and vet potential owners?

These are just some of the commitments that are required to be a responsible breeder, I hope you can understand my passion is as a direct result of seeing so, so many dogs stuck in a cage needing rehoming. The country is saturated with unwanted dogs, when this problem is under control breeding would be a better choice.