What is nervous pregnancy in bitches?
Nervous pregnancy is the common name given to pseudopregnancy lactation. We also sometimes speak of nervous lactation or pseudocyesis. It is characterized by breast development, the establishment of lactation even when the female dog is not expecting any young as well as behavioral changes.
Nervous, this “pseudo gestation” is only in name. In reality, pseudopregnancy lactation has no nervous origin but hormonal causes.It is linked to the drop in progesterone by the corpus luteum at the end of metestrus, the luteal phase of the female dog's sexual cycle.
Nervous pregnancy is a fairly common phenomenon in unsterilized bitches since it concerns 50 to 64% of them.
Did you know?
According to some authors, nervous pregnancy is an ancestral physiological reaction of the female dog, linked to the time when wild dogs lived in groups. In a pack, nervous lactation was a natural mechanism that allowed bitches to help other females feed their young. In bitches living in a community, we always notice a synchronization of heat.
Nervous pregnancy: what are the signs?
Nervous pregnancy most often occurs between 1.5 and 3 months after the dog's heat.
During a nervous pregnancy, behavioral changes can be observed in the female dog.She seems more nervous, becomes clingy and demands a lot of affection from her masters or, on the contrary, isolates herself more and more. Often, his appetite can decrease until he refuses to eat (anorexia). The female can also insistently lick her breasts and/or her vulva. Some look for objects such as stuffed animals that they take in their basket which serves as their "nest" and mother these objects as if they were their little ones.
From a physical point of view, we observe a swelling of the breasts, a rise in milk and weight gain. More rarely, the bitch may also present with abdominal distension, vomiting, diarrhea, increased appetite or polyuro-polydypsia (the bitch drinks and urinates a lot).
Nervous pregnancy: what is the risk?
Repeated nervous pregnancies could however increase the risk of occurrence of mammary tumors and this risk becomes significant beyond 3 episodes of lactation of pseudogestation.
The surges of milk can also promote the occurrence of mastitis.
For these reasons, it is advisable to consult a veterinarian when you suspect a nervous pregnancy in your female dog.
Even if everything returns to normal spontaneously in 2 to 4 weeks, it is indeed always advisable to set up a treatment to avoid recurrences during the following cycles.
What treatment for pseudo-pregnancy lactation?
It is recommended to owners of female dogs:
- to prevent the dog from mothering her toys or stuffed animals by offering her frequent walks and/or games and by keeping away objects that she tends to "brood" ,
- not to touch her udders so as not to further stimulate lactation,
- have the dog wear a collar to prevent her from licking her teats (which stimulates lactation).
A 24-hour water diet can sometimes be enough to stop lactation. However, it is strongly advised not to deprive your dog of water without consulting your veterinarian first.
The best thing is, however, to consult a veterinarian when you suspect a nervous pregnancy in your dog so that he can put in place a treatment that will quickly stop lactation. This treatment is based on the administration of hormonal treatment based on progestogens or anti-prolactins.
In order to avoid recurrences, your veterinarian may recommend sterilization by ovariectomy. However, the intervention cannot take place before the female dog is completely dry.