Hi my b*tch is going through a phantom she was bred but vets told it was phantom pregnancy and she wasn't pregnant :( she was bred on 28 February I was given galastop from the vet they told me improvement should be in a few days been 3 days now maybe I'm being impatient but nothing has changed what is worrying me from this phantom preg is shes been not eating at all week not wanting to go for her walks and sleeps a lot since starting on the galastop she actually started to have contractions whining nesting and her breasts has gone bigger aswell she is acting as though shes going into labour is this the galastop???? her tempreature is around 37 degrees celcius anyone with simlar experiencies with their girls and how long does it take for them to get over it just overly worried about her going through what seems like a labour and her not eating if things don't improve in a couple of days she is going back to the vets any help appreciated thanks

Sophie

I would get her long to the vet now rather than in a few days to get her checked over just in case.

I only have expereince of two bitches having phantoms and using galastop and it took about 5 days for the milk to go but they didnt progress to contractions or nesting. As it would be just past her due date, could the vet have got it wrong. Could there be pups???? Sounds like labour.....but i guess you know that!!!

the temp will drop to around 36.5 if she is giving birth, keep an eye on that but i would call the vet now if this progression has just come on.

i agree i go to see the vet now just incase there is a pup:)

Sophie

This does not sound like a phantom from the description you give,but without seeing the bitch it is impossible to say.Please take her to the surgery as soon as possible and ask them to re check her ,if it is a pregnancy,things can go down hill very very quickly especially as she in well over due.

Sophie,

You say the vets said she wasnt pregnant....was she scanned or just palpated?

If it is a phantom then it is quite extreme (though it can happen), i agree with everyone else, get her checked out, she needs to be scanned incase their is one large pup that the vet missed.

Let us know how she gets on

I forgot to mention the vet said they felt her adomen thats only bit they felt and said there was nothing and she was scanned at about 4 weeks and the vet said there was nothing they only scanned the bottom belly area should they have scanned the ribcage area aswell as I have heard of some dogs carrying in ribcage she is a shih tzu by the way thanks for the advice so far and I will keep you all posted x

was she rescanned before being given the galvastop? sounds like she could be pregnant, she wont be the first bitch to have puppies missed on a scan. You only have to read these boards. Was she re examined recently? They must be sure she isnt pregnant to prescribe for a phantom?

What is she doing now? what's her temp?

she should have been scaned higher up in the rib cage area the vet should have know that :D

let us know what happens :)

Hi wiltshireone no she wasn't rescanned before being given the galastop the vet just felt her abdomen and said shes having a phantom and just said she should get better in a few days and there it was prescribed my poor girl has been restless now and again since yesterday panting and digging and whinning makes me feel sad that she is like this been trying to tempt her with all sorts of foods shes not having it the vet said she should pick up her appetite and should be getting back to normal in a few days she acts normal some parts of day I know one of the things galastop can do is cause abortion in actually pregnant dogs so if she is pregnant and is late could this have brought on the labour????  Sorry for the long post

this could be causing her to have contrations id go straight to the vet and get her checked out :)

Hi Sofie

If she was mine, she would be at the vets so they can examine her ....

I'd be at the vets now, 4 weeks is rather early and if they only did the lower part of the dogs stomach I'd be suspect about the vet.  Never ever had a dog have contractions when having a phantom.

It is difficult to scan in the rib cage area and be 100%.At what stage was the Galastop administered ie how many days post mating.As your vet may have told you Galastop is sometimes used to terminate pregancy in the latter stages,however it is no where near 100% effective and will often cause foetal death rather than reabsorbtion as is normally the case with Alazin.If she is continuing to undergo contractions etc and nesting etc is imperative to take her to the surgery ASAP.if she is in whelp there is a strong possibility that she is now unable to pass the pups due to the drugs administered and that they are dead.Give you vet a call and describe all the symptoms you have described here as he has a full clinical history of your bitch if is much easier for him to advise.A phone call costs nothing and may put your mind at rest.The only advice I can give is make the call now whilst the surgery is open rather than wait until the middle of the night when you will be looking at a call out and possible locum vet who does not have full access to your bitches case history. 

oh i hope shes ok, do let us know how you go x

hows things ?

Hi thought I would update she had a scan done today by a sheep scanner at my house no puppies :( it's assumed she absorbed at an earlier date how rare does this happen reabsorbing I mean everything was looked at everyting looks ok inside so thats a good sign was advised to use another stud dog next time my girl is maiden and the stud we used is unproven so should I use proven dog next season?? the thing that gets me is that she was tested for ovulation bought a kit for that and we bred her the day test had positive result she was showing all signs of readiness tail flagging etc. they only had slip matings could this be why they had 1 tie that lasted only a few minutes thanks everyone for all your help so far

slip matings don't always produce pups.....which test kit did you use? did you only do the 1 mating? It is more common to have 2 matings 48 hours apart. I would use a proven more experienced stud next time as he will more than likely tell you if the bitch is on the right day, the more experienced they are the better really. It is never a good combination to have 2 maidens especially with in experienced handlers (not saying you are or stud dog owner is) But it sounds like this is your first time.

My girl used to go through the whole labour business when having a phantom.
If we did not know there was no way she was really pregnant we would have thought she was getting ready to pop any minute.
I have to say we never took her temperature when she was "giving birth" so I have no idea if the temperature changes in phantom too.
She would give birth over night (in my mums bed, my mum giving her support) and in the morning we would have a lovely "rubber baby"-one squeaky toy that was recycled every phantom...

But as your girl has been mated, I would take her to the vets to make sure there isn't a pup in there...

Hi Sophie,

How is your girl doing today, i know you have had her scanned but has she settled down in herself.

I had a girl reabsorb, she was scanned in pup at 5 weeks but then never produced, she done all the panting, nesting etc and i really thought she going to have puppies, probably just coincidence but she is the only time i have ever scanned and after that it was my last too as i have heard of bitches re-absorbing after scans.

Hope your girl is back to herself soon :)

She is getting better gradually still fussy about food though but no more whinning etc although she is still trying to dig a hole under my bed lol she was a bit sick this morning after the galastop was given today been to vets after that happened though they said it's just the meds and if I stop it now there is a risk of the phantom returning later on shes been ok now so far no more vomiting

Sophie

A friends bitch was scanned and vet told her no pups.  She was given Galastop when she showed signs of (phantom) pregnancy.

she went on to whelp 5 or 6 pups, but of course had no milk, though she mothered them and after a week had milk, so they were able to stop hand rearing.