Just been having a conversation with a lady whose bitch is waiting to go in for speying, she has been turned away from the vets twice as she has been having a false or phantom pregnancy, the bitch invited me to rub her tummy and the owner asked me not to. Apparently the vet told her that stimulating the mammary glands by stroking or touching them causes the phantom production of milk and then they won't spey her. I have never heard of this before and wondered if anyone else can shed any light on this, "fact or fiction".

It certainly wont help & yes, whilst a bitch is having a phantom/false pregnancy they can't spay until the milk has gone. Just been through this with one of mine..she had Galastop for 10 days and was spayed 16 days after her first planned spay date.

I was interested as the bitch is 12 weeks past season and this is the third season that she potentially won't be speyed, the vet also told her that if they do it at the wrong time the bitch will get "stuck" hormonally which sounds like rubbish as they can and do spey when bitches are pregnant and in rescue when they don't know where in the cycle the animal is.

> the vet also told her that if they do it at the wrong time the bitch will get "stuck" hormonally which sounds like rubbish as they can and do spey when bitches are pregnant and in rescue when they don't know where in the cycle the animal is.

I've never heard that!!  FWIW.   There is of course more risk involved when the bitch is IN season, and presumably when having a false pregnancy because the hormones are all over the place - and incidentally if any of mine had a false pregnancy, it seemed they lactated for longer than they would have had they been nursing a litter!   She, the bitch, could be helped with treatment to help scatter the milk poor dear.   And for sure, any stimulation around the glands (like tummy rubbing) wouldn't help.   I think this lady needs to find another vet to be honest.

It won't help this time round, but raspberry leaf is supposed to help prevent phantom pregnancy, so worth considering if the bitch can't be spayed until after her next season

It's absolutely true that bitches shouldn't be spayed when there's any sign of hormonal activity, whether that's due to being in season or having a phantom pregnancy. Not only is there a far higher risk of haemorrhage during the surgery itself, and tiny pieces of friable ovary breaking away and getting left behind to carry on producing hormones after spaying, it also causes behavioural problems as well. That's why it's important to wait at least three months after the season has finished, in normal bitches. Stimulating the mammary glands, by rubbing the tummy during the hormonal time, should be discouraged. The vet was quite right.

As soon as milk production has stopped the bitch can be spayed.

The thing is she has no milk at all but hey, I guess the vet is just being cautious which is better than rushing in!

> I was interested as the bitch is 12 weeks past season and this is the third season that she potentially won't be speyed, the vet also told her that if they do it at the wrong time the bitch will get "stuck" hormonally which sounds like rubbish as they can and do spey when bitches are pregnant and in rescue when they don't know where in the cycle the animal is.

The stuck would be whilst she is having a phantom, she would be at the wrong time to do it on that exact date. I trust my vet & my family have been with the same practice for 40 years & I was told the same. Like I said, 16 days later & she is now spayed, I knew I had a little wriggle time as my bitch cycled 7 to 8 month intervals & she was spayed 15 weeks after the first day of her season(her 6th).
Depending on how 'bad' this bitches phantom is, she could still be spayed this time just by leaving 2 or 3 weeks....