Hi,

My 11 1/2 month old girl Ciara is suffering bless her - she's had 3 months of being miserable with her season and then a phantom, she was very lethargic, off food, not really wanting to play, grumpy, clingy and had the best 'I'm so badly treated' expression you ever did see.  She also had slight swelling under her nipples but wasn't producing any milk.  The mood symptoms of the phantom gradually dissapeared over the last few weeks and she was completely back to her normal loopy self, although the swelling under her nipples never went.  Over the last week and a half, her nipples have dropped more and more swelling.  I have had her on galastop for the last few days and she is now acting like she is full phantom again.  I know this shouldn't be a side effect of the galastop - is it possible it's causing it?  Also I just wandered if it's maybe a coincidence that it happened at the same time I started giving her the galastop, can they have a phantom, get over it and then come into phantom again before they've had another season, or can it appear to be going and then get worse again?  How long can they go on for, judging by her a good bit longer than a real pregnancy,  I'll give my vet a call tomorrow but I just wandered if any body else had experience of their bitch really having a tough time with it.

I'm trying chivvy her a long as much as possible and when she's out with her buddies she's better, although a little more clingy than usual.
I hate seeing her so sad.

Karen

Hi Karen

I was told by a vet that when a bitch is having a phantom the best way to get over it is to feed less and exercise more, so that the food going in isn't converted into producing milk etc. Don't know if that helps at all?

Hiya,

Thanks for that.  She's not interested in food any way at the moment she's just eating a couple of mouthfuls of each meal.  She's not producing any milk and hasn't done all through this phantom, although has had swelling and dropped nipples.  Exercise is the only time she's perking up so am doing as much of that as I can bearing in mind she's still not quite a year old yet.  They keep you on your toes don't they!  I miss her harassing me by dropping toys on my lap while I'm trying to work! :-)

Thanks,

Karen

Hiya, when my girl had a phantom I was told to ignore her and to remove her toys etc as they are possibly her substitute babies.her phantom sould have come 9 weeks after her season, and gone after a couple of weeks. I always try to avoid any medication that is hormonal. To get rid of milk after puppies I always reduce the liquid in take for a couple of days and fast them for 24 hours, they can be uncomfortable for a day then milk glands start reducing.  Along with plenty of exercise this always  works.The old fashioned way to get rid of milk in humans (and dogs) was to give a dose of Kest tanlets, ( a laxative ) hope this helps.

Hiya,

Thanks for your reply, The nipples swelling and dropping isn't just normal after season, she's got udders, although not lactating!  She hasn't adopted herself a puppy with any of her toys, so no problem there.  Phantoms can vary quite a lot with how long they last and how soon after a season they come.  Hers started 2 weeks after her season and it has been going on for two and a half months now.  I had her back at the vets today and it looks like she may need to see a reproductive specialist if things don't start improving over the next week or so.  She's getting plenty of exercise though as this is really the only time that she appears to be herself.  Poor girl!

Thanks,

Karen

Hi Karen,
My breed often gets phantoms. All my girls have had them, some more, some less. If you count from when her season stopped, three months later she would be at the peak of lactating, if she had a litter. Usually, this is when my girls produce milk, and then it slowly goes back to normal. If your girl isn't producing any milk, there is no risk of mastitis, so really no need to put her on Galastop.
All the best,
Karen :-)

P.S. forgot to mention that bitches nipples always drop after her 1st season