Good morning Everyone, could anyone please give me some advice on the following.  My 11month old Rottweiler had her first season in January which lasted almost 5 weeks but since then her mammaries and teats have remained enlarged...does anyone have any ideas? thanks in advance...

My dog's season was about 6 weeks ago and her teats are still enlarged as well.  My vet says it's a hormone problem... I'm ringing her today so I'll post again later

its not a hormone problem!! its perfectly natural!  its just a phantom pregnancy. most bitches (but not all) will have swollen mamaries sometimes with milk and may show nesting behaviour particularly about 9 weeks post season (when she would be giving birth) my bitch had milk 9 weeks after her last season for many weeks- far more than when she had a litter and was feeding!  i would not waste money on going to the vet. If you look at wolf behaviour the bitches all come in season together but only the alpha bitch has puppies, then, whilst she goes out hunting, all the other bitches have milk and so can feed the puppies.

well is it something that will disappear in time, cos i really would love to show her (she has an excellent pedigree) but looks like she's just given birth.

of course it will disappear! give her a chance! it will be at its worst 9 weeks after season and then will go down but it sometimes takes several weeks- depends on the dog

Hi Boudie,

Don't worry they will return to normal in time :-).  If you've not had a bitch before it can all be a bit confusing, and it is to do with hormones although not a problem.  If she does start producing milk there is some medication that the vets can give her to stop this as there can be a risk of  infection (mastitus)  but if she seems well in herself and is just a bit swollen don't worry, but if you are at all worried give your vet a call and have a word with them and I'm sure they'll put your mind at rest.

Karen

sorry to butt in on this thread but we seem to be having the same problem.  My dog was also experiencing bald patches which the vet thought were thyroid problems.  The tests came back negative.  At the moment she is being really really fussy about food.  Normally she eats everything I put down but over the last 2 days she only eats bits and turns her nose up at her normal food (unless I hand feed her).  I'm doing the 15 minute rule but it doesn't seem to be working.  She's as normal as ever and is toiletting fine.  Do you think this could be part of her phantom pregnany??

I've never had a bitch before so this is all new to me 

Hi,

If your bitch is having a phantom then yes lots of bitches go off their food when they are in phantom.  As long as she's drinking don't worry.  My girl was off her food during a very long and miserable phantom for her, but she would always take treats for training and I used her normal food for this as well as some extra yummy things mixed in so I new she was eating something.  I don't know where the bald patches come into it though - I would think this is somethinbg separate has your vet looked into it being an allergy to something.  Have you changed food, washing powder anything like that recently.  She may have an allergic reaction to fleas, you could try de-fleaing her more regularly for a couple of months.

Karen

sara1bee...i apologise in advance for having to ask this but why are you coming across with such agression?  Some of us are on here to learn from more experienced dog owners/handlers, some of us are worried because we love our "pets" and its nice to have someone with some compassion, knowledge and  understanding to turn to.  I have had bitches before but not as a pup and because of medical reasons she was spayed very early on so i never had these problems.  But anyway, thank you for your input to my post and also to the others for theirs.
stay safe

I think its quite common for the girls to go off their food while experiencing a phantom in a way I suppose they must feel like us when were expecting, Inga always goes of her food about seven weeks into the false pregnancy and will often go off into a a quiet room or the back of the airing cupboard to prepare for her imaginary babies.
I just try to keep her busy and she usually comes out of it herself once the little ones would have been born.

i was not aware i came across as aggressive so apologise, its just being a nurse and midwife and having to research everything i do in my practise i find it hard to believe people can have a bitch and not have researched about phantom pregnancies in advance. humbly apologise.

hmmm..my previous Rottweiler was a bitch and was 14.1/2 years old when she sadly passed so please don't preach to me about not knowing, unfortunately due to medical problems she was spayed very early in her life so i've never had to deal with it before and on another note my sister-in-law is a senior midwife so i know all about them and trust me i don't think your attitude when a women is giving birth would work, try compassion it works wonders. Thats the last i'm saying on the matter other than thank you and everyone elese for your input.
keep safe xx

last time i apologise in public and i have been a senior midwife for ten years so you dont need to preach to me
goodbye