I have just taken my BC Abby to the vets for her annual booster and the vet told me that she is in the early throws of a phantom pregnancy....she is just out of season about a week or possibly two, she has slightly swollen teets. I just can't believe it as I wanted to book her in to be spayed. Has anyone else's dog suffered phantom pregnancies....and if so, how long do they have them for. It was a question I asked the vet but was so shocked about hearing this news that I cannot remember how long she said it would last.

> Has anyone else's dog suffered phantom pregnancies

Phantom pregnancies are so common as to be considered a normal part of the bitch's cycle. Some have very few symptoms, others go the whole hog. To minimise the effect on her, reduce the protein content of her food and increase the amount of exercise she gets. It should all be over in a few weeks.

my dog a phantom pregnancy 6 days AFTER being spayed!! she leaked milk and carried her toy around as if it was her baby, after talking to the vet they said it ws very unusual, but just watch her for a few days and take all her toys of her including the cuddley strawberry that she thought was her baby i felt so bad but knew it was for the best. she was fine after about 2 days, good luck

Please dont be shocked...as others have said, phantom pregnancies are not at all unusual, and frequently absolutely no problem at all. Sometimes it is just a bit of milk and a bit of grumpiness, sometimes the behaviour can be more intense, with nesting etc. Is all part of owning a bitch.

My Fynn is the only one to have phantom pregnancies, never had it with any of my other girls!

Only one of my bitches has done this, for 2 seasons in a row. On the last one she was full of milk, and digging like mad.

The little girl in our avatar is having a phantom 2 weeks so far, lol  :-)  its very common ;-)

Barry

My little girl now 3 has full blown phantoms after every season... milk, digging, nesting, grumpy, miserable... she is really affected by her hormones and has proper cycles (i know how she feels!!) we were going to breed from her but now we have had our little boy now 8mnths we have decided to get her spayed. I cant cope with puppies and a crawling baby. We have just spoken the vet and she is going on around the end of may. Really worried as she is such a sensitive little soul and she was my 1st baby ( before I had a real one!) Raberry leaf tablets can help - but mainly lots of exercise and smaller dinners, though buffy starves herself as she si just too hormonal to eat!

My girlie had a phantom on her first season and became a lot quieter than usual. She started digging too, something she had never done before, but the digging only lasted a short while. She was very couchy and wanted lots of fuss and reassurance and became a bit picky with her food. Her phantom lasted a very long time and she had swollen mammary glands and a very small amount of milk towards the later stages of her phantom. I know how worrying it is Hopie as I took my girlie to the vets 3 times or more as I was worried and it was only on the last visit that the vet concluded that she had been having a phantom all this time. No medication was prescribed and my girlie came through it fine and was more energetic and playful than she has ever been once the phantom had stopped. She is due in season very soon again, so I am hoping this time her hormones wont be so affected and she wont be so picky with her food. lol I think the duration of the phantom can vary from dog to dog.

All bitches have phantoms but some show very few behavioural changes or physical ones.  A bitch will go through the same hormonal changes whether she is pregnant or not.

It is natures way of ensuring that the bitches in a pack can help with raising the packs pups including being able to feed them.