I have a lovely (scatty) Dalmation bitch who is almost 2 years old. She was purchased from an unscrupulous breeder (as I found out after we had falled in love with her and had her for a few weeks). She has had serious problems with her skin which gets very inflamed and itchy and seems to be worse when she is on heat. Her cycle also seems very irregular and she has not been mated as one of the vets I consulted about the problem suggested it could be a deep mange which would be passed on to her puppies ??? My main problem is that she that she seems to be going through a FALSE pregnancy and is very nervous and carries a stuffed toy around and makes nests and her teats are enlarged and she has milk. Any suggestions on how to comfort her and if we should have her spade before she has a litter would be very welcome.
We live in Mozambique so access to a vet whom we can discuss this with is limited.

Hi

OK, dealing with the false pregnancy first - take away her toys, increase her exercise and training and make her take her mind off it. By allowing her to keep the toys it just prolongs the phantom. Harsh, but true :)

What are you feeding her on? Dallies can be prone to skin problems but they can be helped by diet - JeanGenie will be along soon, she has more experience than me with Dallies and I am sure she will help with suggestions for diet and possibly homeopathic treatments.

If I were you, I would NOT breed from your bitch. She has had a bad start with a bad breeder, and has clearly suffered problems from her breeding. These could easily continue down the line and the puppies could easily suffer the same problems. Enjoy your bitch, get her spayed to prevent the phantoms and sort out her skin....you will then have a lovely dally :)

Chloe

Hi

Can't help with the false pregnancy I am afraid, but Chloe seems to have done that for you.

The skin problem is common with Dalmatians, I had it with mine, a top breeder suggested I went with a natural diet to clear it up, which I did. Personally I couldn't cope with the full works of chicken wings etc. but modified it so I fed raw mince and fish, human quality, Tesco's value range from the chiller wasn't too expensive and lots of pulped veg. You can use any veg and you will find they enjoy some more than others, mine also loved sweet potatoes cooked in their skins in the oven. No commercial treats during this time.

It took about eight weeks to clear, but if it is working you should see an improvement within a couple of weeks. I can now feed Nutro but if I change to anything else back it comes.

Hope this helps, at least with a Dalmatian they are not fussy eaters!

Sandra

Thank you for your prompt and very helpful response. I will try to change her diet and watch her skin (it is not too bad at present) but she is very stressed with the false pregnancy. We have been away and this may have had some effect on her too. Keeping her on a fresh meat / veg diet could prove a bit difficult as most of our food is imported from South Africa but if it helps her recover it will be well worth it.

thanks again.

Thanks for the advice. I will take the toys away and see how she gets on. There should be a vet visiting within the next few months so I will see about getting her spayed then. I would have loved to let her have one litter as she is such a special dog (complete with grin) and loads of character.

thanks again,

Hi,
I'm at work at the moment, and all my reference stuff is at home!! So I'll get back to this thread later on.....
:)

I have posted on the breeding board without much responce, I appreciate any opinions. I also have a dog who may be having a false pregnancy, the vet was unsure. She was in heat in July and I was very careful to keep her seperated from my male however I had to be out of town two days and can not be sure that my strict routine was followed. Can anyone tell me if mothering a toy is typical during a false pregnancy? My bitch shows no signs of mothering anything but has swollen teats and is producing milk. She doesn't appear to eating more or gained any size.

Hi - if you can't be sure then assume worse case that she is having pups :) How many days along now would she be if she had been mated while you were away?

Today would put her at 56/57 days

I may be wrong, but the vet should be able to feel any pups now...usually at about 6 weeks....

You could always get her scanned...but even that is not totally reliable...I would ask the vet for a good feel around, and unless he/she is absolutely 100% certain there are no pups, prepare for a litter :)

Thank you for the information, as I said the vet was not sure. I have prepared a whelping box for her, she is not interested in it all but is trying to hide all over the house and even dug her way under the shed (we had to rescue) so I am keeping a close eye on her.

Hi,
If she is that far advanced in her 'pregnancy' I would expect to be able to feel (and probably see) movements from the puppies inside her. If there are no movements, I would suspect she isn't pregnant, but bitches can be very good at keeping secrets! To be on the safe side I would wait a few more days before deciding she was having a phantom, and if still nothing had happened and there were no signs of pregnancy I would treat her as above. In the meantime, don't let her pick a 'den' - if it's a phantom it'll make her worse, and if it's for real it will no doubt be the most dangerous place possible for her to whelp!

Let me know how you get on.
:)

I have covered all the areas she dug to get under our shed and am keeping a very close eye on her behavior. I am hopeful that this is just a phantom pregnancy, I did not want her to breed yet. I don't feel or see any movement, her belly has gotten much firmer than before. She has spent a great deal of time self grooming today and has crusting around her teats. Vet said to use warm water and antibacterial soap to clean.

Thanks again to everyone!

snap im going through the same thing,my jrt bitch was in season in july and for the past 3/4 days has tried to hide in virious places,she isnt carrying any toys about,but she is acting strange,her nipples have also grown,she has also put on some weight,her bottom to teats have milk in put the others havnt,she has seemed more hungery but today she has hardly eaten a thing,tonight when i got home from picking kids up,she tried to get inside my sons school bag,things arnt right so im going to get her checked out at the vets.she has never had a false pregnancy before but one of my sisters dogs did last year.

Hiya,
Back from work now and looking through all my info. You know for certain that she isn't pregnant? Then I would suggest reducing the amount of protein in her diet and keeping her busy, busy, busy. Lots of physical exercise and mental stimulation. Don't let her have access to anything she might decide to 'mother'. Don't have her spayed until she is over this.

If her skin trouble is aggravated by her seasons, it would certainly be wise to spay her. Dallies are very prone to skin problems, which can be made worse by heat - one of mine gets itchy in the summer but is fine in the winter. Again, these skin troubles can be eased by feeding a lower-protein diet - so you may find this helps with both problems! (Hope so!)

Hope this helps.
:)

Thanks for the advice. I am almost certian she has not mated (although we were away for a few weeks but our garden is completely fenced off and no male dog in the vacinity). I will wach her and make sure she has nothing to "mother" (very sad). Her skin is looking better at the moment and I had not tied it in to the heat but as it is now Winter this is probably why. In summer it gets up to over 100 degrees so will try to keep her cool.

Thanks again for the advice (I have had more advice and assistance in one afternoon on this website than from numerous discussions with vets and friends). Thanks.