False pregnancy meets at dogs quite often. And it not a disease literally. Understand a number of the symptoms inherent only in pregnant dogs as false pregnancy. As a rule, such symptoms for 6-12 weeks after a techka appear. Physicians claim that it is impossible to neglect the appearing false pregnancy at a dog.
There is a lot of causes of false pregnancy at dogs. It can be also change of level of hormones when progesterone falls and prolactin increases. There can be false pregnancy and in case pairing happened in the last days of a techka. Also such symptoms appear at those dogs for whom failures in work of a thyroid gland are diagnosed.
How to define development of false pregnancy in a dog
Before beginning to treat false pregnancy at a dog, it needs to be diagnosed. It is possible to make it both on indirect signs, and by results of medical examinations. If you noticed that your dog begins to nest, i.e. to pull down rags and pieces of paper to one place and there to form a nest, so she considers herself the pregnant woman.
However, it should be taken into account that dogs usually nest in secluded places so it is possible and to notice such strangeness in behavior of an animal not at once.
Indirectly development of false pregnancy is indicated also by excessive maternal activity to various things - from toys to shoes and other objects. Also at a dog at this moment mammary glands can increase. And sometimes it is even possible to see the allocated milk or other serous secret similar to colostrum. Also the number of the signs indicating development of false pregnancy includes violation of appetite at an animal, emergence of locks, increase in body weight, allocation from a vagina, the stomach increasing in volumes. If you saw such symptoms, but are not sure that the dog is pregnant, it is necessary to show her to the doctor as fast as possible. Medical diagnostics, first of all, will be based on physical survey, i.e. palpating and also X-ray of an abdominal cavity. In certain cases ultrasonography is required. Physicians usually take also biochemical blood test from an animal.
How to treat false pregnancy
Usually false pregnancy takes place independently approximately in 2-3 weeks after the beginning. And in most cases there is it without special consequences. Treatment is performed only when the course of false pregnancy is characterized as complicated. For a start experts recommend to reduce amount of the liquid consumed by a dog to reduce development of milk.
Sometimes physicians suggest owners of dogs to find with false pregnancy objects for education by such unaccomplished mother. So, for example, she can become a wet nurse for other puppies.
If the course of disease too heavy or the cause of false pregnancy is in hormonal changes, doctors can recommend intake of the adjusting hormonal medicines. However it is possible to do it only according to the recommendation of the veterinarian and under his complete control. Treatment is sometimes offered by homeopathic medicines. However it is worth remembering that such treatment will be rather long-term. And drug intake should be provided at the same time. Sometimes owners of the suffering animal decide to make sterilization of a dog for avoidance of development of false pregnancy. Physicians do not recommend to perform this procedure if false pregnancy already developed. It is the best of all to sterilize a dog after treatment to avoid repetition of such problem.