False pregnancy at a dog – a special physiological state at which not tied or not impregnated female has all signs of the real pregnancy. This phenomenon meets at various animals, but most brightly it is expressed at dogs.
Reasons of emergence of false pregnancy in dogs
To understand the reasons for which there is false pregnancy it is necessary to consider features of course of an oestrous cycle at dogs. It is not always regular and happens over all life of an animal.
Dogs have 3 periods of an oestrous cycle.
During a proestrus the vulva is inflated, there are bloody allocations from a vagina which owners of dogs can take for periods by mistake. In fact blood is emitted from vagina walls, but not from a uterus (as it occurs at periods). A bough becomes quite attractive to dogs, she can flirt with them, without allowing "gentlemen" to do cages. The period of an estrus is characterized by change of color of allocations from a vagina, it passes from dark red to yellow or pink. There comes the ovulation, making a dog capable to conception. Estrus - the ideal period for knitting, a bough emotionally and physically "ripens" and allows a dog pairing.
During a diestrus there occurs "hormonal" pregnancy. During this period a dog, regardless of that, she was tied or not, feels as the pregnant woman. The yellow bodies which arose in ovaries at an ovulation begin to produce hormone progesterone. If pregnancy at a dog occurred, hormones which are capable to keep yellow bodies before childbirth begin to be produced and if is not present – yellow bodies will be dissolved. It is rather slow process which is capable to last more than 70 days whereas during the postnatal period everything occurs much quicker. It is worth meaning that all this time a body of a dog "stays in confidence" that there was a conception as its hormonal background entirely corresponds to this state. Besides, by the time of estimated childbirth there is a release of hormone which is responsible for a lactation, - prolactin.
The reasons which are capable to cause false pregnancy in a dog
Experts allocate several different reasons capable to provoke false pregnancy at a dog: - hormonal failures at which sharp increase in content of prolactin in blood and reduction of level of progesterone is observed; - the knitting which happened in the period of a diestrus; - hyper emotionality of a dog, especially in case it lacks emotional and physical activities; - violations in work of a thyroid gland that is capable to cause sharp emission of prolactin in blood.
Consequences of false pregnancy at dogs
The most widespread disease which can cause false pregnancy, - mastitis. It is desirable to grease nipples of an animal (it is possible by means of camphor oil) or to do compresses. Often there is recurrence. They are connected with the fact that the reduction in ovaries occurs within 70 days. At some dogs such phenomenon pronounced, and others transfer it quite quietly and without special consequences. Also often owners a bough complain of mental disorders of the alumnae. Animals this period are excessively excited. In such cases it is better to address the specialist veterinarian.