Hello, My lab is unspayed. She had her first heat cycle around August. She started bleeding and I handed it. But I recently noticed that her belly was sagging. Its not like its a potbelly. Its sagging down. Shes a very big fetcher, so she gets plenty of exercise and stays very trim. But the belly is saggy. https://imgur.com/4Sy0SFN https://imgur.com/A0JBXJz https://imgur.com/C7JNJC9 She has been eating normally, and drinking normally. She usually drinks a lot of water since fetching wears her out and it's good for her to not breathe as hard. She has switched her peeing habits, at the beginning of the walk she would pee a long stream at the beginning, but now she pees a medium stream at the beginning and small short streams during our walks. She is just as energetic as ever and eats normally. I am trying to take her to the vet in 2 days, but I want to know what I should be expecting? Anyone has had a similar experience?
Hi there....no chance your girl could have been caught and be pregnant? Although could be pseudo pregnancy. Hopefully your vet will be able to help for sure.
Thanks for the reply. I am 99.99% sure that she is not pregnant. I keep her on a leash besides in the morning where I let her on my porch (dont have a backyard) out to pee, but I am constantly watching her. There are virtually no unspayed males in my area. I dont take her to the dog park. I just find the belly rather freaky. As she used to be very slim.
Yes her nips never shrank back to normal after her first heat cycle. I looked up phantom pregnancy, but I didnt see a saggy belly as one of the problems.
I actually don't think this is it, from the photos, but worms can make a belly saggy. A faecal sample to your Vet would tell you for sure if that is it though.
Round worms and , heck I forget, one other kind are the only ones you would see in stool. Others are microscopic. Oban had round worms last winter and I had no warning till they showed in stool. No inkling till then. No saggy belly either but it never hurts to do a faecal and rule it out. I have a cat who I am sure needs worming right now, his belly is saggy and he eats prey, but they can also get them from sniffing infected poop.
She looks pretty normal to me, maybe she still has some hormones post-season coursing around her system. At any rate, I would take her to the vet for a quick check up. If she had her heat in August, then this would be right around the time she would be giving birth, and lots of bitches still look a bit saggy and with enlarged nipples at that time. From the photos, I'm sure she's not pregnant. An eight-week pregnant bitch would be pretty huge...
Mine had a phantom pregnancy and looked a little like yours - but it was swollen mammary glands that made her look like she had a saggy belly, because she was lactating. The vet actually milked her to confirm it! I am sure a trip to the vets will put your mind at rest. My Indie gradually slimmed out again and a year later has a tight slim tummy, although it did take a while.
Could you please let us know what the vet said? My girl has just developed the same tummy vet says she’s fine but it’s too weird that all of the sudden her tummy is so flabby . Thank you!
@Elisa Tomba pretty old thread I'm afraid..do you want to share a bit more information regarding your dog? I think in the first instance, anything that differs from the norm does need a vet consult. I see you have visited a vet who thinks she is OK..were there any other comments? Oh and welcome btw!
