Hi I’m Sue and new to the forum and would appreciate some advice please. We have a 10 month old Silver Labrador girl called Blue who had her first season at 8 months which seemed to be as expected. She is now showing signs of a phantom pregnancy with swollen mammaries (no milk yet) loss of appetite, clingy and general lethargy as well as nest building. There is no way she could actually be pregnant. My vet practice has advised that “she’ll get through it” and doesn’t need a visit to the vet. I can cope with all these symptoms but the worst thing is that for the past 4 nights she has pooped in her bedding in the crate with no warning sounds like whining or barking beforehand which she has never done even as a little puppy. She gets fed at about 5.30 pm and goes to bed about 11pm so has plenty of time to go to toilet during the evenings. I guess my question is, Is this normal behaviour during a false pregnancy and what can I do to stop this before it becomes a habit? Anyone else experienced anything similar?
I had a Jack Russell that had 2 phantom pregancy, they were both awful and the 2nd one I was feeding her water and food as didn't eat for quite a while, quite poorly. The first sounds similar to yours, although i don't think she did this, she only had a few accidents but once the milk came through it calmed down but she changed a little bit not so puppyish. I did feel for her badly through it as she would come and snuggle up on my belly and be very clingy.
Hey Sue, As Blue has done this more than once you should scrub out the crate with a good enzyme cleaner to remove any smells that makes her think its ok to toilet there. Also wash all bedding and if possible soak in the enzyme cleaner first. I would suggest if possible to either move the crate into your bedroom next to the bed so she knows you are there and can wake you, or set an alarm during the night to take her out. Is she pooping before going to bed? Hope you can find something that helps!x
