Sixty percent of unneutered female dogs experience hysterical pregnancy, also called false or pseudopregnancy.
This is a very common condition that therefore should not alarm us (how is it possible that I am pregnant? How will I deal with the puppies?), but one that we need to be able to recognize and manage, also because the phenomenon can be very intense. The exact causes of pseudociesis (a scientific term) are not known, but there is certainly a hormonal component, surges that are not exactly physiological. It affects all breeds of dogs indifferently. But how does it manifest itself?
Symptoms of hysterical pregnancy in dogs
Symptoms begin 60 to 80 days after your four-legged friend has gone into heat. Your female dog in the case of hysterical pregnancy changes her behavior, starts doing strange things, such as picking up covers, waste paper, socks, etc.: her goal is to create a soft nest for her puppies to sit on. She may show nervousness, as in pregnant women, she feels that something in her body is changing, and this may bring her discomfort, a feeling of discomfort. Indeed, he may experience nausea and vomiting, resulting in loss of appetite and weakness. Depression may also occur, as well as typical labor pains. Later, your big dog will even go so far as to cuddle a shoe or rag doll as if it were her own puppy, applying appropriate loving care. As in hysterical pregnancy in human females, the dog’s body also changes: immediately there is abdominal distension, with much swelling, and the nipples and mammary glands widen, which at some point begin to secrete a brown fluid or directly water, thus ready for suckling. But the puppies are not there.
The causes of canine hysterical pregnancy
The exact causes of this condition are not certain. One scientific hypothesis traces the phenomenon back to the time when dogs lived exclusively in packs: in this case, even if multiple females went into heat only the dominant bitch would breed. To the others, nature granted the symptoms and suckling of pups. A state of false pregnancy is actually normal for dogs, other scientists explain instead, because of the significant production of progesterone during the “heat” period. That is, whenever the female dog goes into heat the hormones that develop are the equivalent of a pregnancy.
If there is mating well, the pups will come, otherwise the organism in its own way will be back in range in short order. This would happen because the female dog, unlike primate mammals, does not have a monthly menstrual cycle, but goes into heat every 6-8 months, and from this would result in the hyper production of progesterone. If after heat the level of this hormone does not return to normal, symptoms of hysterical pregnancy develop. These symptoms have also been found in female dogs a few days after an ovariohysterectomy (surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus).
Source: tuttozampe.com