False Pregnancy

Day Dreamer

New member
Apr 8, 2012
1
0
Bulldog(s) Names
Madeline May
I am brand new to the forum, and have not yet introduced myself, but I had a few questions that i wanted to ask first.

For starters, my bully Maddie is experiencing her second false pregnancy. I know it's false because she was never given the opportunity to breed while she'd been in heat. Her heat cycle had ended the first week of February and about four days ago was when I noticed a change in her temperament. She was becoming moody and snippy. At one point even growling at me when I tried to get her to move from her bed. If she is not moody then she's lethargic or wants to cling to me. I have two cats who tend to drink from her water bowl, something that has never been a problem before, but now she all but tries to kill them for even walking passed it. Last night I brought her home a new "baby". She hasn't had one in awhile because she shreds them as soon as she gets them, but this one she has been packing it around the house with her since she got it. This morning, when I went to put her harness on for her morning walk, I noticed that her breasts were engorged, a little red, and hot to the touch. I bent down a little closer, and gently squeezed one of her nipples, and sure enough, out came milk.

As I said, this is the second time she's gone through this. The first time was about a year and a half ago. I'd taken her to the vet then, even though I was sure there had been no way she could have been bred, and an ultrasound confirmed it. The vet never did explain to me why she was experiencing a false pregnancy, he only told me to keep her from licking or sucking on herself, because that would only stimulate her milk production and prolong what she was going through.

I'm not sure what makes this happen, and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to help her get through this quicker and prevent it from happening again. As much as I love my dog, the mood swings and playing defense to keep her from seriously hurting one of my cats is something I could definitely do without.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,560
3,653
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
Welcome to the site.... I am of no help on this topic, but will tage a few who may be able to help. [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION] [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION]
 

kazzy220

..........
Jul 31, 2010
8,556
441
Grafton, OHIO
Country
England
Bulldog(s) Names
Maggie (My Angel Baby 5/31/2012). Daddy (2 years). Linus (1year). Bella (4 years)
I'm sorry but I too have not experienced this so can't really offer any help ... but I think that [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] has had a similar type of experience.
 

Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
Staff member
Mar 21, 2011
13,407
848
Katy, Texas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
The mood swings are normal, as her hormones are going crazy right now. Let her nest and carry the stuffed toys around, this is normal. They can also as you found out become aggressive to protect her pups. Her abdomen will become swollen, but not as big if she was carrying pups. Plus they can produce milk, which you have found out already. If she produces too much and starts to leak you may need to get a hormone-based medication Bromocriptine to help with this. Just try to keep her comfortable and quiet, it just has to run it's coarse.
 

MamaAndi

Moderator
Staff member
Nov 20, 2011
3,371
136
Nebraska
Bulldog(s) Names
Tank
I don't know if you have plans to breed or not but I would imagine you could just have her spayed to avoid this happening again. Poor girl...I'm sure she's miserable and that's why shes lashing out and being tempermental. Good luck with everything
 

Sherry

New member
Jan 15, 2011
5,183
477
Denver PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Jack , Dolly, Grizz, Peggy Sue, and Scrimps
[MENTION=4659]Day Dreamer[/MENTION] I've had a female go through this every time she had a cycle. She got so engrossed in the process that she would not want to leave the house to even go potty without her "toy baby's" . she'd tuck the toy baby's in toward her belly for nursing. she had no appetite and no thirst. It was quiet depressing to say the least. Affectionately engulfed in the rearing of the toy baby's, she wanted to be a mom, or at least thought she was one. She would carry on like this for at least a month at a time.
After her spay at age 3 she never had another issue with this.
 

BruceP

..........
Aug 12, 2010
0
505
Milwaukee, WI
Bulldog(s) Names
HRH Princess Gracie, aka: HRH; Princess Amelia Pond, aka: Amy
:welcome: to EBN..... I have no experience in this but I see David and Sherry have taken care of your concerns. They both are excellent breeders and you can trust their advice. Thanx for joining and I hope you wil make EBN your second home as many of us have. Please post pix of your sweetheart. :)
 

ChanelnBrutus

Snookie ain't got nuttin on me!
Feb 6, 2012
4,928
181
New Jersey
Bulldog(s) Names
Brutus (EBD 6/4/11), Chanel (Pitbull 12/23/06)
Just wanted to say Welcome. I dont have any advice but seeing you got the best advice already! This is a great place for everything you need to know about our bulllies...Glad you joined ! Pictures please :)
 

bullmama

Owner/Administrator
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jan 28, 2010
24,756
1,251
Tucson, Arizona
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
The Home of the Desert Sky Pack
Poor thing, her natural instinct is kicking in. I would get her spayed to prevent this happening again. I have not had this happen yet, although when trying to breed and it not taking, my girls would almost look pregnant for a while but never go to these extremes.
 

DeeBeth

New member
Oct 10, 2012
2
0
Bulldog(s) Names
Lucy
My English bullie , Lucy , is having a few symptoms that are a bit distressing to me. But of course, ANYTHING out of the oridinary that she does causes me anxiety , I am quite a bit over protective of her. She has been quite clingy lately , at times, and at other times, likes to sleepbehind the chair. Her breasts appear to be saggy, not really large , just saggy... The vet felt her and gave her a gooed check and said, not pregnant,. She goes out to pee in the backyard which is surrounded by a 6 foot tall privacy fence.I worried because when i squeeze her nipples a tiny bit of "something" comes out.I did this as a test just to see if she had milk since I noticed her breasts or teets were different. THe color hasnt changed. But they just look saggy to me.. I hope she is not having a false pregnancy, she isnot bigger, in fact, she has lost weight, but I also hope she isnt pregnant either, even though I have no idea that that could have happened. I keep her within my eye ! Has any other bullie owner experienced just this symptom?
 

DixieKooper09

New member
Aug 8, 2013
34
1
Oceanside, California, United States ( Native Sout
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Dixie and Kooper
My bully Dixie is going thru the same things! With tons of research I have learned that female dotg will go into false pregnancy because the canine species, such as a wolf pack, will have bitches that birth puppies and most of the other females in the pack would show signs of pregnancy to aid in feeding of the pups while the mother goes out for a hunt. So its in their DNA to lactate for the survival of the pack. :-) hope this help with the understanding of why they show false pregnancy signs.
 

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