How To Treat Canine False Pregnancy Once and For All

Actually the “best” form of treatment for dogs experiencing false pregnancy is to give her some young pups to suckle, using her as a surrogate mother. Opportunities like this, however, are extremely rare. Not many dog owners will have several female dogs going through whelping periods in a rotating fashion. Furthermore, this approach doesn’t really solve the root problem.

A few of them may cut down carbohydrate and water in their dog’s diet to reduce milk production and excess weigh gain. In my opinion, this can have detrimental health effect with no guarantee it will work 100% all the time.

Then there are some owners gave their dogs stuff toys to help her cope with her emotional distress. Whether or not she has already built her nest, I personally think this behavior should not be encouraged. Just like surrogate mother approach, it is only a temporary or immediate solution without treating the root cause.

All the above methods, if not treated appropriately, the dog’s health may suffer in a long run.

Two Methods of Treating Canine False Pregnancy Permanently

As I mentioned earlier, canine false pregnancy is due to hormonal imbalance. It would be best to treat it medically. There are two ways you can go about it, either using the conventional method or alternative approach or maybe both.

The Conventional Medicine

If you have no intention to breed your female dog, the kindest thing to do is to have her spayed especially those bitches who suffer severe false pregnancy. In another words, if she can’t get pregnant she also can’t develop false pregnancy!

Having said, it is not advisable to spray her while she is going through her false pregnancy. This will result in prolonging her experience making it more stressful for you and your dog.

If your dog is having high milk production and if it is not suckled or extracted from the mammary glands, she can get mastitis (a hardening of the mammary glands) and may run a temperature. What you could do is to massage the breasts by applying alcohol or ointments or warm towel over them to stimulate circulation and express the milk yourself. In doing so, this will help the swelling to go down faster and reduce inflammation. If condition still persists, you will have to make a trip to the veterinarian clinic.

The vet will extract the milk from the congested glands and may give her antibiotics to treat the serious inflammation. Some vet may suggest giving her hormone pills or injections to relieve the other specific signs and sedatives drugs to control her nervous signs especially when she has disturbed rest.

The Alternative Medicine

Although there are a few alternative approaches (from TCM to Energy therapy) to treating canine false pregnancy, Homeopathy seems to be the most effective approach above all. Also, it is commonly practiced among holistic veterinarians.

Homeopathic Medicine

Although homeopathic medicine is completely safe, please keep in mind that it can have adverse effects if taken orally in neat form (undiluted) and/or in wrong dosage. Pregnant dogs should avoid taking these remedies.

Below is a list of some homeopathic remedies for treating canine false pregnancy and some of which act as anti-fertility. These are best given three weeks after the estrus ends.

• Platinum - To reduce the urge for excessive libido.
• Sepia - To treat hormonal imbalance in older female dogs.
• Ignatia - Remedies for hysteria especially adapted to the nervous temperament.

These remedies should be taken when false pregnancy has already developed.

• Asafoetida - To treat irritable and nervous restlessness.
• Belladonna - To treat acute inflammation accompanied by high fever.
• Ignatia - Remedies for hysteria especially adapted to the nervous temperament.
• Sepia - To reduce metritis. One of the most important uterine remedies.
• Thuja occidentalis - To reduce virginal inflammation.
• Pulsatilla - To relieve symptoms.
• Lachesis and Cyclamen - Help to reduce milk production.

Compared to hormone therapy (conventional medicine), homeopathic medicine will yield better result in treating canine false pregnancy. The symptoms will become milder each time and gradually they will become less noticeable, requiring lesser treatments too.

With that said, I highly suggest having the female dogs sprayed if possible. After all, you could prevent many unwanted illnesses and diseases from occurring.