Our spaniel thinks she’s pregnant
Un-neutered female dogs can start to nest build and collect toys to protect, treating them as substitute puppies
QMy four-year-old female springer spaniel has suddenly become quite miserable and clingy. She is still eating but prefers to spend most of the day in her bed with a collection of toys. Do you know what’s wrong?
AIt could be that she is suffering from a false pregnancy. Also called a phantom pregnancy, it’s one of the most common conditions encountered in un-neutered female dogs.
If your dog was in season a month or two ago, and not spayed, false pregnancy would be at the top of my list of possible diagnoses. Your vet may confirm this and rule out a true pregnancy.
The symptoms that your dog is showing are typical of false pregnancy. Loss of appetite commonly occurs, and with this, depression and lethargy. Some dogs may make a nest in which to have the phantom pups and produce milk.
Hoarding toys, as substitute pups, is also very common and some dogs will protect these, so care is needed if children are in contact with the dog.
Although there is a seemingly obvious abnormality in hormonal levels in affected dogs, there is a lack of understanding of the cause of the problem.
In mild cases no treatment is necessary and the condition clears up in a few weeks.
Various medical treatments are effective in the more serious cases. Spaying is recommended, as this will prevent inevitable future episodes.
QMy 15-year-old male neutered cat Snowy is very well, considering his age, although he has a problem with his chin. It’s swollen, has lost some hair and doesn’t look very clean. Should I book an appointment with the vet?
AIt’s definitely a good idea to contact your vet. In spite of this being a minor problem at present, I suspect things will get worse if you do nothing.
The hairs on a cat’s chin are richly supplied with sebaceous glands, which produce sebum, or oil. Apart from maintaining a glossy coat, sebum is also important in scent marking. You may have seen cats rubbing their chins on various objects, especially outside.
Problems can occur if too much sebum is produced. The chin then becomes greasy and, if the hair follicles are blocked, comedones (blackheads) form with a risk of infection.
The area becomes inflamed and painful with the development of small pustules, and an affected cat will rub and scratch at the chin. It sounds to me like Snowy could be at the blackhead stage and it is important therefore to prevent any subsequent infection.
In many textbooks this problem is called feline acne. It’s not the best term because the condition usually crops up in old cats and, apart from involving the chin, has few similarities with acne in people. Also the cause is poorly understood.
Treatment aims to degrease the chin and deal with any infection. Antibiotics may be necessary in severe cases. Regular chin cleaning is usually advised to prevent a relapse occurring.