My dog has a false pregnancy, thinks toy is puppy. What should I do?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor girl! I’d allow her to have the toy. Bring the water and food to her. If she is experiencing a false pregnancy then it should resolve in 2-3 months from the end of her heat cycle. I hope this helps and I wish you both the best!

Yes, this sounds like a false pregnancy but if in any doubt i recommend an ultrasound scan to rule out full pregnancy . Most cases will pass over time but if she is very distressed and refuses to ear then hormonal therapy can be used to reverse the condition. It is recommended to neuter before or breed at the next cycle as most likely this will recur

Hi, yes she is probably suffering with phantom pregnancy. Things should settle, however if she is also producing milk she might need to see a vet to get a medication to stop milk production. Hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Maya! Sometimes when a dog is spayed close to the start or the end of a heat cycle they can experience pregnancy signs (false pregnancy). This occurs due to a hormonal imbalance or sudden withdrawal of hormones. The body then thinks that it is pregnant when it is not. The dog will carry stuffed animals around like puppies, nest, act clingy or anxious, they can even have mammary gland development and produce milk! It is temporary but can last 2 months but can be shorter. I hope Maya feels better soon! https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reproductive-system/reproductive-diseases-of-the-female-small-animal/false-pregnancy-in-small-animals

It's fine for Harley to keep her 'Pup'. It likely brings her comfort. She will eventually lose interest. Here is a link about false pregnancy: https://www.petcoach.co/article/false-pregnancy-in-dogs/ Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello. This does sound like Molly is going through a false pregnancy, & ideally, you should consider having her spayed. She very likely has cystic ovaries that keep her cycling too often. Dogs normally cycle every 6 months. This does not mean she has any particular reproductive disease, but there is a slightly higher incidence of female dogs developing mammary cancer who have had multiple false pregnancies. Doing nothing is best as any stimulation of the tissues delays resolution. There was a study that decreasing food hastened resolution. The program recommendations are to feed Molly 50% of her food for 2 days, 40% of her food for 3 days, then 30% of her foood for 2 days, then go back to her regular amounts. When you are financially comfortable please consider having her spayed. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for visiting Petcoach. Based on your description of what she is doing, whining and finding toys. This sounds like she may be having false pregnancy symptoms. This isn't painful nor is it a true medical concern for her. However, I can understand it being hard to watch her act in this manner. If you want something to calm her down you can try either Zylkene supplement available online or ask for anti-anxiety medications that can be prescribed by your veterinarian. I would also highly consider having Briggles spayed soon to help prevent any chances of a spontaneously infected uterus (pyometra) which can make pets very ill and require emergency surgery due to it being a life threatening event. This can happen at any time in pets that are not spayed. Here is more information on pyometra in pets --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951481 I do hope that Briggles does well moving forward. Best of luck and take care.