Phantom pregnancy is a common problem in entire female dogs where the body is essentially tricked into thinking it is pregnant. Spaying is the best way to get rid of the problem for good. But if you have an older female dog, is the surgery too risky?

• A dog who has had a phantom pregnancy after a previous heat, typically experiences one every subsequent season. They also often become more pronounced each time.

Treating Phantom Pregnancy

• Usually, there is no need to give any pharmaceutical treatment. The phantom pregnancy will sort itself out without any intervention in a couple of weeks or less.
• If you want to help this resolution take place faster, you can:
  • Increase their exercise levels
  • Reduce their food intake
  • Medication can be given, especially if there is a lot of milk and a risk of mastitis

Spaying an Older Dog

• 3 big benefits of spaying a dog: prevent pregnancy, prevent pyometra, reduce breast cancer risk.
• Risks of spaying an older dog:
  • GA + surgery risk are very low, but do depend on the overall health of the individual dog
  • There are some potential some side effects to being spayed before twelve months of age, especially in larger breed dogs. These risks don’t appear to be present in female dogs that are spayed in older age.

All the details and links can be found in the full show notes

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