Dog Lactating

Question
I have a 13 month old Jack Russell/Daschound She has never been with a male!   She went into heat approx. 4 months ago  I noticed that her breasts swelled up,  but looked like they were just fat.  
They never went down, and are now full of milk.  I'm confused and not sure why this would happen.

Answer

Hi Stephanie,

It sounds like your dog is experiencing what's known as a "false pregnancy". Nobody knows the true reason for this condition.  In intact dogs, the reproductive system goes through several stages on a regular basis. Hormonal changes, primarily decreases in progesterone and increases in prolactin, are probably responsible for false pregnancies. Most dogs will come out of the false pregnancy in two to three weeks without difficulty and without intervention. Reoccurrence of false pregnancy is common, to prevent a recurrent episode of false pregnancy, have your dog spayed.  Spaying typically is not recommended during the false pregnancy, but can be done after the false pregnancy signs have resolved and your dog is no longer in heat. Other treatment is generally not recommended unless the symptoms are extremely prolonged or pronounced.

Some dogs with hypothyroidism may have blood changes, which can cause stimulation of prolactin. This can also cause symptoms associated with false pregnancy.

Do not touch or otherwise stimulate your dog's mammary glands (including putting compresses on your dog's mammary glands) . Stimulation can increase swelling and milk production and increase the likelihood of problems such as inflammation of the mammary glands. Dogs that lick their their mammary glands excessively may need to wear an Elizabethan collar during this period.

You can read more about false pregnancies here:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_false_pregnancy.html

If your dog has been in this state of false pregnancy more than 3 weeks since the end of her last heat cycle, you should contact your veterinarian.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti