Female Pit Bull

Question
My 10 month old female pitbull had her first heat at about 6-7 months of age, since then she developed a very enlarged "private" area and enlarged nipples, she looks as though she has had puppies.  Is this normal and when should i expect her next heat? She is papered and we were going to breed her, but I am thinking I may just have her spayed now.

Thank You
Erin

Answer
Hi Erin,

It sounds as though your dog is going through a false pregnancy.

When your female dog is in heat, a structure forms in the ovary called a corpus luteum. This structure is produced by ovulation when the ova (eggs) are released. If the dog is pregnant, other hormones will take over to maintain the corpus luteum for the entire 63 days of the pregnancy. If she is not pregnant, the corpus luteum simply wears out before she goes back into the period of hormonal inactivity in which she spends the bulk of her time. The corpus luteum wears out slowly (rather than suddenly as in pregnancy and puppy birth) over 70 days or longer. Remember, during this time her body essentially thinks she is pregnant. All the hormones are present; only the puppies are missing.

In the non-pregnant dog, the corpus luteum usually degenerates in about a month. For reasons still not well understood, the corpus deteriorates much slower in some females, and its prolonged presence is believed to trigger the false pregnancy. Symptoms can vary from being hardly noticeable, sometimes the dog has symptoms of engorgement of the breasts, possibly with a thin yellowish fluid or actual milk coming from them. You also might notice her carrying a shoe, toy, or other object around with her, much as she would a newborn puppy.

False pregnancies(or Pseudocyesis, as they're called) occurs at all ages from the first puppy heat on. It may happen only once and never recur, but in most cases, once started, it tends to recur about two months after each, or most, of the successive heat periods. This can be a special problem in the older dog.

If symptoms are mild, treatment is unnecessary as the condition resolves within 3 weeks. It may be tempting to put warm compresses on the breasts or wrap them to prevent milk leakage causing stains in the house. It is important to remember that any touching of the mammary tissue is what stimulates milk production, so it is important to minimize stimulation. If your dog is licking herself, she may need an Elizabethan collar to minimize stimulation.

The more severe cases will be helped with estrogens, testosterone, or progesterone injections to terminate the false pregnancy. If fever or breast infection is present antibiotics will also be prescribed.

You might want to have your dog evaluated by your vet to see if she is a candidate for medication, or you can wait a little (if your dog doesn't seem too uncomfortable) and see if it goes away on it's own.

There is no hard evidence to prove it, but many veterinarians in companion animal practice are of the opinion that repeated false pregnancies, especially the severe ones, are likely to predispose your dog to the eventual development of Pyometra, a serious and hazardous uterine infection. For that reason, your veterinarian may recommend that you spay your dog. If you decide to spay your dog to prevent future episodes, you should wait until this false pregnancy is over. Spaying does not end the prolactin production from the pituitary gland, so spaying may actually prolong the false pregnancy.

You can read more about false pregnancies here:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/pseudocyesis-false-pregnancy/page1.aspx

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_false_pregnancy.html

Should you not spay your dog, you can expect her to have her heat cycle about every 6 months. It varies from dog-to-dog, it could be more or less often.

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

Patti