false pregnancy

Question
We have a 2 year old female chocolate lab that came into her second heat around the 1st of January. We bred her with our 7 year old male chocolate lab. After a couple of weeks, she threw up nearly every morning for about a week.  Since then she has been eating more each week.  She has gained a little weight but doesn't look obviously pregnant. About 2 weeks ago her nipples started swelling (especially her back 4) and producing milk, she has been licking her nipples and vulva constantly. In past week our 8 year old male has also been licking her and trying to mount her (he seems very confused because she won't allow it) however, her belly is still not noticeable swollen.  Could this be a false pregnancy, even with all the other signs of pregnancy?  Is it normal for a male to try to mount a female that is either pregnant or experiencing a false pregnancy?

Answer
Hi Tawni

Did you only breed her the once?  Did you do progesterone testing to see if she was ovulating?

Gestation is 63 Days and she would be at day 76, so that would indicate a false pregnancy or, she could have reabsorbed her pups.

The discharge would confuse the male into thinking she's coming into heat again, that is why he would be trying to mount her.

If you are going to try and breed her again, give her a low dose of antibiotics for a week prior to whelping, (the day she starts her season), this should help if she has any infections, or low grade fever.

Good luck