Pseudopregnancy
As false pregnancy - even lactatio sine graviditate , pseudopregnancy or lactatio falsa - a hormone-related changes in the mammary gland called female animals that is sometimes accompanied by behavioral changes. Pseudopregnancy is more common in dogs and less often in cats .
Pseudopregnancy can occur in non-pregnant females a few weeks after heat at the end of diestrus and manifests itself in hyperplasia of the mammary glands and production of milk ( lactation ). Sometimes behavior changes also occur: some pseudopregnant bitches may behave as if they had given birth, build nests, carry toys and other objects, and treat them like puppies.
root cause
At the end of diestrus , there is a decrease in the progesterone concentration and an increase in the concentration of prolactin in the blood. This hormonal change is essentially identical to the hormonal change that occurs at the end of a normal pregnancy. Milk production itself is primarily caused by prolactin.
treatment
Treatment is generally not recommended because symptoms of spurious pregnancy usually resolve spontaneously within one to three weeks. If milk production is undesirable, cabergoline can also be used. Diazepam can also be given to bitches with significant behavioral changes . Estrogens and androgens have occasionally been described as treatments, but have potentially dangerous side effects.
If the owners feel disturbed by the repeated occurrence of false pregnancy, then castration should be considered.
Evolutionary Aspects
With the ancestors of the dogs , the wolves , the pseudo-pregnancy has reasons:
Wolves live in packs in a family structure. When the she-wolf has offspring (wolves are monogamous), the older, pubescent female siblings become pseudo-pregnant and take on a kind of nurse function. To increase the likelihood of survival, it makes sense that the puppies are cared for by the entire family . Sociobiologically, such systems are called “helper-at-the-nest” systems: Individuals increase their indirect fitness by helping to raise the young of related individuals. For this reason, they must be able to produce milk without actually giving birth.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e The Merck Veterinary Manual, 9th Edition, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, ISBN 978-0911910506 , pp. 1152 f.
