Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Short-term food restriction helps improve pseudopregnancy in dogs
By Hermo, G et al.·Published in Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene·2009·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of short-term restricted food intake on canine pseudopregnancy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 16 female dogs experiencing signs of false pregnancy (pseudopregnancy) were studied to see if reducing their food intake could help. Half of the dogs were given less food for a week, while the other half continued their regular diet. By the end of the week, the dogs on the restricted diet showed improvement, with reduced swelling and milk production, although none completely recovered. This suggests that short-term food restriction might help lessen the symptoms of pseudopregnancy in dogs, even if it doesn't fully resolve the condition.
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Abstract
A non-pharmaceutical, dietary option may be useful to manage clinical pseudopregnancy (PSP). To describe the effect of short-term food restriction on canine PSP, 16 privately owned, overtly pseudopregnant bitches were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: Limit-fed (increasing amounts of a restricted maintenance: 50%, 40%, 30% restriction for 2, 3 and 2 days respectively) during 7 days (n = 8) or Maintenance-fed of the same food and period (n = 8). The bitches were physically examined and blood samples were taken for prolactin and progesterone determinations on days 2, 5 and 8. By day 8, none of the bitches had completely regressed the condition although all (8/8) the animals of the Limit-fed and two (25%) of the Maintenance-fed group improved in condition decreasing mammary size and secretion (p < 0.05). No day or group effects were observed for serum prolactin and progesterone concentrations (>0.05). It is concluded that although an 8-day food restriction did not cure PSP, it seemed to hasten PSP signs involution in these bitches. No endocrine change was related to these clinical findings.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18673334/