HELP! My Boxer thinks a teddy bear is her puppy!!

[traciethomas]

Hi there, Im hoping someone can give me some sort of insight to the very strange behaviour my 2 and a half year old female Boxer - Ali, is displaying today.
This may sound strange, but she woke up this morning completely obsessed with one of her toys - a soft teddy bear, which she normally loves throwing around & chasing/chewing, but today, i think she seriously beleives it is her puppy..
She has been carrying it in her mouth everywhere she goes, if i pick it up n throw it she doesn't wag her tail like normal, just glares at me for throwing it, (naughty mummy!) & she will go and retreive it and lick it clean.. If i poke it she will lick it where i've touched it.
Not only that but she has made a little bed for it & curls up and sleeps with it, attacks our other dog if he goes near it (something she doesnt ever do) won't let teddy out of her sight & is acting very different to her normal hyperactive self!
Please note that she isnt sterilized, has never had a litter of puppies & its highly unlikely that she is pregnant. My family & i have come to the conclusion that she just wants to be a mother! Has anyone else heard of this before?

 

[gmacleod]

Well, you've come to a very wrong conclusion Unless what you really mean is that you and your family want her to become a mother...

Have you not ever heard of false pregnancy in dogs? Bitches go through ALL of the same physical and hormonal changes following a heat cycle irrespective of whether they're bred or not. For some bitches the heat cycles don't end correctly and they end on a hormonal rollercoaster that has the poor animal nesting, adopting toys or other items as the missing babies, some even go so far as to have a form of labour or produce milk! And there is nothing that can be done for them, except to wait for things to subside. Your poor girl appears to be one who is strongly affected and the best thing would be to have the unfortunate animal spayed, because this is going to happen every single time she has a heat cycle (and it's no fun for her).

A short veterinary article here that talks of false pregnancy, and other health benefits of being spayed: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1625&articleid=926

PS: This site requires that you introduce yourself to the community prior to using the forums. You have not done so, and it is an exception that I approved this thread manually. No further threads or posts will be approved until you have joined the community. Information on introductions here: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114872

 

[cocoboxers]

Wow! I have never heard of this behavior before. Thanks for the information!

~Coco

 

[traciethomas]

Thanks for your help, Ive been reading alot about it on the internet & yes it's a phantom pregnancy.
Ali is just starting to settle down now & I will soon book her into the vets to get her fixed up.
Thanks again!