Expert: Dawn Spoolman - 6/20/2006

Question
Hi

Wonder if you can help, my 9 month old choc lab has been left with large saggy boobs since her first heat at the age of 6months.  Is there anything you can recommend to try to reduce these?  She is not overweight or overfed (however she is prone to eat the table leg now and again :-) )

Any info greatfully received

Answer
Hi, Was she bred, if not it sounds like she went through a false pregnancy (a hormonal condition in which a dog's body acts like it is pregnant, even though the dog is not pregnant).  Normally if a dog has one false pregnancy, they will continue to have false pregnancies throughout their lives.  Most vets will recommend that you spay a dog who has false pregnancies as it is not good for their bodies, and can cause problems later on in life.  As far as sagging, unfortunately it probably will not go away at this point.  Hope this helps,

Dawn