QUESTION
l lost one of my westies about six monthsago and since then the one that l have left has been suffering from phantom pregnacies.She has recently completed five days of Galastop but her behaviour is still very strange, ie. Throwing up her dinner and burying it in her bed,panting ,shaking but strangest of all she seems ok until she sees me.My husband says that she seems perfectly normal when l am out. Do you think this may have something to do with her loosing her friend of 12 years and would you recommend getting a puppy to keep her company.
Mrs Barton
ANSWER
Dear Mrs Barton,
It would certainly seem that this unusual behaviour is due to stress rather than the hormonal changes seen in false pregnancy and there is no doubt that, particularly, elderly dogs do feel the loss of a companion and can react in unusual ways. She may well be happy to see a puppy introduced into the family but I would advise that you must want a puppy as well and not just because you feel your other dog requires a companion - remember that at 12 sadly she may not have many years left herself and you could be in the same position again.
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