Pseudopregnancy can be very helpful to the breeder who needs a foster mother to nurse orphaned, abandoned, or extra puppies. On the other hand, the home owner with a single, female dog who is not allowed to mate during estrus will frequently have to contend with unwanted milk dripping. Behaviorists note nesting behavior and even straining movements which simulate parturition about nine weeks after estrus. The greater the quantity of milk produced, the more likely it is that eclampsia will occur. When calcium is lost in the milk faster than it is absorbed, or than it can be mobilized from the skeletal system, hypocalcemia results.
Signs are muscle fasciculations, tetany, and death.
As you treat, the amplitude of heart sounds will increase, and the heart rate will decrease. If the heart rate increases, or becomes arrhythmic immediately stop calcium administration. A bitch with a large litter two to four weeks into lactation is especially susceptible to eclampsia. Some would suggest giving extra Ca prior to the time it is needed. However, this does not help, because excess Ca intake decreases the efficiency of Ca absorption from the intestine, inhibits parathyroid hormone secretion, and stimulates thyrocalcitonin secretion.