Behaviour change after phantom pregnancy

Hi everyone,

We have a Staffy pup just turned 1 and are having problems with her behaviour. I have had dogs before, but this is the first one from puppy, so any advice would be appreciated!

She was a bit of a nightmare as a pup, but after her first heat her behaviour had really improved she had basically completely stopped nipping and biting, and was generally well behaved.

However she then had a phantom pregnancy, and is now a complete nightmare. At first we had put her behaviour down to the hormones and pregnancy symptoms, however it's been a week since we stopped giving her the medication, and the physical signs have gone, but the behaviour shows no sign of changing.

Apart from when she is on walks, she spends the entire time barking, lunging and nipping at us. This continues non stop until we end up having to put her in her crate for a time out, then usually starts again as soon as she is out. Attempting to play with her with her toys, or giving her rubs will sometimes calm her for a few minutes, but then she loses interest and the barking and nipping starts again.

Ignoring her does not work, as she will continue barking and nipping with increased force, usually to ankles or the back of knees.

She used to be very affectionate and during the day she would take naps beside us, and in the evenings she would either fall asleep cuddling one of us, or beside us on the sofa. But now she will not sit on the sofa with us, and does not come up for cuddles at all. If we try and give her a treat or Kong on the sofa to settle her, as soon as she is done she is back to the biting and barking.

Anyone had similar behaviours after a phantom pregnancy? Hopefully that eventually wore off!

Also, any tips for trying to deal with the biting and barking in general would be greatly appreciated. As mentioned above, she really doesn't care about positive praise when she is being good, and ignoring her just results in harder and harder nips till you react. We have a crate for putting in a time out to calm down, but getting her in it becomes a game to her, so not sure she is taking any learnings from it

Hi, welcome to the forum.

The only thing I can advise right now is to use the Pet Remedy Calming spray...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pet-Remedy-Separation-Fireworks-Companion/dp/B08YXVTRP7/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=dog+calming+products&qid=1622627551&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSVRVTFBWQk5DSE5UJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDI0MzQwV0tHSE1XTks2UDg4JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4MDk2NzIyRzdTNEZNVFFUOU1aJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

You can spray her bedding or spray it on your hands & rub it into her neck, chest & legs. It mimics a bitch's calming pheromones which she produces to keep her pups calm & stress free!

Has she seen a vet since the phantom pregnancy? She might be feeling a bit off-colour?

Hi & welcome to the forum

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Hi from me & Katy, welcome to our forum Katy had 1 phantom years ago but after her behaviour was the same as before. Has anything else changed since she had it, food, exercise, thing about the house?

Hello and welcome.

Her change in behaviour might have been sparked off by the phantom pregnancy but if it’s any help to you, my Opium went through her “teenage tantrum” from around a year old for a good 6 months.
All of her established training went out of the window, much to my huge dismay at obedience classes, and she became very testing.
There is light at the end of the tunnel but in the meantime, need to find solutions for you.

Firstly I would suggest a blood screening at your vets to ensure nothing worrying on that side. You could try a calmer like A-OK9 calm-k9 which can help to at least take the edge off her.
I would stop using the crate as “punishment”, especially as it no longer seems to work.

Is she barking and nipping to get your attention ?
What does she do once you are focused on her ?