Margaret V. Root Kustritz, DVM, PhD, Diplomate, American College of Theriogenologists
Associate Professor, Small Animal Reproduction College of Veterinary Medicine University of Minnesota wrote a fantastic book called, "
The Dog Breeder's Guide to Successful Breeding and Health Management" It's an invaluable reference if you will have intact dogs at any time, regardless of breeding plans. Her bio page is at:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rootk001/
On her site false pregnancies are addressed at:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rootk001/rep_beh.htm
More detail is given in her book, but a brief synopsis under FAQs is: "
Are bitches with a history of false pregnancy more likely to suffer from pyometra than bitches that never had false pregnancy? The signs of false pregnancy are a consequence of the normal hormonal changes all dogs undergo when they go through heat. Because all dogs go through these changes, whether or not they show signs of false heat, and because it is these hormonal changes that are associated with development of pyometra, dogs with signs of false pregnancy are not more likely to get pyometra than are bitches that never show signs of false pregnancy. In fact, I like a history of false pregnancy because it gives me historical evidence that hormonal changes occurred as expected in that bitch."
The short answer is, it's totally normal.
