Could my dog possibly be feeling "broody" [see details]?

If she has not been fixed, maybe she is feeling the powerful urge to produce babies. It’s common in many women.

No she hasn’t been “fixed” as of yet. Certainly seems the case, although she isn’t currently in season.

The females of all species are designed to reproduce; the feeling is truly hard to resist. Would it be moral and kind to allow her one brood, or are there too many dogs in the world already?

Or, how about fixing her? That might be the most reasonable solution.

Well our intention is to breed her, give her a couple of years yet, she’s still a puppy really.
Too many dogs? Not like her there aren’t, one of a kind.

Is she a randy 14-year-old in dog years? Then you have to keep her locked up in in a chastity belt.

Have you been to an animal shelter recently? There are thousands of really adorable and worthy and loving and desirable dogs aching for homes, who may have a very unpleasant fate in store for them. (But, you know this already, don’t you?)

She was herself rescued from “a very unpleasant fate” she was found in a cardboard box along with two further puppies. They were all aged between six/eight weeks at the time. Some undesirable bastard had clearly felt the need to leave them for dead.
I sense a little hostility in your tone, forgive me, but I know not why.
Any potential breeding in her future would be done in a controlled environment, her puppies well looked after until satisfactory criteria were met in view of any prospective owners.

No. I was making an observation only.

Good luck to you all.

Ahh, I see….....oh & thanks, for both your time & your good will :¬)

Do I deserve a photo of Ms. Adorable?

Sure you do, only i’m not very good at posting my own pics.
That’s her in my avatar when she was a pup.

Other than feeling “randy” as @gailcalled suggested, she may be trying to tell you that something hurts.

The behaviour you described is similar to the behaviour dogs display when they are in pain. When my dog has tummy ache (usually gas pains), he walks around aimlessly and keeps switching nap spots around the house. He also continuously searches for the perfect spot to lay in (not his usual spots either) when he’s having joint pain. He does not do the “collecting” of toys thing though.

Have her eating habits changed at all? Has her diet changed? Are you checking her feces for anything unusual (diarrhea, worms, foreign objects, etc)? Are her shots up to date? If you have a backyard that she spends time in, you should check for vomit.

Most likely she’s feeling mother urges. But I would watch her closely just in case she is in pain/sick. Hope this helps. :)

I think what @gailcalled meant by too many shelter dogs is that by bringing more puppies into the world (whether cared for or not), we hinder the chances for the current orphaned dogs to get homes. Sort of like adding to an already overwhelming population of dogs needing homes.

@Plucky No, she’s in tip-top condition. Eats like a horse, is as lovable & full of beans as usual, no vomiting & stools remain consistent. It’s just this way she has of gently picking up her toys & “shepherding” them to her bed, crying as she does it. Looks exactly like mothering puppies to these eyes. Thanks for that anyway, appreciate it.

Keep an eye on her for a few days, if the behavior continues it may be worth a follow-up with the vet. I have seen dogs behave this way with pancreatic conditions and other things that can make the dog THINK she IS pregnant.

@ucme

“Too many dogs? Not like her there aren’t, one of a kind.”

I do have to say this- every single dog killed in a shelter for lack of a home is one of a kind as well. If your dog is a mixed-breed of unknown heritage, she really should not be bred. You will not get another one like her, and, even with the best of screening, you’ll be taking homes from all of the other unique individuals who really need one. Breeding her also can endanger her life.

I’m not going to go on about to breed or not to breed.

I have a female chocolate lab. Before my husband passed we were going to breed her.

After he passed I decided it wouldn’t be good for just me to do that.

Anyway she is 6 now and got fixed last year. I had 5 years of unfixed female.

First year she was in heat she stood on my brand new solid cherry dining room table looking out the sliding door as if she was the playboy bunny of the dog world…too funny.

Also close to the time of her heat, I’m not sure what months your dog is in heat but my dogs heat was in oct nov & April may.

Usually weeks before she would get antsy before her heat. And an example of that would be she would want to go out every 2 seconds.

She did have a fake pregnancy one time and I had to take her to the vet because we thought she might be pregnant by accident even though she wasn’t around male dogs.

This is an example of what happened, her belly bloated, and she was very quiet, she wasn’t eating much almost like she was pregnant for a long time.

Since she has been fixed she has calmed down a lot. Before she was fixed she also got really sick and the first thing they tested for was Pyometra because she had all the signs and she wasn’t fixed. But she did not have Pyometra. I did never really got a clear answer on what she was sick for but my vet has me made to believe that she either ate something or went into complete shutdown because of the loss of a pack member, my husband who she was very close to.

She’s great now.

@Meego Yeah thanks for that, she is eating fine & all things are normal with her. Usually when she comes into heat she’s a little sensitive for a couple of days, but as I say she hasn’t come into season yet, not due for another 3 months or so. The only time she cries is when she picks up her toys, ever so gently & takes them to bed with her.
Cheers all for your input, we’ll give it a couple of days see what happens.

Of course it’s your decision as to whether to breed her or not but the sad FACT remains that for every mixed breed puppy born, a shelter dog will die.

That’s just the plain unvarnished truth of the matter.

Every loving home you find for each pup born, is one less available home for a dog whose time has expired at a nearby shelter.

If you’re perfectly comfortable with that, there’s really nothing more that can be said.