Hello,

I have a large breed bitch that whelped on Tues night/Wed morning. She had 10 pups and all seemed to be going ok. This is her 2nd litter and unlike the the 1st litter she has become more clingy to this litter and trys to do it all herself. The pups have all been feeding well and they were weighed at birth and again yesterday, all but two had put weight on. As I had finished my mid morning clean I was putting my bitch back and unfortunately as her teats are rather large I do have to move them into postition before putting the pups back on her. As I was doing this I noticed that one of her glands was a little larger than the rest and was harder. I expressed some milk and it did have a slightly off white colour to it but as the pups were only born a few days ago I am unsure if it is some of the  colostrum milk.

I have rung the vet and have an appointment this afternoon to get my bitch checked out. I contacted a friend of mine who suggested that I get a warm towel and massage the area and express some of the milk every hour, which I have done.

My question is - Isn't rather early for a bit to be developing mastitis as I thought it occurs later on especially when weaning the pups? Also what advice can anyone give in relation to treating this. Obviously if it is mastitis then I am sure that the vet will give her antibiotics which I will worry when giving them to my bitch as it will be passed onto the pups in the milk. I would like to do as much as I can without depending just on medication to nip it in the bud before it turns into a big problem.

Its probably just me over reacting slightly but I would appreciate any tips.
Kate.

Sometimes I find with a large litter in the mad rush to get onto a teat one is missed under the heap of pups and it can gat a little full. I would keep going with the warm towels and try to express as much as you can. The teat will often become so full the baby puppies mouths just cannot get a grip, if you can soften it a bit and get a really greedy pup to latch on and empty it all may sort itself out. Good idea to have the Vet check though just in case. Can you not get a home visit? I never take my bitches near the surgery if I can help it when I have pups..too many unknown infections in the surgery. It will cost a bit more but is much the safest bet I think.
Good luck hope all is OK
Aileen

One of my bitches had a very hard swollen teat and when i inspected it....................it had no duct!!! (no wonder the pups were getting frustrated when they were on that teat Hahaha!) I know thats not the case with your bitch but the teat was so hard because it was very full, so hopefully that will be the case.
Keep massaging.

Hope everythings OK x

To be honest I was in a bit of a panic when I noticed and phoned the vet to get an appoint asap. I will phone them back now as that makes more sense. I was just unsure that if it was mastitis how long it would take to become a really serious problem rather than just a serious problem.

Thanks

My large breed girl had 11 pups 3 months ago.All was going great till day 8 when she very quickly developed gangrenous mastitis.Her belly literally split open,and there were 2 puss filled craters.The vet gave her antibiotics for 2 wks.She lost milk to all her teats,but it came back to 3 after a week.The pups were syringe fed,we could not get them to accept a bottle,tried various ones,even a lamb feeder from the vet.We lost 4 of the pups,but the rest thrived once we got to the 3week mark and got them on solids.It was a horrendous time,I wouldn't wish it on anyone.The massaging with hot towels definately works,I hope your girl will be ok,I'm thinking of you.

> I was just unsure that if it was mastitis how long it would take to become a really serious problem rather than just a serious problem.
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I had a small bitch with the same last year.  Yorkshire Terrier with 3 pups.  I was concerned because, not only was one teat hard, huge and red, it was really shiny.  This was only a couple of days after whelping.  The vet expressed some milk and told me to ensure that I got a pup latched on to the one teat every couple of hours.  I suppose, with a small litter, it's easy for one teat to not get used. 

It didn't take long before the swelling and redness settled, even without drugs.  My girl took no medication, and, once I had them sucking regularly from the inflamed area, things settled very well indeed.

I was just unsure that if it was mastitis how long it would take to become a really serious problem rather than just a serious problem.


My bitch started much the same on her second litter. I used a hot flannel expressed and massaged her hoping it would be fine and took her to the vets for antibiotics within 4 hours of the problem occuring, the antibiotics did not help within 24 hours that is all that it took she had a teat the size of a jaffa orange and as hard as. Unfortuantely she had to have her teat removed as it became infected. So it can be that quick!

But it is very rare to go that far so please do not worry, the antibiotics 9/10 times work with hot flannels and massage and the pups are fine to feed throughout this time, it is very common for a bitch to get mastitis. :-) But never take it for granted.

Just an update. My bitch has been checked over by the vet and although they can can not say for defo that it is mastitis they do think that it is the start of it. Her temp is up and she is clearly a little uncomfortable on the left hand side. Antibiotics have been given and I will continue with the hot towel and to express some of the milk myself. The vet also said to let the pups have a good go at expressing the milk as well but although the antibiotics are safe to use of lactating bitches it may turn the milk a slightly funny taste so the pups may not want it. Luckily I had already purchased milk and bottles prior to them arriving just incase - hopefully I will never have to use it but who knows. Anyway she will be checked again on Tuesday and hopefully she will be a hundred times better!

My girl had a c-section and was on 10 days of AB's afterwards,  the pups didn't take any notice if there was any change in her milk, good luck I'm sure she'll be fine now.

An effective natural remedy used in people will also work in pets. Cabbage is for more than rolls. Peel off a piece, break down the fiber in it by rolling it with a rolling pin, and apply it to the affected area. Cabbage releases a natural hormone that decreases inflammation; you can ask any nursing mom for proof.

My question is - Isn't rather early for a bit to be developing mastitis as I thought it occurs later on especially when weaning the pups?

No, I know of someone who used my dog and when the bitch whelped she was growling at the pups straight away. Took her to the Vets the same day and she had a high temperature and mastitis. She was given an AB jab and within hours she was happily settled with her pups.

My girl had a c-section and was on 10 days of AB's afterwards,  the pups didn't take any notice if there was any change in her milk

Same here. My girl had her pups 11 days ago and the pups are very happy feeding.