Hi all  well had my girl back to vets this morning when i woke up at 5am she was very poorly. she had weed in her box (not like her atall) and was very subdued took her temp it was 43.1 so straight to the vets at 6am by then it was 45.0 one of her back teats very swollen and hot (again) so vets says mastitis (again) she was given more antibiotic injections another corse of antibiotics. Why does this keep happening? She was abasoultly fine at 12 am when i fell asleep she had a snack at 11pm then cuddles on the couch with me before i put her in her box. Im at my wits end i just want my girl to be well and happy.This was my first (and last) litter that has been planned for years it just gos to show you that no matter how much planning you do it does go wrong somtimes. I will never put my girl thourgh this again for anything. My mentor says she will be fine and these things happen it doesnt mean i should never breed from her again. She might have good bloodlines and be a prime example to her breed but she is also my baby and i just cant do this again to her. i feel like this is all my fault but i dont know what iv done wrong. her puppies were 3 weels yesterday and this is the second time she has been on antibiotics since they were born, not to mention her not eating enough and being skinny. She has never been ill in her life till now i cant stop crying about all she is going through i feel sooo bad. Scarlet

my girl (small breed) mammary gland has burst opened this morning. My vet has never seen this in a dog before, but has seen it in cattle. she has two 3" open wounds along her back teat she is now on very strong antibiotics and Anti-inflammatory and pain relief. has anyone any experiance with this? we were at the vets today and have to go back tomorrow. i have now had to remove her from her pups and will have to hand raise them they are 3 weeks and 3 days old. i have started weening a few days ago but not having much sucsses gatting them to eat the puppy porrige can anyone help with this? i am also giving them the puppy milk but having trouble getting them to drink from the bottle any help would be great thanks Scarlet

i would have thought that it keeps happening because the pups arent using those teats very much, what i would do is express the milk yourself until they arent so swollen, but make sure you have a cloth or towel to hand as the milk can go every where, you may have to keep doing this but as long as it makes your bitch more comfortable then it doesnt matter how many times you have to do it, just read your second post, this reply is to the first so i guess it wont help much now sorry

Hi Scarlet, one of my bitches had the same thing happen several years ago now. I went in to her one morning, and she was just lying there, not even bothering to look up so see who it was. The night before, she had been fine. We rushed her to the vets, who said that it had turned gangerous, and that she was very, very  seriously ill. By this time she could hardly stand, and l had to support her while she was being examined. She was operated on to remove the back, infected teat, and was hospitalised for 5 days. I had to take  her 3 week old puppies into the vets with her - they were put into a separate cage - in order to not stress her out even more. She did make a full recovery, thank goodness, but it was her 1st and last  litter. This was the closest l have ever come to losing a bitch during a pregnancy/whelping, and suffice to say, it frightened me so much, l have never bred again, that was my last litter. Good luck. Josie xxx

I too had this happen to me 8 years ago and the litter were just two and a half weeks old.  I did manage to rear them  all and mum was eventually fine but I said at the time I would never put her and myself through that again.  I didnt ever breed from her but did keep a daughter and have had other litters since but luckily enough have never encountered this again.

My vet couldnt help me when I asked what might have caused it and said she would probably ok to have another litter but that the affected mamory gland would not produce milk but I didnt ever risk it.

I wish you all the luck in the world and hope all goes well.

Ruth

hi Ruth thanks for your reply i will never breed again full stop this is just to scary and heart breaking but im hopefull now i know that they can pull through. She seems a little better this evening she has been eating and drinking on her own for the first time in days without me having to force her so im hoping this is a good sign. We are back to the vets in the morning, but at the moment her mammary gland is (disgusting) for want of a better word i dont know how she is coping with it it has completely ruptured now with huge gapping holes in it and is weeping loads of muck but i suppose its better out than in. she is more distressed with not being able to get to her babies than her own discomfort its just heart breaking to see her she was being such a good mum the puppies are huge and very well on their way so i should be able to pick up where she left off and have 3 healthy babies at the end. Thanks again to everyone ill keep you posted Scarlet xx

Hi all well we were back at the vets this morning. Mistys mammary gland is hanging off now all the skin has gone black and rotten but were it has come away its nice and pink and starting to granulate so we just have to wait for the dead tissue to fall off then the vets can stitch it together. Misty is feeling much better today she is even wagging her tail again. She is still distressed about having no babies,  i have moved them upstairs away from her so she cant hear them as this was making it worse for her is there anything else i can do about her distress? we are back at the vets tomorrow morning to see how things are but i'm hoping they can take her in then to be stitched as am very worried about her having this huge open wound. The vet says if she is still improving by this evening i can wash her back legs and tail with cooled boiled salty water which i cant wait for as she is in a right mess and very smelly bless her. Thanks again for all the support. Scarlet

Glad to hear she is improving.  My bitch also had a gapping hole and the smell of the dead and rotting flesh I will never forget.  My vet didnt stitch the hole and within about 3 weeks she was allowed back with the pups to play which was obviously good for them to intergrate with their mother. 

Hope she continues to make good progress and the pups do well, im sure they will.

Ruth

Couldn't you cover up her teats, perhaps use an old t shirt, or baby grow if a small breed, and let her in with the pups?

Hi Tigger2
No i cant cover her as her mammary gland is hanging off and draining all the infection the best thing for the dead tissue is air we need to keep it open that is why the vet has not dressed it or stitched it yet. It is also very painfull so would not like to take the risk of a puppy hurting her. I know what you are saying though i would love nothing more than to let her have her babies back even if its just to wash and comfort them but at the moment that is not possible. She is distresed and down but i'm hoping that once the dead tissue falls off the vet might be able to stitch it. if not once she has time to heal i'm hoping she can spend time with her babies then. Scarlet

To help her discomfort and cleaning I would apply lavish amounts of aloe vera to her teat - this helps to clear up anything and everything, is very soothing and helps to heal from inside out.  I've used it on any number of infections and wounds and it's wonderful.  You can get it from Holland and Barratt although the Forever Living products are probably the best.  If you go to a FL agent they even have spray on stuff (aimed at beauty rather than health) which means you don't even have to touch the wound.

I used this product many years ago when a dog punctured her leg at her wrist joint and you could see through to the joint.  We were at a show and a vet nurse said if infection got in then she'd be lame for life.  Everyone rallied round, someone had her foot in a bucket of water every hour, someone else produced arnica tablets and someone produced aloe vera in spray form.  She went from oh look what I've done, to incredible pain and lameness to being sound by the next morning.  She never did go to the vet and by the following w/e she was all healed, able to compete in her first agility show and all she had to show for her experience was a small scar just below her wrist.  She'd obviously run into a sharp stick and the aloe ensured any traces were removed, no infection set in and it all healed.

Aloe is great at fighting infection and inflammation and reduces pain - if it were me, I'd ladle the stuff on and in her teat.

agree with aloe we use a gel all the time and works wonders