Hi, if anyone's up! My girl seems to have the start of mastitis. One teat quite hard ... had a pup suckling on it (they're 6 weeks) and it has gone down a little. Will take her to vet first thing in the morning but if there is anyone else up at this time of night who can offer advice in the meantime, I'd be grateful. Am tempted to put a hot water bottle on but not sure if that'll help.

I have done a brief search but ditched that ... stories of gaping holes, exploding teats and speying!! Please no horror stories, no stories involving what other people may or may not have done, just actual advice if you've got personal experience with one of your own girls.  Many thanks :-)

Yes, I had a girl the same.  She was very, very hard and red.  I was concerned, so rushed off to the vet.

He squeezed and shot me in the eye!  :-)

She was really full, and he told me to put pups on as often as possible.  No antibiotics.

When I got home, I didn't even put a hot flannel on it.  As soon as she laid down with pups, I realised that she always laid the same way.  And the red, swollen teat wasn't so easy access for the pups.  I kept turning her round, and shoving a mouth on it.  (The pups, not mine!)

Once they started on it, and found that it was full, I never looked back.  Hope all goes ok for you.

Jean

Pretty much the same as Jean with turning to make sure pups got to suckle the inflamed teat.. Tia was so full of milk that pups could not reach the top milk bar and tended to just stick with the bottom tier ... and because she lay on the same side.. only one side was being drained off.. I did have to use a hot flannel, and just massaged all the hot teats,  We did need AB;s for Tia, and they kicked in within 24hours.. and within 3 days, was pretty much back to normal.. I never kept the pups off the hard teats, but I did put the stronger sucking pups onto them.. If it is only in the 1st stages, pups suckling from them will do more good, as horrible as it sounds..

Someone also suggested I used Cabbage leaves wrapped around Tia.. but in true Labrador fashion.. she ate them :)

Thanks Jean and Kay ... 2 of the people I would hope to reply!

It is just one teat, next to back, and it's looking quite bruised, so am wondering if she's knocked it jumping into the pen, plus rolling in badger poo may not have helped! But also quite hard and hot. She's been quieter in her self this afternoon, though appetite is absolutely normal.

I'll soak her teats with a hot flannel and maybe use salted water. Will take her to vet in the morning and hope that we can get away without ABs.

Would try the cabbage wrap if I had some cabbage ... don't think she'd be likely to eat it though. That made me giggle :-)

Thanks both.

trialist... our pups had our pups around the same time remember?    my girl stopped producing milk a week or so ago :(
how did it go at the vet?

I do remember you having pups close to ours! Not been to the vet yet ... just waiting for 8.30am when the line will be open. She's fine in herself which is a good sign, and eating. Will let you know how we get on in a bit.  She's been a tremendous Mum, am surprised that she's still feeding them so well, although she's wanting to go into them less.  How are your pups and girly doing?

pups are great,  they are very forward for the breed and look 9 or 10 weeks old not 6.  mum looked amazing after the litter then lost lots of weight.  has started putting it back on now.  she is fine with the puppies when the are outside in their yard but doesnt want in with them any other time :( .  but im still very happy with them.  good luck at the vet!

Hope it all goes well at the vet....give us an update when you get home.

My girl had similar last week (why does it always happen on a Sunday night!) - hot flannels and massage seemed to break it up for an hour or 2 but then it came back.  Vets gave her an AB and antil inflammatory jag and tabs and she was back to normal within 24hrs.  Milk was set right back though and has only partly came back in - just as well pups were starting to get weaned...although, at 3 1/2 wks, would have preferred them having some of mum's milk a bit longer

Yeay, I've got very forward pups too! Not particularly unusual for the breed, but it is slightly unusual to have every single pup in the litter up front and "what now" ... not a single shy one amongst them, which is great.

Took her to vet and seems we've caught it before it gets too firm a hold, she's had AB and anti-inflamatory jabs, no tablets. Taking her back Wednesday just to have it checked. Milk is still coming through, so been told to keep pups off that particular teat for a couple of days and express a little milk through by hand! Good job my breeder mentor's a farmer ... she'll have done lots of hand milking :-)  I may actually stick a pup on though, the little girl who helped last night and this morning seems to have a jolly strong suck but is quite gentle ... it's not gunky milk coming through.

Tis annoying, one of the new puppy owners who came yesterday is a vet! Wish I'd spotted it earlier in the day, just been very busy the last couple of days ... lessons learnt:

Check teats every single day, no matter how busy!
Watch which teats the pups are using ... noting any being avoided! Though not sure this one would have helped 'cause they are still going to that teat.

Thanks all for help and comments. :-)  :-)

If the pups are happy to take it then the milk is still OK.

My Jozi when her pups were 10 days got mastitits within hours it was infected and the pups sensibly wouldn't touch it (looked like tomato soup).

Of course it was Boxing day evening, out of hours vet and a very large bill for AB and anti-inflammatory shots, with instructions to see my own vet in morning.

bitch put on very strong AB's pups continued to feed and I was shown how to, and expressed the nastiness from the affected boob.  Pups began feeding from it once infection was gone, clever Little things and no problems with them at all, though Mum was quiet for a few days.

Hi, my girly has actually got worse since going to the vet! Can hardly get any milk out of teat expressing myself - well, that's not true, got my breeder mentor (farmer - used to milking all sorts!) doing the expressing and she can barely get anything out.  Have had pups on, there's no nastiness, the milk coming out seems to be ok.

Would you put a pup back on this evening?  Any suggestions as to what else to do? Am wondering about massage and hot compresses?

Will take her back to the vet in the morning. The AB injection was given into the shoulder, I had expected it to go into the teat, or at least the anti-inflamatory. No tablets given.

> Would you put a pup back on this evening?

A definite yes from me.

Hi Jean,

The teat is looking much bluer than it was this morning - it's like a dark bruising, with so little milk coming out. We're just off to hunt for some sponges to help with the expressing, my girly is obviously 'quite' uncomfortable whilst trying to express.

My worry about putting a pup back on is if toxins have built up into that teat ... will there be any adverse effect on the pup? Or would the pup just not suckle, no matter how much shoved to that teat, if the milk wasn't good?

Thanks for your help ... oh, I've just been so careful about everything, I'm so annoyed with myself that this has happened.

Hey, don't beat yourself up.  I was mortified when I saw how angry and red Amber's teat was. 

I think you will find that any "nasty" tasting stuff wouldn't be taken anyway.  Amazing how savvy pups can be!

I have to say that I was more worried about me contributing to any bruising, and didn't use hot flannels, massage, nothing.  I only squirted from the affected teat a couple of times before pups caught on, and did all the work for me.

Yeah!!  Lazy mommy!  No, seriously, I just saw nature working, so let it.

Thanks for that. I've had a little girly on the teat and she's kneaded like mad but no milk has come through.  Would you avoid the hot flannels and massage then?

We'll go off to the vet again in the morning. Reluctant to look too much on the internet, the little I did last night scared me to death. Have exhausted the text books I've got!

I would also pup the pup back on...

Massaging is neccessary.. even if it is painful... the hotter the compress, the better, but obviously not burning hot.. dont be afraid to knead the teat, a simple massage is not enough to break up the matter... I felt dreadfull while doing Tia, but she lay there and allowed me to do it... little and often.. I think I massaged up to 10 times a day, probably for around 30seconds at a time.. it doesnt sound much.. but it is quite a long time to suffer...

One of her teats was very bunged up.. and finally when 'stuff' came through it was a yellow thick gunk.. (not abcess type poison) just milk that had gone off.. once teat was expressing.. I shoved a pup on..

If the milk is really bad.. the pup won't suck.. the gag .. huch tchoo tchoo spitting out begins :-)  and no it wont do pup any harm.. it just means you have to keep expressing if the pups dont suckly

dont beat yourself up... Mastitis builds up below the teat and can flare up within hours..

I noticed Tia's and did everything I could to help, but within hours.. one side of her had become so infected.. there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.. but constant massaging and AB's help prevent it becoming a disaster..

Eeeh, it's the late night shifters again!! 

Hi Kay, Puppy isn't getting any milk out, so we've got some boiling salted water ready, with a bit of TCP in and some cotton wool, will cool it down and then apply.

How often did you apply the compress?

Will set my alarm through the night to get up for massaging. The tiny bit of milk we did get out was white, so looked ok, I'll put the pup back on before applying the compress. She's very helpful, despite wanting to go to a more fruitful teat, she goes back onto the one I want her on quite happily. Could try the big bruiser, but I suspect he may not be quite so gentle, but then maybe that's what we need.

Thanks so much for your help. My breeder friend has never experienced mastitis in her dogs, sheep is another matter ... wow, reading the sheep vet book is very depressing, thank goodness the prognosis in dogs is not so dire :-(

Trialist - is the teat still hard and swollen?

Hi Jean, yes it is. It's quite black looking too.

Have had one of the big boys on sucking but nothing is coming out. We've also been massaging with hot compress. Will do this again before bed, and during the night, and ring vet at 8am.

It's not often I disagree with Jean, but in this instance, I would keep massaging with a hot compress..

I used a towelling facecloth, soaked in hot water, wrung out, lay across the infected teat, and massage around a large area, the hot flannel helps alleviate the pain of massaging..

I would concentrate on breaking up the hard mass of the teat, rather than trying to express, its the gunge that is lying beneath that needs dispersed..

The AB's should be kicking in now too..

I'd say she needs AB's, or if she already has them then a different kind.

Jozi's mastitis came on within hours, but also the AB's started having a positive effect within 24 hours.

Hi all, just an update after another visit to the vet. She's had another anti-inflamatory and AB injection, and goes back tomorrow for more of the same, and continue going in daily (groan) until it starts to show signs of improvement - the vet's saying treat it aggressively. Then we go onto a course of AB tablets and, I think she said, Metacam (or it may be the anti-inflamatory injection she's having is a form of Metacam). I guess if there's no sign of improvement tomorrow then I raise the question re different ABs - sadly we're back to the less experienced vet I saw yesterday.

Vet today is one of the more experienced, so she said definitely put puppy onto a teat (there is one little girl who is quite happy to help out - the others tell me to get lost when there's no milk coming through :-) ). There's no milk coming through now, just getting a bit of beading on the end of the teat, but Vet said by putting a puppy on to suck it keeps the blood flowing into the teat area. Also to do as Kay suggested, hot flannel and massages, anything to try to break up the deposits.

Fortunately this is at the early stages, the tissue around the gland is still soft, would hate to have not noticed 'til it really took hold :-(  She's fine in herself, though slightly quieter, which for her breed is a sign something's not quite right, and her appetite and drinking is absolutely normal, so they're positives.

Thanks for all your help, it has been appreciated - specially Kay last night. Sue (not experienced mastitis in any of her dogs ... but has in sheep and cattle!) and I were sat looking through books last night ... the Vet Book for Sheep Farmers really did not help, tales of udders falling off!! Yikes!

Thanks again, will update.

We don't seem to be getting any better with the mastitis :-( She's had 3 days of AB injections and anti-inflamatory, yesterday the vet put her onto AB tablets (Noroclav) for 1 week. Tonight the teat is quite lumpy so am going back to the Vet in the morning, as really not happy with it.

Vet did say yesterday if it was going to erupt then so be it, there was little to be done about it and it would be treated. But obviously I really don't want this to happen. He did say it was a very complicated gland to treat and to continue with the warm compress massages and putting a pup on to keep blood flowing. Just wondering if anyone else has got any extra words of wisdom that might just help sort it?

Can't find any pearls of wisdom, but just wanted to say how sorry I am.  You do everything in your power to get things perfect, but have no control over nuisances like this.  At least Noroclav is perfectly safe for her while feeding pups.

I hope she soon bucks up, I know how worried you must be.

Just keep Kneading the teat (let the pup deal with the nipple)

I had Tia on Noroclav for 14days, although I noticed the heat going out of the teat from around day 4, it still took a while to breakdown the mass , and then continue to work on the lumpy bits to break them down too..

Hoping you turn the corner with her soon.. it's horrible when you feel helpless :-(

That is what Jozi had for 14 days.  It was started the very next day after she had injectable AB and Anti-inflamatories the first day.

Thank for all your replies :-)

I'm probably unecessarily adding to this post, but it's in the hope that maybe it might help someone in the future when they come to do a search for mastitis - it's sooooo frustrating when you find something and then never hear the outcome at the end.

We're still undergoing treatment, she's back on injections of AB and anti-inflamatory this morning, continuing on the Noroclav 250mg tabets tomorrow, with a daily dose of Metacam. Kneading of the teat with a hot compress is still on-going, as is getting my super little puppy to suck on the teat - hope it clears by next weekend as she's off down south then! :-(  She is fit and well in herself, good appetite, still running around with the other dogs and no temperature, and the mastitis is just in the one teat - they're all positives. Will post updates towards the end of treatment.  Am hoping the lumps are, as kayc suggests, the mass starting to break down. Fingers crossed.  She's being a fabulous Mum, and am desperately trying to wean her ... she's still feeding her babies at 7 weeks!! Not a problem really though as only 2 are going at 8 weeks, at least 2 will be here until 10. :-)