Hi everyone

My bitch self whelped 4 gorgeous puppies on the 3rd of October. She fed them and was a great mother until they were 5 days old. She took ill and was rushed to the vet with an infection which turned out to be mastitis. She was kept in the vet for 3 days on fluids as they could not regulate her blood glucose levels. She got out of the vet on Thursday and has continued to improve. The infection in her nipple actually burst through her skin yesterday but since then she has improved drastically. The swelling has gone from the size of a tennis ball to a grape!

The puppies are being fostered by another dam of the same breed who only had a single puppy. They are doing very well :)

My question is should I bring them back to my own bitch? She is recovering well but I don't want to bring them back to her and she gets ill again because she hasn't fully gotten her strength up yet. She has a little bit of milk in her bottom nipples. The foster mum is happy to keep them and have them weaned by 4 weeks and that's when I'll get them back. I'm just wondering if it will be more beneficial for my own bitch to have them back for if I should leave them where they are?

Thanks :)

I think unneeded at 5 weeks, have they began the weaning process? if not they should have 2 weeks ago.

The OP says they were born on the 3rd of October.

I would want them back and feeding off my bitch.  Bitches with mastitis regularly rear their own litters.  I realise that she was in hospital, but would have had them back on her as soon as she was back home.

So sorry your bitch had such problems so early on, mastitis doesn't normally appear so soon after whelping, she may have been brewing something before hand.

If it was me I would be hand rearing the pups and letting Mum do the toileting etc., by putting a babygro on or bandaging the affected teats the pups could still spend time with her and be taught manners and doggie etiquette.

At 12 days old weaning can easily be started so they are less dependant on just milk and progress normally from there.

What would worry me is the bitch accepting the pups back with all the strange smells and having missed out on a large chunk of their early days.

I hope all goes well for them all.

Sorry, read 5 weeks not 5 days! yes get them back on her.

Do you think her milk will be ok? She hasn't fed them since last Tuesday (9th). I have the vet tonight at 5.20pm so will know more then. She does have a little milk in her back nipples but I dont know if it will be enough....

The pups sucking will stimulate, so the fact that you can't get much milk from her yourself is not a true indication.  Your vet may have totally different views to a breeder.  A breeder would be letting the pups suckle, as they do tend to avoid a problem teat.  I always sigh when I hear a vet advise that pups should not be with mum. I know many experienced breeders that believe a bitch should have her pups back on her.  It's usually people with little breeding experience that think you can't put pups on mum.

I would be inclined to try the pups back with her, even those teats you can't get anything out of may start to flow better with the right stimulation from the pups.

I have to agree unless the vet is a dog breeder themselves they tend to scare the less experienced breeder into doing things that are not best for Mum or the pups out of ignorance or fear of getting the blame if a pup becomes ill.

Keep us posted on how she gets on at the vets.

This is my first (and probably last!!!) litter! The vet is not an experienced breeder, which is why im asking on here too. Every single breeder I've spoken to has told me to put the pups back on. She hasn't seen them since last Tuesday, is there a chance she could reject them?

As I mentioned before she may not accept them due to them smelling different, rubbing them all over with Mum's bedding to transfer her scent may help, introduce one at a time,you don't want to overwhelm her,see how she reacts, show her their tail ends for her to clean[ smear on something she really likes if she is reluctant to get started], usually if the dam is happy to clean them then things should be OK, just don't leave her alone with them till you are 100% sure they are safe.