Rabid, if I tell you the pattern of discharge with my bitches which in my case has been totally normal,no retained placentas or tissue, dead pups etc then you can compare and make your own decision......


After whelping my bitches pass plenty of very dark green sticky discharge for approx 3 weeks. This is definitely more noticeable after they have been out for a wee and yes does hang like strings sometimes.... I just clean around her vulva with damp cotton wool or boiled flannels careful not to introduce water into,the vulva. This discharge has always been very dark green then over the weeks changes from green to browny red then tails off.

Yes, my bitches do look and sound uncomfortable when they first come back in from a wee and for me this is the time I need to watch them very carefully. When they first get back into,box and puppies start to latch often the bitch will suddenly get up move around several times until she is settled and then I can relax.... This has happened in every bitch I've bred for the first few days but it does pass. The puppies sucking causes contracting back down of her uterus and this is pretty uncomfortable for a few days.

Yes, I think we have the same breed( Andrex)

Hope this helps and I wouldn't rush for a jab based on what you have said.... Just watch her general demeanour , smell from discharge and appetite.

That sounds like exactly what she is like, yes. 

I just took her temperature and it is normal - 101.3F.

Gawd, this is all so stressful - I was just starting to relax and enjoy the puppies.  I'm a bit more reassured by what you say, though, and by the temperature.  If that means anything. 

All sounds fine :)

>Gawd, this is all so stressful - I was just starting to relax and enjoy the puppies.

Hi Rabid,  I think you've gotten good advice now. 

Oh indeed, the stress is somehow always just lurking around the next corner.  It's part of the deal when you breed.   My puppies are now 8.5 weeks old, and it seems like I cannot give them ANYTHING other than their usual food and the occasional hard-cooked egg yolk in it or lactose-free yoghurt or cottage cheese.  Yesterday I allowed them a chew (one of those hard chews, here called Bull-Kau, not fatty, not a pizzle and so hard that they can't consume much, it just entertains them), and I think we are now paying the price for that. I am about to do a 3-day collection of the poop from everyone and have the vet do a check for giardia and coccidia.  I just start to get nice firm poops from the pups, and then it all goes soft again.  We'd done the treatment with the Flagyl, and all was well again, and now - probably due to my little experiments - we're back to soft poop again.  Only difference is that they are otherwise just fine and dandy, which was not the case before they were treated with the antibiotic a couple of weeks ago.  I wish they could go to their new homes right now, but we are not allowed to do that.

This sounds like normal after whelping discharge and behaviour to me, both my breeds have had discharge for several weeks and as long as there is no smell or the bitch stops eating then she is just going through the stages. Showing discomfort does seem to vary with both individuals and breeds and the afterpains of giving birth can last a few days, I am sure she will settle down soon

Thanks folks...

Nimue how long was your course of ABs? We've had giardia many times with my oldie, and it takes a 10 day course of flagyl/ metronidazole to fix it at quite a high dosage for her body weight. This last time, it came back twice at a lower dosage before we nuked it.

It's possible your vet didn't want to give a higher dose to little pups so it has come back. Of course the other recommended treatment for giardia is Panacur but I know you don't like Panacur...

Hope the poo sample gets you answers - you must be getting worried about their approaching 10 week new homes date and fixing this in time!

Nimue...... Just thinking out loud and sorry Rabid for going off topic.....

I use a holistic vet most of the time and she is has taught me that very often recurring diarrhea after antibiotics is down to the lack of digestive enzymes after the upset tum and antibiotics. I have found this to be true a lot of the time and now I give raw kale and spinach in the food for a week or two after as these contain natural digestive enzymes. It needs to be puréed or mulched in a juicer though otherwise they cannot digest it.

Your problem of course may be something else entirely.... It's just a line of thought but sometimes the vets will put you straight back on yet more antibiotics and the the vicious circle starts again when all the gut needs is a little help being able to digest the food again.The Flagyl is also antiiflammatory so that may be why they are all well until  try to come off it.

Fingers crossed for you Nimue x

very often recurring diarrhea after antibiotics is down to the lack of digestive enzymes after the upset tum and antibiotics.

Live yoghurt is often suggested for this as well - no idea if you could give this to very small/young puppies?