HI
MY BITCH IS DUE ON THURSDAY IT IS NOW TUESDAY, BUT SHE HAS NOT GOT ANY MILK AS YET, MY VET SAID SHE WOULD BE GETTING WORRIED IF SHE DOES NOT HAVE MILK 2 DAYS BEFORE PUPS ARE DUE, SHE SAYS IT IS A GOOD SIGN THAT SHE WILL NOT HAVE ANY MILK AT ALL.
I AM SURE THAT I HAVE HEARD OF DOGS GETTING THERE MILK WHEN PUPS ARE BORN
WOULD YOU BE WORRIED?

Nothing to worry about, the milk will come in when the pups are born. Not all bitches will have milk before giving birth.

Hi Claudia

It is possible for the milk to come in after the birth as the pups start to suckle.  Just the act of suckling can bring in milk even in bitches that havent had puppies.  Between now and the birth clean her nipples with tepid water and a face flannel it may be enough to stimulate her.  Can you see anything at all possibly even a little dried milk on her nipples?

There'sno need to worry frequently it doesn't come in untiol the bitch is giving birth.

my bitch didnt have any milk till after her last pup was born she had 9

Hi Claudia
Perhaps your bitch didn't conceive immediately and isn't actually due for a few more days?  Might be a good idea to get in some Welpi or something similar (ask the vet) and an appropriate size feeding bottle and teats - just in case.
Good luck!

Hi Claudia
Any developments?

well there is now a little bit of yellowy whitey milk, not very much bit a little bit
what do you think?

Sounds normal to me, I don't think I ahve ahd a bitch showing more than a drop of milk before pups were born.

Milk is produced on a supply and demand basis.

Sounds perfectly normal. You don't want a bitch to produce masses of milk before the pups are born because it increases the possibility of mastitis. The milk made in the first 3 or 4 days is what contains the most antibodies to give the pups their temporary immunity from illnesses, so if it's produced before it's being used it gets wasted. That little bit is just enough for the newborn pups to get the instinct to suckle and stimulate production.

I agree completely with JG. The only time I have had a bitch produce milk a few days before whelping was the only time I've (or rather the bitch ) had problems with mastitis.

My bitches have always had pretty full mamaries before whelping but all are different, I suppose.  I would still have some welpi (sp?) or something similar to hand just in case.  If you don't need it, then it can be used when you are weaning.

I would certainly expect mammary development by about 6 weeks in whelp, but not milk.

Hi Claudia
Pups arrived yet?  Hope all well.

nope no pups yet
her temp is on 99
her back 4 mammeries are developed well but the rest are not even though her teats are huge
what do you think?

Sounds normal to me. The back mammaries are usually the ones producing most milk. If it's your girls first litter, I wouldn't expect her to actually start producing milk until the pups are born. (mine always seem to leak some milk two/three days before whelping, not to be expected in all breeds though) They will stimulate her to start producing with sucking and massageing with their paws. Also, eating one or two afterbirths is a good thing, they contain hormones helping the lactation along. Eating too many might give her loose stools, though.  Good luck with everything, I'm sure she's coming along just fine! :-p

Hi Claudia
Just wondering - do you know how many pups she is carrying? 

Hi Claudia,

A friend of mine has just had a similar problem.  The best thing is not to panic.  Keep an eye to see if her milk appears over next few days.  But be prepared with milk substitute, bottles etc, just in case.  make sure you weigh the pups when born and weigh them again in 24 hrs to see if they have gained any weight.  My friend's bitches milk never came but by being prepared she has successfully reared all but one out of 6 so it can have a postitive ending.

Best of luck and will keep my fingers crossed that all goes well.

when my girl was pregnant there was barely any milk and only in her back teats when she went into labour the milk started to flow all of a sudden and by the time the pups where born they were all full. In my own experience the first pregnancy doesnt have milk until the last few days and after that the milk starts to come in earlier but thats just my experience. Have bottles and formula ready in case

One of my girls had her second litter in December 2004, she had milk during labour, delivered one pup, then had to have the remaining 7 by c-section, her milk disappeared completely and never came back, we tried every potion available to help bring it in, but no, not a drop!  So I ended up hand rearing them all, but at least mum did the topping and tailing for me, I used a prem baby bottle and Litterlac.

Just keep a close eye on her, fingers crossed the hormones will kick in and so will her milk.

Good luck