Hi everyone, my bitch has two massive engourged teats and was put on antibiotics (synloux). The vet said she must be kept away from the puppies and we have to hand feed them. They're 11 days old now and putting loads of weight on everyday. Hoever Mum is really upset, she is refusing to eat, crying all the time and the occasional bit of sick (vet said nothing to worry about). I feel really cruel. Will she forget about the pups or keep feeling upset?


Also does anyone know if I should wake the puppies up to feed in the middle of the night or leave them asleep until they start crying as the lactol bottle says "feed on demand"

Thanks everyone for all your help

i wouldnt leave to wake up , why carnt they feed from mum ? you could try warm/hot flannel on the 2 massive teats ? but if you carnt let them feed then id wake every 3h in the night to feed them ,maybe let her clean them still and let her with them after youve feed them so she can be with them?

When one of mine had mastitis the vet said to NOT take the pups away as it simply would be cruel and just upset everyone. He told us to try to cover up the affected teats and let the pups use the rest. Even if you don't do that, cover ALL the teats up and let the pups have their mum. Obviously you can't say what breed it is, but depending on size you could either use a tight fitting t-shirt for a large dog or a babygro for a small dog. The pups will need feeding every 3 hours day and night.

Hi Thanks for the advice.

She really wants to be with them but the vet said if she goes with them she will produce more milk and therfore the teats will get even more engourged. They can't suck on the others as they haven't developed. its a toy litter. Accidential

I have had mastitis in a couple of bitches and my vet as always told me to leave puppies on as the problem will be sorted quicker if the puppies empty the teats, i usually just put the pups on one or two at a time to ensure the large teats get emptied, this usually corrects itself within a couple of days, with the help of warm flannels put on the teats when the puppies arent feeding.

The pups are so young mum will get very distressed if she is unable to get to them, if she is on antibiotics then the milk will cause no harm to the babies, i hope she is better soon and can enjoy her puppies.

All the best x

I had a toy bitch whelp just over a year ago.  Litter of 3, and seemed to be doing fine.

Until I noticed one very, very engorged teat, that was swollen, hard and red.

The vet told me to encourage pups to use it.  My girl was making so much milk, and could have fed a couple of Rottie pups!

I then noticed that she always laid on one side, and this teat was difficult for pups to access.  I kept turning her round, and holding a pup on the huge teat.  Once the pups started needing more milk, the problem went away.

I've also been advised since my bitch had a bout of mastitis, that it is very beneficial to massage the swollen mammaries after putting warm flannels on. This helps to break down the blocked glands and help relieve the pressure.

I was also told cabbage leaves were excellent too (wrap around)...

If pups shouldn't feed from any particlar teat, plasters can be taped over (just make sure pups can't suck them off!) or alternatively a close fitting garment put on so she can be with pups, but they can't feed from her.

I'm sure your vet is very good with making animals well, they are not all experts in reproduction and puppy raising... unfortunately... I got so much excellent advice from experienced breeders when we had pups, their advice saved the day on many occasions!!

My Jozi had Mastitis when her pups were 10 day old.

Pups were kept on Mum and vet said pups would not drink from the infected gland, and she was right they would not feed from it at all.

As with the above comments I cannot understand why the vet would tell you to not let the bitch feed the pups? I check our girls teats 3 or 4 times a day once they have had their pups to make sure there is no firmness occuring? If I have ever felt any a hot/warm flannel held on the teats for a couple of minutes and get the biggest strongest pups to suckle to get the milk moving and clear the blockage so to speak. Your poor bitch must not only be terribly upset at not begin able to see & feed her babies but must also be very uncomfortable as her teats will be engourged without the pups suckiling. 

how is your girl doing?