HI,
I have a litter of six pups born last Friday.I thought mums teats were rather swollen so took her along to vets for a check
she did not think they were infected or that it was mastitis but decided to give anti-biotic as they felt very hot and were swollen
She is a first time mum and I am a bit worried that she is not producing much milk and wondered if I should bottle feed to help.

do you weigh pups? if so and their gaining weight then she is producing enough milk for them, some bitches dont have milk dripping out of them ,they just have the amount they need for the pups ,if mum isnt drinking much try adding some goats milk to her water so she will drink more ,give mum her food soaked. hope that helps! xx

You cannot tell by looking at the bitch whether enough milk is being produced, some never bag up yet have plenty.

Only the pups weight will tell you.  Milk is based on supply and demand, so if you start supplementing less will be produced, so should only be done in an emergency.

So instead do everything you can to encourage the bitches liquid intake, space meals regularly through the day keep pups nails short and encourage them to feed almost constantly in the first 3 - 5 days and at least hourly in the first week after that.

Hi,

Thanks for your replies,I have been giving her goats milk and feeding pups are feeding on demand.
I will try soaking her food.I have weighed them and they have put on a little.I guess I am just worrying as with my previous litters their milk seemed to be dripping
but as you said they are all different,it's good to have some reassurance that I am doing the right thing by not feeding myself.Thanks again for the advice