Hi All, Just a quick Q for a friend with a litter.
The litter of large breed pups are 4 weeks old and getting pretty strong sucking and she is reluctant to feed them (claws have been trimmed, puppies have been partly hand reared already) her teats and udder look a bit red and sore which isn't helping, is there anything that would help sooth and heal but be safe for pups to suckle? I was wondering about sudocrem, vaseline or calendula or sth?

thanks

I've heard aloe vera gel kept in the fridge is very soothing.

Bag balm, available from farm stores.  In the meantime I have had no issues using Vaseline.

> Bag balm, available from farm stores.

Where do you get yours from, Brainless? I had heard of Bag Balm and wanted to buy some when I was in the USA some yearsago, as it has so many uses. I did buy some, most Walmarts stocked it, but it got left in the car in the heat (Florida), melted and leaked, so I left it behind.
I've not seen it anywhere in the UK. I also loved the little tins in comes in.

thanks, do you know what the ingredients are in the bag balm? We have a farm and have used udder cream for cattle, I wonder if it is the same with a different name? udder cream is mainly petroleum based with I think lanolin too.

> thanks, do you know what the ingredients are in the bag balm?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_Balm
The tins it comes in are worth buying just for the design.

Sorry Yes it goes by different names and Bag balm is what the US have it as, I believe it is a lanolin based salve, bag balm being a brand name, but used generally much as we call all the vet fleece vet bed...

Sue you can get it on Amazon.
Just bought some for one of my hens who has a right scabby head.

My bitch had the most horrendous chapped teats with her litter. It looked as if they were going to fall off. We used Lansinoh pure lanolin ointment which can be bought from Boots or even Sainsburys. It is designed for humans and can be used without having to wipe it off before babies or in this case puppies feed. My pups did perfectly well with it despite me applying it to my bitches teats an awful lot. They did end up a little greasy but that is a small problem that can be dealt with later.

Ive used Lanisoh here too, after clipping the claws of a couple of tiny pups there must have been an unfiled edge which scratched my bitch slightly. A couple of applications of Lanisoh sorted it. It also works on any top dry edges of dog noses as well!