Tips on preventing mastitis

[wales07]

We have had a stressful time this last week. Resulting in a c section on Saturday. We have a single puppy. We had a worrying day yesterday as Mum was in so much pain that she didn't want to bother with her puppy but today her maternal instinct has kicked in and her milk has really come so now we have very full teats and with only 1 pup they are getting more engorged.
He is a big lad born at 13 Oz's so even though he seems greedy i can see problems occurring.
Does any one have any experience of single pup litters and preventing mastitis.
I wish there was a litter in need of a surrogate mum....

[Sharon]

We had a singleton born nearly 3 years ago, our Flora, she was 1lb 3oz!!    Mum also had a c-section and didn't seem to bother with pup for the first 24-48 hours, but did eventually come round to her, we found that although she was absolutely full to overflowing with  milk at the time it did just go on it's own, we were watching closely obviously as didn't want any problems with mastitis, it was a supply on demand, thankfully we didn't have any problems except the discomfort for poor mum when the milk first came down, fingers crossed things will improve for you too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/crazycockers/Jasmineandherbeautifullittlegirl167.2007008.jpg

[wales07]

Gosh, Flora was a whopper 
I hope we are lucky enough to have such a good outcome..

[Sharon]

We did keep her and she's just normal size, I thought we were going to end up with a Clumber spaniel the size she was 

Good luck!

[hollyd443]

No tips sorry, but when I worked for a CKCS breeder we had one girl have a litter of just one pup. The pup was ginormous (sp?!) but grew to be average size (but always a foodie monster  ). Mum and Pup both did fine. Is it worth putting some feelers out to see if there are any pups that need a surrogate Mum? Wishing you all the best for this little one and her Mum 

[wales07]

We did keep her and she's just normal size, I thought we were going to end up with a Clumber spaniel the size she was 

Good luck!

Thank you for the 'good luck'
Can i ask were you given antibiotics for your girl after her section? My girls temp was 38.1 when she had her post op check this morning which the vet said was border line but fine at the moment

[Sharon]

Yes, my vet gave us Synulox

[sueneil]

You need to keep a very close watch over her teats- mastitis usually shows up with engorged teats becoming warm and red. In the past I have had to express-gently- milk from teats that look suspect then massage with a warm damp face cloth-hope that helps a bit! Good luck.

[LouiseH]

You need to keep a very close watch over her teats- mastitis usually shows up with engorged teats becoming warm and red. In the past I have had to express-gently- milk from teats that look suspect then massage with a warm damp face cloth-hope that helps a bit! Good luck.

Expressing milk really works - and keep rotating the puppy onto different teats so that they all get a chance to be drained. Milk supply seems to be up and down the first few days but then it should adjust itself. Try not to be tempted to bottle feed as the bitch needs chance to self-regulate her milk flow.

We were given antibiotics with our last c-section but to be honest it gave the puppies terrible stools but you need to keep a close eye on her - I usually take mine at 3 days when I have dew claws done for a quick check over, then again when going back for stitches out.

I know it's a worrying time, make sure she is getting out for a wee and poo  and that everything is working as it should 

Put the puppy on the biggest/hardest teats and persevere - Good Luck!

[sueneil]

I hope everything is progressing well for you?
I should have included in my first response what a joy it was to see the one single pup I have ever had grow and blossom even though he had to be hand reared when his mum couldnt feed him! He grew from a little dot into the most personable cocker I have ever bred and has been a treasure to his owner since the day she took him from us- he's 10 now not that you'd guess from looking at him! Hand rearing a singleton was stressful at times but so worthwhile. We bought a few soft toys about the size of sibling puppies for him to cuddle up to and he still has one- a seal- in his basket!!  He also acquired a taste for Classic FM which was left playing quietly in my whelping room!

[wales07]

Thank you for all your replys. The milk certainly was very up and down for the first few days but its now been a week since the c section and although she is very full there is no sign of hardness etc I hope that it continues this way. Her temp went down without antibiotics so its just having the stitches out on monday to NOT look forward too as she literally screams at the sight of the vet apparently the vet nurse and vet had a hell of a job to get her ready for the operation as she sounded like they were trying to kill her

[cockahoot]

Expressing milk really works

Just out of interest how much milk are you managing to express?  I haven't got a single pup to worry about but a litter of four who aren't feeding from the teats closest to the back legs which are loaded with milk and starting to get hardened.  I've been trying to express milk from them to prevent mastitis and encourage the pups to use them, but I haven't been very successful.   

[Mazame]

I had the same problem with my own litter of four : the bottom teats are not well built and it is difficult for the pups to suck at them. I didn't touch anything, I just watched over, whereas the teats were enormous in the first 3 days, and no mastitis. If you express the milk, the teat will go on producing it. The risk of engorgement still exists.

[cockahoot]

I had the same problem with my own litter of four : the bottom teats are not well built and it is difficult for the pups to suck at them. I didn't touch anything, I just watched over, whereas the teats were enormous in the first 3 days, and no mastitis. If you express the milk, the teat will go on producing it. The risk of engorgement still exists.

Am I just stressing too much too early? pups were only born late on Sunday so could it just be that her milk just hasn't come down properly yet?