new mammy

roxiesmammy

Next door neighbours pb dog had 7 pups xmas nite, the pups are all healthy and mam is a great mam. i think this is her second litter, the prob is that the mammy isnt interested in her food or drinking much. she will eat and drink abit if coaxed. She had the mam at vets this morning who said she has no temp and vet says she looking very healthy. He did say her boobs esp the back 2 are swollen and looks sore. He gave her calcium injections, and some other injection. Sent her home with 2 lots of tabs.
Is there anything she can be doing for mammy. She is a well cared dog who is treated as part of the house so as you can imagine they are all upset. any advise

star-pants

I've no idea really - but was thinking - are the pups still suckling? And did the vet advise your neighbour to keep the pups from suckling on the sore ones? just if the vet did, maybe to keep an eye.
I guess just keep her comfy and try to keep her drinking (even if she won't eat) and try to make sure she doesn't have much to worry about (re:the pups).

I hope she's ok soon, I'd say the stuff the vet has given her will help bring down swelling etc.

lorebringer

I'm going to presume that she doesn't have mastitis because surely the vet would have said it. I have a feeling the vet gave her some hormone to help "drain" her breasts or perhaps an antibiotic to prevent a nasty case of mastitis, but not too likely (if the vet did give them, they would have been mild and will cause no harm to the pups). I had a bitch with mastitis and the poor pet was in terrible pain, hardly able to stand someone touching her. If you notice the bitch not wanting the pups near her sore breasts or won't let her owners near them she may need to go back to the vet to make sure it isn't an infection.

This is going to sound crazy but try to boil some dark cabbage leaves for a few minutes, just until they get soft, and put them on her sore breasts. It is an old wives tale that does work. Also, take a hot towel (but cool enough to touch - you don't want to burn her!) and place it on the sore breasts to help relieve the discomfort. Lost of bitches, and women, get sore and uncomfortable when they start breast feeding just after giving birth so she may just need some time to adjust to it. Make sure she is on a good quality puppy food that is also suitable for lactating bitches so that she is getting enough calories to sustain herself and the pups. I wouldn't worry too much about lack of appetite for the first while but if she doesn't start eating as normal after about a week/10 days she will start to lose weight, fast. Some weight loss is perfectly normal and not eating for a while is also fine (her hormones are all over the place, she may just need some time to settle herself into being a new mother). As long as she is drinking plenty at the moment there is no real worry. Try feeding her small meals and often, as opposed to one big meal. Even if she eats a little bit it's better than nothing!

Good luck and keep us updated

Paul91

roxiesmammy wrote: »

Next door neighbours pb dog had 7 pups xmas nite, the pups are all healthy and mam is a great mam. i think this is her second litter, the prob is that the mammy isnt interested in her food or drinking much. she will eat and drink abit if coaxed. She had the mam at vets this morning who said she has no temp and vet says she looking very healthy. He did say her boobs esp the back 2 are swollen and looks sore. He gave her calcium injections, and some other injection. Sent her home with 2 lots of tabs.
Is there anything she can be doing for mammy. She is a well cared dog who is treated as part of the house so as you can imagine they are all upset. any advise

hi there - is the main worry the feeding and drinking of the mother? if so they will need to get her puppy food to eat and feed her three times a day - what breed is the mother? if she's not eating by now i'd be contacting the Vet's ASAP

roxiesmammy

Paul91 wrote: »

hi there - is the main worry the feeding and drinking of the mother? if so they will need to get her puppy food to eat and feed her three times a day - what breed is the mother? if she's not eating by now i'd be contacting the Vet's ASAP

Hi paul, mammy is a cavalier, they have been feeding her RC puppy since they new she was preg, she just has no interest in eating or drinking much at all. with a lot of work they are managing to get a little chicken into her, which they no is not ideal.
She also seems not to want to leave her babies at all, they have to lift her out of her box to have toilet breaks, once she is away from them she is so full of life tail wagging, jumping up at owners.
Mammy had 7 puppies is that a big litter for a cav?
was in there awhile ago and mammy had a black tarry discharge, is this normal? They are bringing her back to vets this eve when he back on.
As i said in OP they did have her at vet yes, gave her calcium injections, and went home on antibiotics and another tab, said she had no temp and looked well

Paul91

i can but go on my recent experience of our rescued German Shepherd.

when it came to feeding she wasn't too bad, although i do remember going into the shed with her and hand feeding her a few times, but this was puppy nuts soaked in lactol (although i changed this too lamlac) which is a puppy milk formula

as for discharge - Roxy had that for a week or more, apparantly quite normal, but the Vet did put her on anti-biotics and asked us to make sure it didn't go on too long. He also gave us calcium tablets for her.

do they know if she ate the afterbirth after every pup - apparantly they aren't supposed to eat more than a couple (but i was unable to get to her during her birth and Roxy had all 6)

as for the litter size, Roxy only had 6 - but a friend at work's bitch gave birth to 9 (amd weened all succesfully) she was a pom mix - so 7 doesn't seem to bad

is she leaving the pups at all by her own accord? I know roxy would only leave for a shirt time to go toilet, they do get very worried about their babies - undestandably - which is a good thing, wouldn't seperate mum from pups too much

lorebringer

roxiesmammy wrote: »

Hi paul, mammy is a cavalier, they have been feeding her RC puppy since they new she was preg, she just has no interest in eating or drinking much at all. with a lot of work they are managing to get a little chicken into her, which they no is not ideal.
She also seems not to want to leave her babies at all, they have to lift her out of her box to have toilet breaks, once she is away from them she is so full of life tail wagging, jumping up at owners.
Mammy had 7 puppies is that a big litter for a cav?
was in there awhile ago and mammy had a black tarry discharge, is this normal? They are bringing her back to vets this eve when he back on.
As i said in OP they did have her at vet yes, gave her calcium injections, and went home on antibiotics and another tab, said she had no temp and looked well

7 is quite a big litter for a Cavalier, but not totally unheard of.

Discharge is totally normal for the first while after giving birth, sometimes it can look black and other times just bloody. Smelly, watery/mucousy or green (pus coloured) is a red flag and she will need to be seen by a vet asap. Also, if she is licking at herself excessively or obviously not happy with her nether regions she will need to be seen by a vet.

Really, all I can say is if there is any concern about her at all she should be taken to a vet - postpartum mothers can be quite vulnerable, as well as the pups. Please let us know how she gets on!

roxiesmammy

Thank u both for your replies. the owner had her back down vets this eve who say her temp is still normal and the discharge is normal but to keep an eye if it changes.
I got the owner to buy a tin of the lactol this eve as well and she soaked the puppy nuts in it and thankfully mammy if though by spoon eat a good bit so owner going to do this again in 2 hrs or so again.
I am maybe a bit over anxious as im going to be the mummy of one of these babies, think i have my one chosen, a little ruby boy, who was the 1st born, he is a little rolly polly. They are such beautiful little things. Neighbours will be sick of the sight of me soon

Paul91

roxiesmammy wrote: »

Thank u both for your replies. the owner had her back down vets this eve who say her temp is still normal and the discharge is normal but to keep an eye if it changes.
I got the owner to buy a tin of the lactol this eve as well and she soaked the puppy nuts in it and thankfully mammy if though by spoon eat a good bit so owner going to do this again in 2 hrs or so again.
I am maybe a bit over anxious as im going to be the mummy of one of these babies, think i have my one chosen, a little ruby boy, who was the 1st born, he is a little rolly polly. They are such beautiful little things. Neighbours will be sick of the sight of me soon

i'm sure they will be glad of the support over the next few weeks ;o) pictures?

not sure if they need to feed her every two hours - i know the pups will be feeding this regular but she may not need to - what i found was if i offered mom some nuts in the milk (from my hand) that after a few goes if i held the bowl close to her she would eat away - also hold the water bowl close to her as this will encourage her to drink

roxiesmammy

Paul91 wrote: »

i'm sure they will be glad of the support over the next few weeks ;o) pictures?

not sure if they need to feed her every two hours - i know the pups will be feeding this regular but she may not need to - what i found was if i offered mom some nuts in the milk (from my hand) that after a few goes if i held the bowl close to her she would eat away - also hold the water bowl close to her as this will encourage her to drink

she wasnt getting up every 2 hrs to feed mammy just that one time cos she hadnt eat in a few days and just wanted to get a bit more in to her.
panic over she is now in great form and eating all she can get.

Paul91

now your into the real fun - the food bills for mum and then the pups - we cancelled xmas it cost us that much

roxiesmammy

Paul91 wrote: »

now your into the real fun - the food bills for mum and then the pups - we cancelled xmas it cost us that much

yeah well i dont have to worry about that, aint my dog, but i can share all the good parts.