Wondering if you can help me….
My lab (maiden bitch) has mastitis, diagnosed & started tx on Fri., stayed overnite at vet (Took her to ER on Thurs nite & they didn’t catch it and sent us home after x-rays, blood work & exam by 2 vets)
Picked her up Sat am, teats looking better but still swollen and red on 1 side
She does not have pyo per my reg vet & x-rays taken from ER clinic (My vet consulted with the radiologist who read it and did a nice follow up)
Sunday progression of teats: On one side, doing really well, swelling going down & not red…
The other side is red and swollen still (that’s the side she keeps trying to lick)
I’ve been there to stop it the licking or prevent it from happening

Took her back to vet today and boarded to keep her safe from licking (Teats still red & swollen on 1 side)
She’s on Clavamox and Met(something) so she’s eating & drinking
They took a culture on Friday, so it’s going to take a few days to see if anything but I think we caught it in time

Going to spay her but not until she gets better, going to ask vet when I can but thought I would throw this out if anyone has had the same experience.

Here are some questions:
How long does it take until that red swollen side goes down?
How long should I wait until I get her spayed?


Thanks

I would have put her on Baytril-it is stronger and I think more effective for this condition, in addition you could have been putting compresses on the inflamed teats to speed the healing process. I'm guessing she is in heat-spay her 3-4 mos from now. I also think they did too much of a work up on a condition easily diagnosed.

Yes, we have been putting compresses on her all weekend and I'm having the vet's office do the same. Thanks! I know they sure did a lot didn't they?

pups can nurse if they are under 4 weeks old...
I spoke with a repro vet about this.

Unless you are a Veterinarian, why not leave the "prescribing" to her Vet. I think lay people shouldn't think they know more than a person who spent 6+ years getting their doctorate in Veterinary medicine.
Compresses are helpful!

I don't think anyone here wrote a prescription but merely shared their experiences and opinions which I believe is allowed and what the OP had asked for. All of us understand, including OP who went to the vet firs,t that they should always be your first stop.

Interesting enough this bitch doesn't have a litter and is not in season! I have never heard of this happening have you?

I was concerned as this is the 2nd time this has happened with no pups or season.

Yes, this is why I am concerned... last month she did not get an infection but her teats did get big.... She is a maiden bitch and I was about to breed her. The infection occurred the 2nd time around which is a concern. The vet did take sample of the discharge and sent it to the lab, we are waiting for those results. I decided to have her spayed as I don't want to put anymore stress on her but I wanted to know if you'd ever experienced anything like this. Also, wanted to know in your experience how long does it take for the teats, swelling to go down with antibiotics?

I took her to the vet today to be boarded and quite and rest while I was at work. I didn't want her to lick and cause any unnecessary problems. I am going to do that tomorrow also just to make sure that she's safe. They put hot/cold compresses on her today and I do that at night. 1 side is still swollen and red and I thought it would have gone down by now. Just concerned. Thanks for letting me what your experiences are.

happened to mine twice, once the bitch had just gone thru a season, second time she didn't. She went on to have her first litter but did develop mastitis around day 7 into the litter.

Well, some breeders who call themselves long timers say this can't happen with a bitch that isn't nursing a litter. This instance says how much some know after alot of years of breeding. Just b/c they don't see it happen doesn't mean it hasn't.

This is the 2nd case I've heard of this in less then a year. It just shows, no matter how long any of us are breeding, there is always something new to learn. Never say never.

OP, I hope your girl heals quickly. It sounds like you're trying your best and doing a good job given the circumstances. You might want to ask your vet if baytril would be better or wait for the culture for the bacteria & sensitivities.

She back at the vet boarded and her 1 side is back swollen and red.... Clavamox continued with warm/cold compresses... obviously not enough... she'll be boarded taken care of today so hopefully it will continue to go down. Just a wait and see kindda thing I guess.

This may be totally off the wall, but I do know a bitch who ended up with a life-threatening systemic infection that started in the breasts; it ended up that grass awns (fox grass) had worked their way into the breast tissue and set up a massive infection/septicimia.

Any chance your girl has been out in fox grass or such?

no fox grass.... I wondered about just grass itself? We'd been in the middle of landscaping and they pulled pulled up the weeds/grass to put dirt down and then didn't come back.. so I have weeds again and waiting on the new crew to come on Friday. She doesn't like to walk in the weeds she's particular

Not to knock vets - I am the first to run to the vet whenever there is a problem, but just like breeders of 25 years, even experienced vets have not seen everything. My very good vet missed a potentially dangerous situation a week ago (see my post about metritis below). I don't hold it against him. It was an unusual situation that hadn't yet progressed to the stage where it was obvious the dog was ill. Good vets are always learning, too. A good vet will listen to experienced advice brought in by a client and combine it with what he/she already knows to best treat the patient. My advice is to get everyone's thoughts on a problem and take it back to your vet. Present it for what it is- advice from anonymous breeders who have had a similar experience. Then do what he/she recommends.

Thanks Pegggy!