Our mom here gave birth and 6 days later developed Mastitis. A day later, she became septic and is now at the Animal Hospital on IV. We are soooo upset and worried about our girl. But looks like she will be OK>
Was wanting to know of any other breeders who have had this experience. And is it likely that this will reaccur if she has another litter?
If there is remote possiblilty that she is prone to this, we will spay her.
But right now we are looking for answers with anyone who knows the likelyhood of her getting it again.
Thanks so much for your help. We want to do the right thing for our girl. She is 3 yrs old, and her first litter.....maybe her last.......

This is not a cause for spaying. As to whether she is likely to get mastitis again on another litter, the answer is maybe. But now that you have seen it, you will be on alert. If you check all her mamary glands every day for hardness, you will catch mastits early on when it can be easily treated by antibiotics.

You could also check them and apply warm compress and milk them yourself to possibly avoid the need for antibiotics if you keep her flushed out regularly when the puppies don't.

Had my first case ever of mastitis this past summer after 26 years of breeding and lucky for me it was a real mild case and we treated with antibiotics and continued to let the pups nurse on it. Vet did tell me that this bitch was more than likely to develop it again but it was her 3rd and last litter so it didn't matter as she won't be bred again.
Aloha,
Jackie

I had the same experience as Jackie. My first case in over 20 years of breeding. My vet told me that she'd more than likely develop it again, so since this was her third litter, I opted to spay my girl. I kept two lovely girls from that breeding, so I have what I need to continue my line and their damn is happy and healthy now not having to worry about developing mastitis again.

I know of a friend who's bitch got it, was very septic and the next time she bred her, she got it again to about the same degree. Very sick girl.

Sorry you and she had to go through this. Unfortunately dog breeding is not as easy as it seems. Things can and do go wrong. I am glad your girl will be ok.

Hope this helps,

Dianne

2 years ago my lovely Diva whelped a litter of 9. At 10 days of age she developed mastitis. We treated with antibiotics, (injection and fluids) but by the next morning her temp spiked again and was 105.9 and she was lethargic. Long story short...we took pups off of her, found a nursing mother to borrow and she blew that mammary gland, which then needed suturing. She was in the hospital for several days. The following year a very well-known breeder friend of mine told me to NOT feed puppy food (which I always had, during late pregnancy and lactation) and to be sure that she changed sides when lying down. (seems they do have a preference on which side to nurse) I checked her multiple times a day and she never developed mastitis and was fine on her next litter. So, no, don't give up breeding your girl again. Each time is different.

I had a bitch who had mastitis and blew out the whole teat. She did so 3 days after whelping. My vets opinion was there was likely some sort of blockage there to start with as she didn't even have much milk yet. She successfully continued to nurse the pups on the other teats until 5 weeks of age. My vet felt it would likely not happen if I bred her again.

Don't jump the gun on spaying your gal, "Concerned". Over the years, I've had two b*tches that developed mastitis. In both cases, it was not on their first litter. One was serious enough that the teat required veterinary attention. These b*tches went on to have additional litters without any problems.

I had a bitch who developed septic mastitis. The vet drained the area of infection, the dead tissue sloughed away, puppies continued to nurse that teat, which produced milk in spite of a gaping hole in the tissue. I spayed her because I was ready to retire her from breeding anyway, but I wouldn't automatically spay a bitch because of mastitis. It can in a few cases be life-threatening, but generally can be managed by the breeder without interrupting care and feeding of the puppies.

My girl is still at the Vet.
Her teets did abcess, and now does require suturing.
The womb is huge, so they are keeping her at the hospital to make sure it does not get infected.
At this point they are just being careful.
Right now, it is still too infected to even close.
He will do so in a couple of days.

I just would hate to see her go through this again.

I feel just horrible for her. Want her home, but know this is best.
Thank you for all your experiences. I will keep it in mind. It helps to see what others have been through.

I meant wound........not womb.....

can you tell me the average cost of mastitis treatment