Hi,
My Labrador Maya gave birth to 10 lovely Labradoodle pups last Sunday, was all going well until she got mastitis in one of her teats, caught it quite early, vets put her on antibiotics and anti inflamms, shes still feeding well and the pups are naturally avoiding the affected teat, they didnt feed off it as it had an inverted nipple.
The vet said Maya was very underweight, she isnt, shes just quite slightly built, if you look at my pix of her pre litter she isnt much different.
Vet also said she wouldnt be able to feed the 10 pups and that we should buy some welpie and supplement Mayas feeding, at moment all pups are satisfied and settled and growing, i weighed a dog and a bitch last night and they are 1lb 1oz each, ive marked them so i can closely monitor any weight loss/gain.
I am reluctant to mess with nature as Maya is doing a splendid job, however I am new to breeding and would welcome any advise from established breeders, I am not a breeder as such, I just wanted Maya to have a litter as she is a splendid special dog.
we are expressing the milk from afffected teat three times a day and the lumpiness and redness/heat has gone out of the teat, it was swollen like a human breast before, all other teats are soft.

Hi & welcome to the forums assuming your genuine. I'm sorry but I can offer no practical advise or even pass comment on your situation. I have no experience of either. However, I'm fairly certain a few people will be along soon though.

To pf members. The deed is done, the pups are here.

Can we give advice/help/support to help op do the best for Maya & the puppies please.

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By the very creative Pheebus.


Never look back, thats not the way you're going.......looking forward is much more exciting.

thanx for reply, yes i am very genuine and very worried, i really dont want to intervene as Maya is doing a great job, she has ate a big bowl of puppy porridge for breakfast and lunch and is drinking well now so must be feeling better, she only had slight temp yesterday as we caught the mastitis in early stages, half of the teat now is soft where as all of it was hot and lumpy yesterday, i am inclined to just let her get on with it under close supervision of course.

with 10 ten pups you'll need to monitor them closely and weigh them daily , are the pups all the same colour? if so i'd sugest you buy some identification collars.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PUPPY-WHEL...item896085196b

have you got her on a good quality food?

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love me love the dogs

Hi and welcome. I am no breeder but I suggest if you disagree with your vet on her being underweight then you should seek another opinion. 10 pups is going to be a strain on any bitch but especially a maiden!
There are some experienced breeders here who will hopefully be along soon.

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i got some collars in my whelping pack which i didnt end up opening!! when would u suggest putting collars on? they are all yellow, 5 boys 5 girls, i weighed a boy and girl and marked them so i could see if there was weight gain, i was thinking of putting collars on at 2 weeks when i weigh and do first worming. is that right?

thanks for reply, it wasnt my usual vet as he is in betley 40 mins away and didnt want to subject Maya to a long journey as she hates the car so maybe i will get a 2nd opinion when can get usual vet to visit, the local vet in village didnt do house visits even tho i said that Maya had a new litter, vet seems to have given Maya the right medication though as shes feeling better

Hi...sorry didnt see the bit about the food, yes shes on Dr Johns dry food, and now on gilbertson and Page puppy kibble, also got the puppy porridge,a german make.

all pups should have been weighed daily since the birth, surely?

if you are not happy with your vets opinion, use a differant one.

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Dr Johns is a dreadful food. Your girl will need a much better quality food anyway, but even more so with 10 pups to feed.
ALL pups need to be weighed daily and ID collars are essential so you know which ones are gianing how much etc