Pyometra in nursing dog

Question
QUESTION: My dog had a litter of puppies 3 1/2 weeks ago. She was diagnosed with pyometra so she was spayed to remove it. The surgery was last night and I've been feeding her pups with formula because I'm scared they'll hurt her. One vet said that it was okay for her to nurse while she's taking amoxil and another said for her not to nurse. She wants to take care of them so bad and whines til I let her lay with them. I don't want her to be in pain so is it better for her not to nurse?

ANSWER: Unless a dog was really ill from the pyometra we always let them nurse. I don't recall ever telling an owner not to let the puppies nurse.
They might hurt her incision a little so watch it. You can put a temporary bandage over it also while they are nursing then remove it when they are done.
She knows her limits so you can trust her too and letting them nurse might help prevent mastitis in her as she dries up.

Watch her teats for heat, redness and infections from having too much milk in them. She will start to dry up however, because it's a natural consequence of being spayed. You are lucky these puppies are 3 weeks old already! You will only have to supplement for a week or so if her milk is gone in the next two weeks. You can start weaning them at 5-6 weeks on to solid food.

Good luck and watch her time with them if you can.


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QUESTION: Okay just one more question. Is it okay for her to lick the stitches? I have a cone to put around her head but it's hard for her to eat and clean the pups with it on. Also what kind of bandage could I put over them?

ANSWER: No it is not okay for her to lick the sutures- she will make them raw and irritated to no end.

You can just put a few regular large band-aides on her and tape over them with some skin tape that you can get at the drugstore. If you get that, you might as well buy some gauze or non-stick bandages that are longer. That way when you take them off they won't pull.

You can put the cone on her when you are not around but use the bandages when you are there and can watch her.

If you have any bitter apple spray you can use that on the sutures or some of that no-bite nail polish on just the sutures themselves. Make sure it's dry before the puppies get near it.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Okay before the surgery she was prescribed Amoxil but they gave me an expired prescription so they changed it to Clavamox. When she got her surgery they prescribed Amoxil again. The vet that did the surgery said she could finish the Clavamox then start the Amoxil. I called back the next day to make sure and another vet told me she needed to take just Amoxil til it was gone. I've been giving her the Amoxil but stupid me forgot to put it back in the fridge so I gave her the Clavamox. And stupid stupid me forgot to change the dosage so I gave her about .9 ml and she's supposed to get .65 ml. Now I'm freaking out because I don't know if I can keep changing her medicine or if I overdosed her. I only left the Amoxil out from 11-11 but I'm sure that's too long right? I don't know what to do. Please help me! I feel like a horrible parent.

Answer
Kelley,
You need to relax my dear. This isn't a life or death issue with these antibiotics. Just put them back in the fridge and give her the Clavamox until it's gone starting tomorrow morning. Then give her the Amoxicillin after that until it's gone. .3 tenths of a cc won't hurt her.

What kind of dog is this anyway? You never did tell me or how big she is. I hope your baby isn't keeping you up bouncing around inside of you since you are stressed over this dog and puppies!!

The dog will be fine, you will be fine, the puppies will be fine! We are all fine now, ok?
Get some sleep and start over in the morning.
Sweet dreams!
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I answered you as fast as I could last night so you wouldn't be up all night. You and that baby need rest!
If you kept Amoxicillin out on the counter for days I might question it, but for one night or day, no. And you have two anyway- Clavamox followed by the Amoxi. So just get back on track and get some rest. She needs it too! You are a great parent by the way!!