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staffford shire terrier

18 13:42:52

Question
QUESTION: my staffy had a liter last month and the pups will be 6 weeks on tuesday. she will not let them nurse anymore but they are doing great. this is her first liter (and mine). this is the first full day the pups have not nursed and her teets are still filling and getting tight. i have started her on mixing her food with adult food. is there anything else i can do for her she look so uncomfortable.

ANSWER: Hi Ricky. 6 weeks old is plenty old enough to be weaned. She's doing the right thing. :-) To help her dry her milk up, you can slow her feed down. Don't starve her, but feed her what you normally did before she became pregnant. The extra food is what helped her to produce milk. You can also apply cool compresses on her breasts. Just apply cool, wet washcloths to them. Don't express milk, that only encourages milk production, and don't let the pups try to nurse from her. If it gets too bad on her, you may want to ask your vet about a shot that helps dry up milk. Good luck!

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

QUESTION: looking at them this morning one look purple. is it infected? i'm using warm compress. is it because its super cold outside and she is so near the ground.

Answer
Is the breast warm, and super hard? What color is the milk from that breast? She may need a trip to the vet just to make sure that everything's ok. The earlier you catch mastitis, the easier it is to deal with, and cure. Warm compresses encourage milk production.