nursing mother

Question
Our dog which is only about 10 or 11 months old just had a litter of puppies on Sunday. We noticed today that her nipples that are between her front legs are very hard and none of the puppies are feeding on them. she has 12 nipples and 6 puppies. if you touch her front legs or chest she will just let out a scream. Is there a way to relieve that pressure or will it go away on it's own?

Answer
This dog needs to go to the vet. It sounds like she may have a milk infection, and needs some antibiotics to cure it. If you don't take her to the vet, all of the puppies could get very sick and die from nursing on the infected milk. Not to even mention mom. She will get really sick as well. Especially because of how young she is. You may have to bottle feed the pups yourself. These are some of the dangers from a too young of a dog having puppies. Her body just isn't able to do everything it needs to do to take care of a litter. My suggestion would be to get her to the vet today. Good luck, I hope all goes well!