# Help with nursing a litter of 12 puppies!?



## CieraLM (Aug 23, 2017)

Hey everyone, I just joined because I need help with my momma dog and 12 puppies. Momma dog is named Sissy. Sissy gave birth last Saturday on August 11th, she had 5 puppies at home naturally and when she started having contractions but didn't produce anything all night, I took her to the vet the next morning and they did an x-ray and discovered a puppy sideways blocking the canal. They preformed an emergency c-section and delivered 8 more pups, one of which was dead (the puppy who was blocking everything). So we have 12 puppies left who have all been doing great until now. I noticed Sissy was acting off, not eating or drinking, not wanting to feed the puppies or tend to them, etc. I knew it wasn't because of their claws because I kept them clipped constantly. So I took her to the vet yesterday, while in the waiting room I found the root of the problem. She has mastitis. The vet gave her 2 shots of antibiotics and I told him I would do hot compresses as well and try to drain everything. He said that was perfect. Well when I took her home yesterday I tried for I don't even know how long with the hot compresses trying to get something out. Nothing would come out but normal looking milk. I gave up for the night, put her in with the pups. Today I tried again, some yellow discharge would come out but not much at all. I've been trying to keep the puppies off that nipple so I just put 2 bandaids over it and it's working. My concern is the puppies. They're acting very lethargic. They're exactly 11 days old today and 2 of them have already opened their eyes while the rest are trying to. I called my vet earlier and he told me not to worry about it. I am bringing her back in on Friday to get her staples removed and to get them all dewormed since they will be at their 2 week stage. He will be checking everyone over to make sure everything is going well but with how the puppies are now, I just know he'll tell me I need to start bottle feeding. So my question is, would goats milk be okay to start them on? There's a farm near me who sells it, I just need suggestions on how to bottle feed everyone, how much, what kind, etc. I'm sort of tight on money because an X-ray, emergency c-section, spay, antibiotics, dewormer and high quality puppy food that I've been feeding mom is not exactly cheap. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much.


----------



## EckoMac (Aug 25, 2010)

Get milk replacement aka formula and goats milk. And get used to hand feeding 12 puppies every 2-4 hours. At least until she starts producing enough for them, or until they're 4 weeks old and can be weaned. 
Any big name chain pet store will have formula. Buy your first run there and order more online. Goats milk will be harder to find, but supplementing with it is more filling for them, so you can actually sleep between feedings. If you thought babies were tough...


----------



## CieraLM (Aug 23, 2017)

Thank you EckoMac! I actually just got in touch with a goat milk farmer near me who is more than willing to help me out. I explained the situation to her and she said she has plenty for me so I will be going there hopefully in a few hours to pick some up. It's just raw organic goat milk. 

I also just went and squeezed all of Sissy's nipples, I could only get milk to barely come out of just 1. All the others I couldn't get anything out of. It's such a big turn around from just a few days ago when she would just be sitting here or standing and her milk would just leak out. Will her milk come back as she starts to eat and drink again? Is that the reason it's not coming in now, the fact that she was off her food and water for about 2 days? 

The puppies seem to be sleeping nonstop, not moving around or crying as much, they all attack her when she gets in but within like 5 mins they're all asleep again which leads me to believe they're not getting anything out of her.


----------



## DynamicDuo (Sep 3, 2016)

Wow, that's a big litter. Poor mama. I don't know much about the breeding, baby care type of stuff but I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep you all in my thoughts that everyone makes it out unscathed and healthy.

Good luck!

~Jess


----------



## CieraLM (Aug 23, 2017)

Thank you Ciaramama! I'm picking up fresh raw goat milk at 6:50. I've never bottlefed so this will be a learning experience. From what I've read and heard this goat milk will be just fine for them. I don't want to take the puppies completely off mom though, I would still like her to produce milk for the pups when I'm not feeding. 

I really hope that her milk will start to come back in now that she's eating and drinking normally again.


----------



## CieraLM (Aug 23, 2017)

Update, the puppies absolutely LOVED the goat milk. Their little bellies are all full and they're sleeping now. I still have more questions though, hopefully someone can help.

How much is too much? Should I just let them eat until they spit the nipple out of their mouth?

If they're moving around after eating and sleeping, they should be burping themselves correct? How important is it that I burp every single one after feeding?

How do I avoid getting any liquid into their lungs?


----------

