Make sure mom is getting plenty of fluids even if you have to give her real chicken broth so her milk is perhaps not so concentrated....you may also want to 'milk' her...esp if any of her mammary glands are swollen, hot and hard....get the stuff out of there that is in there or it will get toxic....and she will end up with mastitis for sure. I have, in the past, put a lukewarm cloth over hardened gland and hand expressed as much as I could out until the gland was soft and milk looked like milk....in the beginning I have gotten sort of beige-ish color milk that is thicker....I thought of is as almost curdled milk...afterwards I put bag balm on each nipple that was on gland I cleared out....I would do it to all of them at this point if it were my bitch....puppies can be bottle fed for a meal while you clean her out as such....before you put them back on a few hours later, start the milk in each nipple to see that it loooks like milk....and force fluids if you have to to keep composition of milk from becoming too concentrated....then make sure each pup individually latches on tight so that if you pulled them genly, they would still be holding on....so you know that pup is nursing well....and then on to the next pup....it is much easier to get the whole gang on and see what they are doing if you can get mom to lie on her back w/ pillows or folded quilts or whatever, propping her up on her back so pups can also be on the top of the pillows ... you can see each pup on each individual nipple better then also.
Good luck and I hope this made sense.


Lorraine
If only I was as good a person as my dogs seem to think I am!
Find us on:
www.karismakennels.com

I just checked mom again and she isn't as red as she was last night. I can express milk from her, but some of the pups may not be latching on completely. I will try what you suggested, thanks!

Are you sure that they are getting a good suck going? Try putting your finger & thumb by the sides of their mouths to get a better suck going. If you completely bottle feed them you will end up with mastitis for sure. It sounds like your heading in that direction with them being red & sore. I only bottle feed (which I have never had to do nor do I "top" them off)IF there is no other solution. At 20 days they are surely old enough to eat some gruel of baby rice cereal & esbilac off your finger.

Cathy Crist

www.twistabullbulldogs.builderspot.com