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A friend is involved with rescue and they have an injured female dog who was C-sectioned to deliver her near term pups. At the same time as the section she was spayed. Now I'm confused because the fosters and rescue people were talking about the Mum dog's milk not coming in and now it sounds like they have given up on that. But, could it? Could her milk still come in even after she's just been spayed? Would it last if it came in?
One of my bitches was spayed during an emergency c section, one of the puppies was so lodged in her pelvis, her uterus tore at the cervix when they tried to dislodge him. She went on to have plenty of milk for her babies, they were fat and healthy puppies before I started feeding them. Sometimes milk can come in a little slower, (with a spay at c section, and it is Not recommended to spay at the time of a c section) but with some medications, and food supplements they can give to stimulate milk production, and keeping puppies on her, it is *usually* not a problem.
Maybe this poor girl's injuries shocked her system somehow, so she is fighting to survive, rather than produce milk.
Yes, while Chloe wasn’t spayed until a few months after her c-section, I have a friend whose bitch was spayed during one and she went on to nurse 6 healthy pups with no problems. One thing I was told when Chloe had her pups was to start them nursing as SOON as possible, because with a c-section the milk might have more trouble coming in and the bitch might be less likely to accept the puppies. We put them on her as soon as we got home, while she was still very groggy from the anesthesia and by the time she fully woke up the hormones triggered by the nursing had kicked in and she was fine.
I agree with Shelley that maybe it was the other injuries in combination with the c-section/spay causing too much stress on her body, rather than just the spay being the problem.
The gal that bred to Jagger had to C-section her girl to get the last 2 out and they also spayed at the same time. It took about 4 days to get momma back on track even though her milk was just starting to come in before the C-section. Milk did come in and she did nurse her 5.
some say the herb fenugreek can help with milk production.
You also want puppies on mom nursing as soon as possible so they get that ever-important colostrum while their gut is still permeable. Newer research has suggested that the window in which they can absorb colostrum is much shorter (less than 12 hours, maybe even less than 8 hours) than earlier thought.
Reglan (Metaclopromide), and oxytocin given right away, like as they are waking up from anesthesia, and every two hours for the oxytocin, can help bring in milk, as well as the Fenugreek Jen mentioned, and food sources such as steel cut oatmeal, not "instant" (there is an oatmeal "Mother's Pudding" we make for after birth) act as a galactagogue too. Some bitches are such good milk producers, they lactate for other bitches puppies!
Mammal lactation is fascinating!
Thank you for all these answers. The spayed female was badly injured and is not dropping her milk. Whether from trauma to herself or due to the meds keeping her stable is not sure. The pups, five, have been farmed out to dedicated fosters in the rescue community and are doing fine so far on milk supplements. Last I checked the mother is still not eating but has been force fed small amounts. She cannot stand but has been able to move her head a bit. It's a head injury.
I would not expect a badly injured girl with a head injury, that is barely eating to nurse her puppies. I was going to suggest an Orphan Puppy group on Facebook, but I see the fosters have it handled, what a sad situation. My best for the babies and for the mom to recover fully.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowshoe