Mastitis in dogs

Mastitis is called acute or chronic inflammation of the breast. Mastitis in dogs can occur for several reasons. The first common cause is injury. For example, if the puppies injure the mammary gland during sucking, a bacterial infection can enter the wound, leading to inflammation.

The second reason is the stagnation of milk (it causes so-called stagnant mastitis). Milk stagnation happens if the puppies are too early or wrongly taken away from the mother, or if all the puppies (or most) die, and there is no one to feed. It can also be caused by too intense lactation.

But mastitis in dogs does not always occur during the periodfeeding puppies. It can also be caused by false suicidal tendencies, gastrointestinal illnesses or birthmarks. Stress, hereditary predisposition, high and low temperatures, exposure to chemicals, infections (including secondary ones with reduced immunity), clogged sphincter ducts of the nipple - all this can cause mastitis in the dog.

If the dog mastitis, it becomes sluggish, the appetite decreases or is absent altogether, sometimes the body temperature rises. But these are common symptoms for many diseases. More precisely, mastitis can be recognized by redness of the skin and enlargement of the mammary glands, which become dense and painful. If you press on the nipples, watery milk is emitted from them with an admixture of greenish-brown or gray-white flakes or pus with blood.

But the final diagnosis is to be made only by a veterinarian, because mastitis can be confused with other pathologies of the breast, which are treated absolutely differently. The sooner you contact the veterinarian, the better, because the dog's mastitis develops very quickly. Simple inflammation can grow into an abscess,and then - in phlegmon or even gangrene. The development of mastitis can be accelerated by improper treatment or lack of it, as well as with reduced resistance of the organism.

How to cure mastitis in a dog? In the early stages, conservative (therapeutic treatment) can help. The veterinarian prescribes antibiotics, local anesthetics in the form of lotions or ointments, as well as antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drugs. To apply them it is necessary in a complex. Do not self-medicate, all medications should be prescribed by a veterinarian!

A dog needs to provide complete peace. If she feeds the puppies, you need to transfer them to artificial feeding. If conservative treatment does not help for several days, and on the mammary gland abscesses begin to develop, surgery will be required.

Mastitis in dogs is a serious disease, if it is not recognized in time and does not begin treatment, the consequences can be deplorable. Therefore, this disease is easier to prevent thanthen cured. If you do not plan to mate the dog, it should be sterilized: if the estrus time after time occurs "wasted", that is, the dog does not become pregnant, it can eventually lead to mammary pathologies.

If the dog is lactating (it does not matter if the pup was true or false), the animal should be regularly shown to the vet. Closely monitor the condition of the mammary glands of the nursing bitches and timely process all wounds, scratches and cracks on the nipples and mammary glands. Once the puppies are two weeks old, you need to cut their claws every week so that they do not accidentally scratch the mother's mammary glands during feeding.

If the dog gave birth, but the litter was undesirable, and you plan to drown the puppies, one or two still need to be left for the dog to feed them, this will help prevent the development of mastitis. With the death of all the puppies, the mammary glands are lubricated with camphor oil and tightly bandaged.

Mastitis in a dog is easier to prevent than cure, so carefully watch your pet and contact the vet at the slightest suspicion of mastitis or any other disease.