Good Breeder Center

Canine Lactation

Making Milk: Understanding and Managing Canine Lactation

These courses are for educational and informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your veterinarian before making decisions about your dog's health, including administering supplements, changing their diet, or implementing training techniques that could affect their wellbeing.

In This Class

  • Milk Basics
  • What is Milk Made Of?
  • Colostrum!
  • Milk Problems
  • Lactation Quiz
  • Canine Lactation Resources

Milk Basics

What is Milk Made Of

Colostrum

Milk Problems

Lactation Quiz

Test your knowledge of Canine Lactation by taking this quiz! If you score 80% or higher on the quiz, you will be prompted to fill out information to receive a Certificate of Canine Lactation.

Canine Lactation Resources

Research Papers on Canine Lactation

Feeding Your Bitch to Optimize Lactation Recommendations

Nutrition from:

Preventing Mastitis

  • To help prevent mastitis, do not overfeed her or start her on galactagogues until you know she has too little milk by Day 3. In addition, give lecithin in her food daily, disinfect and sanitize your whelping box and mats twice daily, and trim your pup’s nails every 3 days to prevent mastitis.
  • Mastitis Report – covers prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mastitis with photos
  • Swanson’s Sunflower Lecithin Powder, non-GMO, 16 ounces – to reduce risk of mastitis. Use 1 teaspoon per 20 pounds twice daily in her food from a day or two after whelping until the pups are weaned
  • Rescue/Accel Disinfectant – excellent disinfectant for whelping boxes, rooms, toys, etc.
  • Nail clipper – a human nail clipper is easiest for newborn pups. Trim your pups’ nails every 3 days.
  • Dremel – if you don’t feel comfortable clipping your pup’s nails, try dremeling them.

Mastitis Home Care

  • Start by taking your bitch’s temperature to be sure it is normal (102.9F or below). If it is normal, alternate 20 minutes of warm, moist compresses with cold cabbage leaves compresses day and night. Moist heat is essential so you can’t use heating pads or other dry heat sources.
  • Soak a hand towel in very warm water and fill a hot water bottle with hot water. Wrap the hand towel around the hot water bottle and hold it against the affected nipple by hand or with Vetrap
  • Alternate with cold or frozen cabbage leaves, placed against the affected gland and held by hand or Vetrap until they wilt. Replace.
  • Acute Septic Mastitis case study – by Rob Paterson, Conqueror Goldens
  • Vetrap – for holding warm compresses and cabbage leaves on
  • Surgical Suit – if you must wean your pups, use this to protect your bitch’s mammary glands from pups while still giving her access to them.

Increasing Milk Supply

Here are ways to increase milk production in your bitch. If your pups are 3 days old and not gaining daily, you can start working to increase milk production.

- Increase the quality of her food. See Nutrition reports above.

- Confirm she is getting enough fat, protein and carbs

- Lower her stress

- Use one or more galactagogues below:

  • Cooked oatmeal – regular or steel cut but not instant
  • Mother’s Pudding – you can feed this treat to bitches after whelping to increase milk supply and give them more calories
  • Fenugreek: Organic Fenugreek Alcohol-Free Liquid (use to increase milk production after your pups are 3 days old, only if your pups aren’t gaining) or Fenugreek capsules (Fenugreek capsules are available at most drug and grocery stores. Start with 1-3 capsules 2x per day until bitch’s breath sells like maple syrup. Keep giving the Fenugreek until the pups are gaining daily then gradually reduce how much you are giving.)
  • Milk thistle There are mixed results in studies of milk thistle increasing milk
    production in humans and other species so you may also want to try it with your bitch since it is a very safe supplement. Check with your vet for dosage but typically 50-100 mg per 10 pounds body weight is appropriate.
  • Folic acid or folate – give 800 mcg to 1 mg daily.
  • Intranasal oxytocin – by prescription only.
  • Domperidone – an oral medication that your vet can prescribe to increase your bitch’s milk supply.
  • Metoclopramide/Reglan – by prescription only.

Nipple Creams

Use nipple creams if you are seeing redness, cracks, or sores in your bitch’s nipples.

  • Motherlove Nipple Cream 
  • Lanolin Nipple Cream

Inverted Nipples

Inverted nipples are often less productive and more problematic than normal nipples. Use these correctors to pull the inverted nipple out so you can put a pup on it.

  • Inverted nipple corrector

Supplementing Puppies