O.K. I new that would get your attention! I have a Basset bitch due to whelp 2/19/2001. Got out of our fenced yard a couple of days ago and was gone for 36 hours. It was cold here- 10 degrees at night and 4 inches of snow on the ground. When she came home her nipples were hard, red to black, crusty and had some discharge ( frost bite). The vet says apply bag balm several times a day and hope they heal before she whelps. Does anyone have any other ideas or have experiencied this before? We have the option of taking our chances and maybr end up bottle feeding the entire litter or we can have the pregnancy aborted. Any ideas?

-- Terri Perry (teperry@stargate.net), January 12, 2001

Answers

You are in a tough spot! I hand fed a litter ALOT of work,I do not know the average litter size of a Basset but we did 8 all lived but we "milked"the female for 3 days.Check around and see if need be you are able to get the first milk from either a goat or maybe a lamb and store it.I would not abort the litter,the scar tissue could interfer w/ any more litters. I would try other lotions like lanolin{sp}or aloe. Also check and see what creams are used for breast feeding moms {human}. where do you live?

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), January 12, 2001.

I would think that the bag balm applied several times a day should heal them in the amount of time you have left. Does she act like she is in a lot of pain? Will she leave the bag balm alone? Vit. E in the capsules squeezed onto the site is also a wonderful healer. I don't think I would abort at this point. I had one bitch that had a couple of injured teats and she still managed to nurse all her pups o.k. You could end up with maybe just one or two that are really damaged and be just fine. imho

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 12, 2001.

I wouldn't use the bag balm, I'd use calendula cream/ointment/tincture instead. It really is a marvelous healing aid.Vitamin E in calendula ointment is even better. I'm assuming that you want to save this litter or you wouldn't have bred the dog? You can at least hope for some healing before the whelping date if you start it immediately and repeat it round the clock.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), January 12, 2001.

Ditto Julie's reply. Dad had sores on his heels that nothing took care of (he was diabetic) until we started rubbing in the calendula ointment -- then they healed right up! I especially like Nelson's (brand), which I get at the local health food stores.

If you can't find it, or want to try your own, the ingredients listed are Calendula officinalis 1x9%, in a base of almond oil, avocado oil and cocoa butter. You could add the Vitamin E oil too!

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), January 12, 2001.

I was just doing some other reading on healing traumatic injuries, and they suggested feeding either spirulina (very good) or chlorella (better) to aid in healing and cell regeneration. They consist of 60% vegetable protein, predigested by the organism, so it is easily utilized.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), January 13, 2001.

Bassetts you poor thing .Only kidding there was a long standing joke in obedience club with some of the bassett people .I would prepare to bottle feed , have all supplies on hand and hope for the best .At 2-3 weeks you can get them to drink from a bowl .You might be a little tired but will heal fine .She may surprise you and heal and nurse just fine .If you can email me and tell me more about your dogs , my neighbor has 6 of them and 4 are getting up in age .

-- Patty (fodfarms@hotmail.com), January 13, 2001.