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My dog's breasts are swollen after puppies. Is it mastitis?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 4 months old | 140 lbs

Hello Ma’am My Rednose Pitbull had Puppies on 8/3/2021 and her Breast just look a little swollen to me. But the scratch’s and bites are from the puppies and this is my first dog birth so can u help me out a little? Are her breast/nipples swollen? Does she need to see a veterinarian ASAP? And do I need to bottle feed my pups? DM

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1 Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on August 26th, 2021

I agree, Mazi's mammary glands do look quite swollen. This can be a sign of mastitis, which is an infection of the mammary glands. Mastitis is very serious. I would take her into a vet asap to get this checked out. As for bottle feeding the puppies, weigh them daily and if they aren't gaining weight, they do need to be bottle fed. The vet can advise on this as well. I hope this helps!

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