My new rescue dog had puppies. Why is she still producing milk?

If she stopped feeding them suddenly then mastitis would be a risk (she may refuse them because it is painful or the excess milk after she stopped could cause the problem after). If she is off form, has any fever or her milk glands are red, hot or painful to firm touch then she will need prescription treatment from a vet. If everything is otherwise good, just monitor for any changes. 48 hours of very light food if she is healthy and not underweight can discourage active milk production but do not starve her

Poor mama dog! Don't worry--her lactation will stop as soon as her hormones realize there is no more nursing going on. She will gradually stop lactating and her mammary glands will dry up in a few days. This is a normal process with weaning and no cause for concern.

It sounds like Beauty may be dealing with a pregnancy, false pregnancy, or a mammary infection, as it is unlikely she would still be producing milk after this long otherwise. Please visit the following link for more information: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952188 I also recommend talking to your vet about having Beauty spayed. Spaying stops the heat cycle, eliminates the risk and cost of unwanted breeding, and early spaying can reduce the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer, as well as reduce the risk of potentially fatal uterine infections and mammary cancer. If this is a false pregnancy, your vet will discuss the right time to have Beauty spayed to help prevent it from continuing/ happening again.

There is no cause for concern. This is a normal part of the weaning process. The mammary glands should gradually get smaller and the milk production will eventually stop. It may take a couple of weeks for this to happen. In the meantime, monitor the mammary glands to make sure they do not become painful, red and more swollen. This may indicate [mastitis](https://www.petcoach.co/question/?id=46002) which requires immediate medical treatment.

I am so sorry to hear this happened. You do not have to do anything to "dry her up". Since the puppies are not nursing she will dry up on her own. Milk is only produced in response to the puppies sucking on the teats. Do not handle the teats or try to strip them - you will make matters worse. Not only will she continue to produce milk but your could introduce bacteria into the teats and cause mastitis. Just leave her alone and she will dry up in a few days. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Suckling dormant mammary glands stimulates hormone production and can make them produce milk again, especially if the female has had puppies before. In the wild dogs share the care of puppies. In a pack usually only the alpha female has puppies, but all females involved in the care of the puppies will lactate and feed them. So, yes there is a possibility that the empty bitch is lactating and feeding the puppies even though she herself does not have puppies.

Once the puppies stop nursing, the milk production will stop and the mammary gland will slowly decrease in size. The fact that all the puppies died might indicate the mother is not in good health, I would recommend taking her to the vet nd get her checked, I would also recommend having her spayed in a couple months from now.