My nursing dog's nipple is bleeding. Is it mastitis? What should I do?

Poor Bella. Bleeding from a nipple can be a sign of mastitis, which is fatal without treatment. Do not let the puppies nurse from that nipple, and take her and the puppies into a vet right away to get this treated.

Hi There! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It probably was due to mild trauma (such as from scratching). Given how it looks, it will likely heal on its own without much treatment if you leave it alone and prevent your pup from licking or chewing at it. Good luck!

Just like in people, any unusual discharge from a nipple is not normal and could be a sign of mammary cancer. I do not think she needs to be rushed to a vet, however you should make an appointment with a vet to have it examined. It may be just mastitis, but it could be a malignant condition as well.

Sorry to hear that Honey isn't right. I would want to know if that vet only analyzed the discharge or actually obtained a needle aspirate of the mass itself. While analyzing the discharge is fine, it is not going to be as accurate or meaningful as obtaining a sample of the mass. The most effective way to find out what is happening would be removing the affected area and sending it out for a biopsy. If it is an abscess or some sort of cyst, it would be curative hopefully. If it ended up being malignant in some way, they may have to go back and remove the entire mammary chain. Mammary cancer would be pretty unusual but certainly not impossible for a four year old dog. Hope this helps.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Skye. Congrats on the puppies, I hope they are doing well! Nursing is a bit painful, and it may be an injury from nursing. Her temperature of 102.5 is on the high side of normal, and the 103.1 is a bit worrying. Keep taking her temperature. If it continues around 103, this spot gets worse, the area gets hard or firm, there is pus or discharge from her teats, or the teat itself become discolored, have her seen by a vet. I hope this helps!

Hi and thanks for your request. The one with red liquid may be affected by a mastitis, which is an inflammation/infection of the mammary gland. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Other care recommended for the bitch may include hydration, warm compresses using towels or cabbage leaves, and frequent expression of milk from the infected gland by hand. This alleviates discomfort and swelling while also encouraging blood flow. Hand-milking should be performed every six hours. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

It is possible that what you are seeing is a normal vein, a vein with a blood clot, or a bruise. If there is blood coming from the nipples, I recommend that Bonnie be examined by a vet as this would indicate that there is bleeding going on within the milk duct system and is highly abnormal. There could be infection, trauma, or a bleeding/clotting disorder causing this to happen.