A rupture of the udders due to Mastitis
Brinnie's pups were 5 and a half weeks old and pretty much weaned, when this occurred. Their were no symptoms, as from early on Brinnies udders were oddly shapped, almost disc like, and when full of milk were solid and 3 dimensional.
The problem only became apparent when 1 hour after happily riding in the car, scoffing down her evening meal and appearing perfectly normal, she collapsed, and lay rigid, with her eyes open.
On close inspection her udders contained a solid hot lump of about the size of a golf ball. This was at 11pm at night, so at the advice of an after hours vet by phone , I applied hot compresses and expressed some of the milk (bloody) periodically through the night till she could be taken to the vet the next morning at 7am.
She was immediately admitted to the veterinary hospital, and despite three days of intensive IV antibiotics it was to no avail, and it was decided to surgically remove the infection. Unfortunately during the operation 2 abscesses in Brinnies udder ruptured. Luckily, thanks to the dedicated care of Parap Veterinary Hospital, Brinnie is well on the way to making a full recovery. One week later, she has an open wound, but it shows every sign of eventually healing.
I guess what I learnt from this is that I would demand medical attention IMMEDIATELY on any sign of mastitis in the future.
