When my bitch had just whelped and was off her food, I managed to tempt her to eat with bread and butter spread with honey (for energy). My best friend is a midwife and when I told her this, she said she wouldn't give her honey as midwives advise pregnant/new mums not to eat it because bees can drink from very dirty sources. My friend is very animal oriented, she rescues/handrears different species and is an experienced dog owner, full of common sense really. I then noticed on the back of honey jars in the supermarkets it says not to feed it to babies. Does anyone know if this also applies to nursing canine mums?  

i know some on here use it as ive asked this before :) i red some where that honey wasnt safe for inwhelp bitches but i gave my girl honey in her water to get her to drink ,her and her pups were fine x

Gave my bitch honey in her groul mix, i swear my honey for helping with Kennel Cough and human coughs and colds, even used it when my horse had a cough, he recovered much quicker than others who didnt have the honey.

Depends if your a clean freak i think lol, i believe everyone needs a bit of bad bacteria.

Certain honey's are used on wounds to help them heal when all else fails, so it can't be bad, it is an old recipe from 40yrs ago which went out of favour but like all things good it has come back in again.

I saw "Maluka"[sp]honey on the Hyperdrug site.

You midwife friend seems to have got her wires crossed.  Honey is not recommended for babies under a year old as a small percentage of honey may be contaminated with botulism spores.  A baby's immature digestive system maynot be able to kill the spores which is why possibly poses a risk.  However, in pregnant women, the digestive system is well capable of killing off the botulism spores in the intestine before they reach the bloodstream and there is therefore no risk to the unborn baby.

I use Maunka homey all the time for various things with my dogs, so I would be interested to see any evidence that it is bad, I could be doing it all wrong :)

Honey is a good source of glucose and also a natural anti-biotic i used this in my parrots drinking water when he was ill also in my bitches water while pregnant and after, also if any animal goes into shock a vet told me to rub honey on there gums as this helps there sugar levels come up and can save there life i always keep a sample jar in the car ,its also good for dogs who fit ,same rub it on the gums .

Thank you very much for your responses and, yes, I'd forgotten about the Manuka honey which is always highly recommended.

I have always used honey with my dogs(though I can't stand the stuff myself).Locally sourced honey given to pups can help prevent grass and pollen allergies.I also gave my girlie honey/egg and water as a post whelp energy drink and have had no issues.

I've given all mine honey when off food or under the weather, it always brings them back up.  Have one of mine possibly has/had kennel cough coming and might be in whelp.  Gave honey over the weekend and she now appears to have no symptoms.  I still don't know if it was KC coming or an irritation, either way its gone now and she bouncing round.

We had pups earlier this year and honey was given to mum with no problems, pups were given some about 4-5wks to get used to the taste.

I'd never be without it.

Thank you very much for all your responses, good to have this reassurance that it's ok for mums/pups to have.