Last year my Greyhound bitch was mated to a Bedlington/Whippet. When these pups were born they seemed fit and healthy, but over the next few days they started fading and i knew it was a case of fading puppy syndrome. The last puppy faded at 3 weeks old exactly. This was very tramatising for me and the mum and wouldn't want to go through it again.

I searched the net and found out that the main cause for FPD is canine herpes virus and you can vaccinate your bitch against this. In March my bitch was mated to the same dog and this time was vaccinated against canine herpes. She had her first injection 7 days after she was mated and she had the second injection when she was 7 weeks pregnant. This turned out to be successful she had 11 healthy puppies. They were kept very warm hygiene was kept strictly under control. All went well and all the pups survived. They have been in their new homes for a month now and there has been no problems, the pup i kept myself is also doing fine. 

I own the father aswell and i want to mate him with one of my other Greyhound bitches. Could he have caught canine herpes from the previous bitch and pass it on? If so is there any vaccine for male dogs as many people have used him on there bitches and they want to use him again when the time is right. I do not want to use him if he has caught this virus.

If any has any information please could you reply. Thankyou.

ask your vet about Eurican vaccine I think you give one injection around the time of mating and another about seven weeks into the pregnancy,its meant to help with bitches aborting as well as helping give puppies immunity to herpes virus,well thats what i've read on it anyway,I think its about thirty pounds each injection,good luck
Wendy

As far as I know the vaccine is for bitches only, not sure about dogs, I suppose if you thought there was a chance he does actually have CHV then best not to use him for breeding.

Hi Guest

>I own the father aswell and i want to mate him with one of my other Greyhound bitches. Could he have caught canine herpes from the previous bitch and pass it on?

This simple answer to that, I am afraid is yes

Herpes virus infection in the last three weeks of pregnancy or the first three weeks post-whelping is most
likely to result in infection of the puppies. This happens because the mother passes on the virus to the
puppies but does not give them antibodies against the disease, so they are susceptible to infection.
In most cases, a bitch who has been infected with herpes virus prior to being bred will pass on adequate antibody protection to her puppies to keep them from being infected at a time when they are likely to
become severely ill or die. This includes bitches that are unlucky enough to become infected during the critical time in a prior pregnancy. Even though their first litter was infected, their subsequent ones are unlikely to be infected. Herpes virus is very common and it would be surprising if the male had not been exposed previously, so there isn't much reason to worry about him. Trying to shelter a bitch from herpes virus prior to breeding her is probably a mistake. It is better to allow her to be exposed to situations in which other dogs are around so that she will become infected with the herpes virus, develop antibodies and pass them on to her puppies. Once she is bred, though, it may be better to assume that she has not been exposed and to try to protect her from contact with dogs that may have herpes virus.

There is a lot of conflicting information on canine herpes virus and I don't know if I am just missing something or if a lot of poor information is out there. As far as I know, based on the books I have here, this is the situation with canine herpes virus: This virus is a common inhabitant of the upper respiratory tract of dogs, which means that many dogs should have a positive titre. If a bitch is first exposed to this virus during a pregnancy, it can affect the litter, leading to foetal death or early death of the puppies after birth. If the litter is exposed in the first few weeks of life, they may also show severe signs of illness. Once the bitch is exposed to the virus, it is very unlikely that any further litters will be affected. The virus is common enough that if the male dog is being shown or being used for breeding on a regular basis it is very likely that he will have been exposed to the virus already and that he will have a titre. If he doesn't, I suppose he could be infected by the female. The risk to the male dog seems to be pretty small, though. Based on how I understand this situation, I would think it would be a good thing if the bitch had a titre to herpes virus prior to breeding, since that would infer that she could protect the puppies from infection during the pregnancy. Since this isn't the way the situation seems to be understood by dog breeders, I have to wonder if I am missing something -- but that is how I currently interpret the situation with canine herpes virus. Your vet should have some references that discuss this virus.

The vaccine should be given to the bitch asap after mating prefereably within a 5hour period but definately within 24 hours and again exactly 2 weeks before due whelping date

Kay

Edited to add:  Personally i never mate a bitch without the vaccine,