After many disappointments a bitch i have been waiting to hear about is finally pregnant but the breeder called me last night to say that she may have kennel cough,she is approx 6 weeks pregnant.She has never had a bitch in whelp catch kennel cough so is unsure how it will affect the unborn puppies.Has anyone had experience of this? will the puppies catch it too?Am so worried.thanks

It shouldn't cause any deformities in the pups because they will be fully formed by then just getting bigger.

I don't know if Mum can be treated but as it is an airborn condition the pups won't get it unless there is still infected dogs around when they are born.

Edited to add,pregnant bitches and puppies from 3 weeks old can be treated with the intranasal vaccine.

I have remembered reading about kennel cough in pregnant bitches here before
http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/83275.html
I believe the worst time would be around 4 weeks when the main development is taking place.Fingers crossed the pups will be fine.Maybe it isnt K.C.

The bitch has actually not yet caught kennel cough but 3 of the breeders other dogs have.i asked her if she will be putting the bitch elsewhere when she has the puppies if kennel cough is still around
( only 3 weeks away) and she said no,wouldnt it be safer for the newborns if they were somewhere kennel cough free.are newborn puppies immune for the first few weeks or are they in danger?

If she was mine I would take her to the vets and get the nasal spray as it is safe in pregnancy,she can then pass the antibodies to the pups over the remaining 3 weeks, then isolate her from the affected dogs to be on the safe side.

The fact that pups over 3 weeks can be given the nasal spray makes me think they are covered by the antibodies from the bitch up to 3 weeks.

As it is not your bitch it is hard to sit back and hope the breeders choice is the right one.

are newborn puppies immune for the first few weeks

Only if the dam carries antibodies to that particular strain of the infection.

so if she had kennel cough in the past they would be ok?or are there different types of kc? what is the nasal spray so i can tell the breeder,thanks x

are there different types of kc?

Yes, like the human cough and colds they are caused by many different virus, in humans they are known as upper respiratory infections and it is best to think of them that way when talking of KC. There is a inoculation against one strain in the normal booster and the nasal spray is another but that will not cover all types like our flu jab it has to be relevant to the type of infection that is doing the rounds at the moment.

I'd be grabbing the vaccine asap!! KC is still shed by dogs up to 6months post infection if 3 dogs have it already its just a matter of time.That said there are some virulent strains of viral KC developing that obviously you cannot vaccinate against and KC vac does up to 5 of that seasons top bacterial strains if I remember rightly. Breeder needs good disinfectant and I would most certainly be keeping the pups out of the way, hard to do and will most likely still spread but worth trying. Had viral KC literally rip through my lot earlier this year, all KC vacced but no use if viral. Treat symptoms only with benyalin was advice from vet.

did you have puppies at the time,ive tried to get a hold of the breeder today but she must be busy.She did say the last time i spoke to her that it doesnt seem as bad as the kc she had a few years back,she said that dogs seemed to be more snufffly and sneezing than the awful rasping sound they made last time.my mums dog got kc last year and she coughed all the time,sounded like she as choking so im hoping its maby a cold?

so im hoping its maby a cold?

That is what KC is more or less - a cold is an upper respiratory infection caused by a virus and so is KC, some strains will cause next to no symptoms others will make the dog quite ill - in any situation it is to be avoided but with whelps around it could be a real problem, or they could be immune you will not know until the situation arises.

Kennel cough is pretty common at the moment. A couple of years ago, one of my dogs brought kennel cough back from a show and gave it to all my other dogs, including my pregnant bitch. They had recovered by the time the pups were born with no treatment and the pups were absolutely fine. If it is caused by a virus the intra nasal vaccine or antibiotics won't work anyway. If it is caused by bordetella bronchiseptica, I am pretty sure that penicillin works for this. I don't think I would want to risk any vaccine on a pregnant bitch.

I finally got a call from the breeder tonight and she said although the pregnant bitch has started mildly coughing it seems quite a mild strain mainly sneezing with the occasional cough,she is on day  44 if going by 2nd mating,do you think this is long enough for them to get over the kennel cough?

I would think they should all be over it by the time the pups are born and the pups will probably have very high antibodies from their mum to protect them.

so worried,i called the breeder last night to see how all the dogs were and she said that what she thought was kc in the pregnant girl wasnt at the time because last night she started coughing quite badly and seems quite under the weather.ive been in touch with this breeder for some time now so feel like she is also a friend so am trying to help all i can but she says she has never had kc in a pregnant bitch before and is just giving her honey.she has 10 days til her due date approx,is this long enough for her to get better?

I'd be worried myself.  Can't think of Terri's username on here but she had a bad time a few years back due to KC when her litter was born.

>Can't think of Terri's username on here

Briedog?

That's the one!!

I tried searching but cant find anything,do you know roughly when it was?

It's quite a few years ago now.  Just PM Terri and I'm sure she'll advise you on what happened.  Sadly it was a very hard time for her.

I was there visiting today because my mother in law lives just 2 miles away.the expectant mummy actually looked quite happy,coughed just 2-3 times while we were there although she looked tired but i guess thats down to being pregnant too.Her breeder is giving her manuka honey which she says should help.when standing up she doesnt look pregnant at all but when she rolled over to let my husband stroke her tummy you could see it then,she has approx 9 days left so it may be a small litter.am keeping everything crossed,ive waited a long time for a puppy from this breeder so am hoping for a bit of luck this time.

Got a call last night from the breeder to say to expect the worse,she is on day 57 and says she has gone noticeably smaller pretty much over night,her breeder has been breeding and in to this breed for years so is very experienced but has never had a pregnant bitch with kennel cough which on a lighter note has nearly gone.she says the poor girl has licked her girly bits so much its broken out in an angry red rash.ive been so upset because not only have i waited a long time for a pup ive grown very attached to the breeder and her dogs.The breeder has experienced pups being absorbed but not around day56/57 but then she hasnt had kc at this stage either,any ideas?

If she is concerned I would be inclined to have her scanned. I would say her going noticeably smaller may be the pups moving into position, but obviously if she is experienced she will know this.

Afew years ago my dog studded a bitch and we was going to have the pick ,she got kennel cough from a dog next door when she was 2 wks away from whelping. The day she whelped every thing seemed ok,but that night out of 10 pups only 3 were left,the bitch was so weak ,so we decided to bottle feed them i took one home with me ,built an incubator and fed it every 2 hours,the next night she lost another 1 ,my pup was doing ok putting on weight and content,on the 3rd day she lost the other one, she had put her back with the mum who was not herself, the vet put her on anti-biotics but she just gave up on the pup.after 7 days my pup was a little rolly poly the woman came to see him and wanted him back, as she didnt have nothing to show from the mating,i told her as he was ok with me he should stay for a little while longer.That night he died i was gutted,the next day i went to see the bitch omg her back end looked like a bacon slice was coming out VETS i told her oh the smell,she thought it was normal after having pups(1st litter) it was pymetra ,bitch had a hysterectomy.Vet said the kennel cough was to blame for the pups dying as the bitch had it bad they couldnt fight infection off. :(  Ihope all goes well for your puppy and the bitch and what happend to my friends dog dont happen to anyone else .

How awful! The bitch doesnt belong to me,ive just got to know the breeder very well and hope to get a pup from this litter.The kennel cough was apparently mild and after a few days on manuka honey is doing well.one or two of her other dogs are still mildly sniffly but none are ill or lethargic in any way.i have been in touch regularly so am keeping everything crossed for a healthy litter and mum too.Has anyone had a bitch with kennel cough during pregnancy and everything has turned out ok?

I am due to mate my bitch within the next few days, the stud dog owner has informed me the dog has kennel cough, brought back from a recent show.  I know if I take my bitch to him she will probably get it, would it do her any harm with a possible pregnancy

Is there another stud dog you would consider using? 

Or I guess (thinking outside the box here) you could try a side by side AI so they don't come into contact with each other - stud owner would need to bring you the semen and you'd need to inseminate in part of the house he hasn't been, or in garden or the back of your car   Not sure that would help, as I don't know if semen would carry KC itself.  But I believe not...

Don't use this dog. Last year I had a pregnant bitch get kennel cough and the pups got it when born. It's not worth the risk.

No way would I go anywhere near this dog.   I know of somebody who stupidly took another bitch to an informal show and she came back with KC, gave it to the pregnant bitch who then whelped and give it to her puppies.   Some of them she lost!!

It's simply just not work the risk.   Be grateful that the owner of the dog told you!!

agree with the others, either wait until next season to use this  dog, or use a different dog.

Hi, did the pups survive?

Hi Kenzi, what happened in the end? How were the puppies?