It appears we brought kennel cough home from the vet's office last week. My girl had an x-ray to count for # of puppies on Tuesday, whelped on Thursday and now she's got kennel cough. What should I anticipate? Can I give her Robitussin? What about the puppies? No one answers at the vet's but I do have an appointment there this afternoon with another dog. Thanks.
KC in new borns can get very serious. They can easily develop pneumonia. This is not something to ignore if you have pups that were just born. I went through this twice. If you post a contact I'd be happy to help you. My vet was in my livingroom saving one of the 2 litters when they were all of a few days old. I am NOT trying to scare you, I just know the reality if very young babies do contract it.
Babies of this age do not really have the ability to cough it out, so it goes to the lungs. We used a combo of 3 antibiotics on both litters, worked fast and well, saved the puppies. IF your litter does not get it which is always an outside possibility, that would be great. I would go on the defensive and be ready.
Watch for Herpes virus. It is fatal in most cases when the mom gets infected in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy, or the first weeks of the puppies. This virus usually accompanies Kennel cough. Fading puppies, diarrhea death within 12 hours are the common signs.
I had kennel cough in week old puppies last fall. I will say it was very scary! However, everyone told me you will think the puppies will die and they will pull through. That was the case for me, all 8 were fine but it was a rough week! Personally I used clavamox on the puppies to prevent secondary pneumonia. And, the drug of choice for your adults is doxycycline as many strains of kennel cough are microplasma based. Doxy is not recommended for puppies due to teeth not yet having enamel on them.
