# kennel cough advice 5 week old litter



## rosebury12 (Aug 27, 2012)

Hello, we have a litter of english bulldog pups 5 weeks old today. For the last 3 days 1 of them has had a nasty cough it's sounds dry and irritated and there doesn't seem to be any phlegm in her mouth, throat or around her nose however her eyes look slightly more watery than usual. The other pups are coughing now & then but nowhere near as often as this one. We are extremely responsible breeders and have not had anyone in the house since before the pups were born to be super careful of viruses etc until tuesday this week when the first family of viewers came to look at the litter. They were asked to sanitise their hands and take their shoes off, however this is the puppy they handled the most and it has later transpired that the woman does dog boarding in her house. I'm now thinking kennel cough has been brought in on their cloths but am concerned that it might be more serious for a 5 week old pup than an adult dog and haven't been able to speak to my vet yet as its been bank holiday weekend. Does this sound like a simple case of kennel cough even tho the other pups are not as bad? I'm not sure if i should seperate her or if it’s pointless if the germs are airbourne and also how long would it usually last in a puppy this age? Other than waiting for it to go away is there anything i can do to help her ie. antibiotics ? i am already keeping the room vapourised. thanks any info appreciaed form anyone who's experienced this with young pups. We have never come accross it before as our dogs our kept in our nice warm home & kept clean and ventilated i'm gutted that someone has most likely brought it in and made them poorly xx

Also been giving a tiny amount of natural honey to try and soothe the throat


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

Just curious what you mean by really responsible breeder? 

Do they have a fever? Are they eating well? Active? Good size?

The fact that there's no phlegm makes me think something else maybe, but it's still possible. I'd be very careful and get to the vet ASAP. Do you have any colostrum?


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## rosebury12 (Aug 27, 2012)

Hi I just mean that we are extremely careful in rearing our pups and protecting them from infections etc and I question all potential families in detail over the phone before they visit i wish they had been honest about having random dogs kept in their home so I could have said no to the viewing  They don't have a fever and are still gaining weight at a good pace (weight recorded daily since birth). They are eating well and still active which is usually a good sign that they aren't feeling really sick, but the most poorly struggles to join in playing with the others for long as when they're rolling about play fighting she tends to have a coughing spasm and i have to move them away from her. We don't have any colostrum but have managed to get a vets appointment for this evening. We've never encountered kennel cough before, that was my best guess given that the other are coughin a little aswell. Or possibly hacking cough? it sounds dry and is worse when they're awake than sleeping which leads me to think it's a conscious/irritable thing? any tips appreciated x


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

rosebury12 said:


> Hi I just mean that we are extremely careful in rearing our pups and protecting them from infections etc and I question all potential families in detail over the phone before they visit i wish they had been honest about having random dogs kept in their home so I could have said no to the viewing  They don't have a fever and are still gaining weight at a good pace (weight recorded daily since birth). They are eating well and still active which is usually a good sign that they aren't feeling really sick, but the most poorly struggles to join in playing with the others for long as when they're rolling about play fighting she tends to have a coughing spasm and i have to move them away from her. We don't have any colostrum but have managed to get a vets appointment for this evening. We've never encountered kennel cough before, that was my best guess given that the other are coughin a little aswell. Or possibly hacking cough? it sounds dry and is worse when they're awake than sleeping which leads me to think it's a conscious/irritable thing? any tips appreciated x


Did the parents get cleared of everything in your breed? Does she cough after she eats?


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## rosebury12 (Aug 27, 2012)

yes both parents have been tested for breathing and heart problems and are clear of the HUU gene which are all of the bulldog tests available, as we would absolutely never breed from a dog that had any defects. 

Mum has never had any type of cough and still doesn't have any symptoms now but she is obviously less succeptible to these things being an adult so who knows. All kennel cough info i've found suggests that it isn't life threatening but as any virus is more serious in young pups i'm concerned about it turning into pneumonia or another secondary infection. Think I should ask the vet for antibiotics as a preventative measure? x


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## rosebury12 (Aug 27, 2012)

and yes the worst affected puppy does seem to cough after she's eaten, so do the others a little but its not just then - it doesn't really appear to be particularly worse after eating? also they have been on royal canin mother & baby starter food since a few days before the coughing started and i still mush it up into a smoothe pulp with water and milk so i don't think it's that, never had any issues with that food before? anyone know the main difference between kennel cough/hacking cough and if either can be transferred from people who have been in a doggy daycare place and not by the dogs themselves, even with hands washed & shoes off?


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

Has the bitch been vaccinated for kennel cough? Have the puppies seen the vet? 

Kennel cough is a hacking cough, very contagious. It's possible it was brought in by the visitors. It's also possible it could be something else. Puppies, especially the brachy breeds can aspirate fairly easily when beginning feeding watered down puppy food, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia. So best to get them checked out, as pneumonia can easily kill the pup.


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

juliemule said:


> Has the bitch been vaccinated for kennel cough? Have the puppies seen the vet?
> 
> Kennel cough is a hacking cough, very contagious. It's possible it was brought in by the visitors. It's also possible it could be something else. Puppies, especially the brachy breeds can aspirate fairly easily when beginning feeding watered down puppy food, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia. So best to get them checked out, as pneumonia can easily kill the pup.


 That's exactly what I was thinking with aspirating and pneumonia.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

I never start pups on liquidy food, more just a soft mash, but no water or milk dripping from it. Pups eat well before they drink water. Notice when pups are young they tend to try to suck on wet food or water if offered?


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## rosebury12 (Aug 27, 2012)

thanks guys I totally agree with what you'r saying about the brachy breeds im experienced with bullies and know how easily they can inhale milk although i am always very conscious & careful of this fact so i really hope it hasn't happened. It just seems too much of a coincidence that 3-4 days after those people visiting they started coughing and particularly the one they handled a lot. This has happened over the bank hol weekend so the vet was closed until today, got an appointment at tea time to get them checked out incase it is anything worse & might ask for antiobiotics to be on the safe side and combat anything else developing before it has a chance. Poor babies. Mum is up to date with boosters & worming but has not had the kennel cough vaccine as we were advised that only dogs who are kept outside or put in boarding catch it, she will be getting the vaccine after this! We have never had or needed the bordetella injection before with any dogs. Pups were checked at 1 day old & 2 weeks old by bulldog specialist vet for the usual breathing, heart murmurs, cleft pallets etc & were all sound so i believe it must be a virus & nothing congenital. They are wormed up to date aswell. Fingers crosses the vet is going to say it's a straight forward cough with no complications. i'm just really annoyed that my pups have been put at risk and after all this i had to refuse them the puppy because they wanted to breed her & had no experience x


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## rosebury12 (Aug 27, 2012)

juliemule said:


> I never start pups on liquidy food, more just a soft mash, but no water or milk dripping from it. Pups eat well before they drink water. Notice when pups are young they tend to try to suck on wet food or water if offered?


I start them on the watered down food too, it is mushed up into a lumpless paste with water and added milk but its not runny in consistency for the same reason you said & they dont have water yet (apart from a small amount from a syringe). So i don't think it is that plus it is affecting the whole litter to different extents. They have been on the food for over a week now and are good at lapping i watch them very closely at feeding times, it sounds more of a throaty cough than chesty one and they don't seem in any pain when i rub their chests which can often indicate a problem in the lungs. I just hope it doesn't lead to pneumonia, they are not lethargic which is one of the tell tale signs of that so im hopeful.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

How soon before the coughing did you start the liquid food?


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

Yes it sounds more like a virus than them all aspirating. Why are you giving water by syringe?


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## rosebury12 (Aug 27, 2012)

i started to wean them about 5 days before the coughing began so they were having part food and part milk from mum, just the same way we have always done it & never had a coughing puppy until now. The water by syringe is just a small amount to help with the dry throat/tongue caused by the coughing. They are used to drinking from the syringe as the mother didn't have enough milk they have been supplemented with extra along the way & it's way too risky to bottle feed a bully pup as they suck too fast & inhale the milk cuasing pneumonia so we always use syringes to control the flow.


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## Boxer6891 (Dec 9, 2021)

rosebury12 said:


> Hello, we have a litter of english bulldog pups 5 weeks old today. For the last 3 days 1 of them has had a nasty cough it's sounds dry and irritated and there doesn't seem to be any phlegm in her mouth, throat or around her nose however her eyes look slightly more watery than usual. The other pups are coughing now & then but nowhere near as often as this one. We are extremely responsible breeders and have not had anyone in the house since before the pups were born to be super careful of viruses etc until tuesday this week when the first family of viewers came to look at the litter. They were asked to sanitise their hands and take their shoes off, however this is the puppy they handled the most and it has later transpired that the woman does dog boarding in her house. I'm now thinking kennel cough has been brought in on their cloths but am concerned that it might be more serious for a 5 week old pup than an adult dog and haven't been able to speak to my vet yet as its been bank holiday weekend. Does this sound like a simple case of kennel cough even tho the other pups are not as bad? I'm not sure if i should seperate her or if it’s pointless if the germs are airbourne and also how long would it usually last in a puppy this age? Other than waiting for it to go away is there anything i can do to help her ie. antibiotics ? i am already keeping the room vapourised. thanks any info appreciaed form anyone who's experienced this with young pups. We have never come accross it before as our dogs our kept in our nice warm home & kept clean and ventilated i'm gutted that someone has most likely brought it in and made them poorly xx
> 
> Also been giving a tiny amount of natural honey to try and soothe the throat


Hey. 
What was the outcome ? 
I think I'm in the same boat. 
I haven't had anyone in to see puppies and my 2 dogs havnt been in contact. But 1 and now possible more are coughing but mainly after eating or running around. Not whilst sleeping. Wondering if yours was kennel cough?


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

The original poster hasn't been back since they made this thread in 2012, so I'm closing it to further replies. Please feel free to start your own thread or join in any of our current discussions, though as it's against our rules to give medical advice, I do suggest you talk to a vet about your pups! Good luck!


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