Herpes

[EnchantedToi]

It seems some people would rather spew slanderous innuendos rather than gain factual information. Sadly, there is an audience who may not go to the trouble of doing research themselves. So Thank you for taking the time to share the information you took the time to locate online.
It is so nice and refreshing to see that others take the time to research and learn facts about the issues at hand and help lay to rest the paranoia and vicious rumours being displayed by some.It only takes minutes to research and read and gain valuable health information that will help any breeding program stay on track to help eradicate ailments in the canine community. Yet, sadly only a few posts around the internet to try and ruin some ones reputation.

Thank you Fair Lacy

[AngelMia]

Thank you Michele, great post ! I've done my share of researching too for the past year. I was very ignorant on this topic but made sure I spoke to the right people that are knowledgeable on this topic.
Almost a year ago at a show the word got around that one of the dogs at the show had Herpes, not knowing much about it and worried about my own dogs I researched.
From vets, show breeders, judges and even Myra Savants. They all told me it is very common, not to worry, we would want our dogs exposed as early as possible especially a bitch before breeding. If we were to test our dogs we would be surprised on how many would show positive as it's so common with no signs other than maybe the sniffles. After they have been exposed to it they are no longer contagious, just like the common cold, flu, measles, chicken pox.
It's a shame that this breeder spayed her female, if only she would have done a little more research she would have had a peace of mind.

[TeahsPet]

I am so pleased to see how fear-mongering has turned into an informative post. Bravo to those who have posted this valuable information. This forum is a valuable educational tool.

[Pruett]

Great information MyFairLacy, I appreciate it.

No one is spewing slanderous innuendos E Toi. What is wrong with you? I ask a simple question.

The one female that we know about having the virus had a lot of problems. The litter before she was spayed, she lost the whole litter of 5. The litter previous to that one she lost 3 out of 4 and the one before that 2 out of 4 survive. She has not had a very good success rate and that is why she was spayed. Apparently she never built up any antibodies and I'm sure it has happened in other cases.

So it's better to go ahead and breed a bitch to a male that has herpes to strengthen her immune system? I just have a hard time thinking about losing puppies like that.

I had a bitch abort a litter a week early and one puppy survive. It took round the clock care to keep her alive and body temperature was a big problem. I ended up making an incubator and she came through just fine. Mom hated being in there, but she tolerated it for her baby.

[livingdustmops]

Originally Posted by Pruett

I'm trying to gather info on herpes. Has anyone had any problems with herpes in their lines? I know we had pretty much eradicated the problem here in the US.

We know of one documented case in the Biewers, and that dog was spayed when she found out about it. Now we hear that a dog name Cassanova that came from that household has herpes. Can this be passed around at dog shows?

I am very surprised you are just now doing your homework on this disease as canine herpes is in 40-80% kennels in Europe. In Germany it has been estimated to be about 36-40% and since you were one of the largest importer of Biewers here in the US from Germany, I would think you would have been fully informed about this disease.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by Pruett

Great information MyFairLacy, I appreciate it.

No one is spewing slanderous innuendos E Toi. What is wrong with you? I ask a simple question.

The one female that we know about having the virus had a lot of problems. The litter before she was spayed, she lost the whole litter of 5. The litter previous to that one she lost 3 out of 4 and the one before that 2 out of 4 survive. She has not had a very good success rate and that is why she was spayed. Apparently she never built up any antibodies and I'm sure it has happened in other cases.

So it's better to go ahead and breed a bitch to a male that has herpes to strengthen her immune system? I just have a hard time thinking about losing puppies like that.

I had a bitch abort a litter a week early and one puppy survive. It took round the clock care to keep her alive and body temperature was a big problem. I ended up making an incubator and she came through just fine. Mom hated being in there, but she tolerated it for her baby.

It's possible that there could have been more going on with this particular bitch and her puppies. It's hard to know. It is possible that stress during pregnancy caused the dormant virus to become active again or for her to become reinfected more easily. It seems like in most cases after losing a litter to herpes, a bitch has as much chance of having a normal litter as any other.

I probably wouldn't breed to a male that was showing active signs of infection on his genitals, but the infection should only last for so long and then he should be fine to breed again. As the articles said, most dogs have had herpes at some point. Most show no symptoms or respiratory symptoms but they were still infected just as much as a dog showing symptoms on their genitals. It's the same virus. I would just give him a little time for his immune system to clear the active virus.

[AngelMia]

Was she able to do a neocropsie on any of the pups?
The pups that didn't make it were they all stillborn but looked healthy or as the days went by they faded?
At what point did they find out she had Herpes?

[Tnyorkiemom]

I ended up making an incubator and she came through just fine. Mom hated being in there, but she tolerated it for her baby.

I am very curious as to how you made your incubator........could you pm me your instructions to construct one.....that would be a great thing to know how to make just in case.......

[TeahsPet]

A vet that doesn't know about Canine Herpes? Huh?

[TeahsPet]

WHAT TO DO WHEN ONE OF THE PUPPIES DIES SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH:

The necropsy (autopsy) is the only realistic means to finding out what happened. If you want to find out if the other litter members are at risk or if the mother dog can safely be bred again, the dead puppy should be examined.

Place the remains in a zip-loc plastic bag and refrigerate until you can notify your veterinarian. If the placenta is available, it should be included.

Expect the mother dog and remaining litter mates to be examined and the dead puppy to be necropsied.
There are many causes for the loss of a near term or newly born litter of puppies: coronavirus, parvovirus, toxoplasmosis, brucellosis, umbilical trauma, genetic disease, etc. Knowing what to do heavily depends on knowing what happened. Puppies that die from canine herpes have characteristic “inclusion bodies” in many tissues under the microscope. Inclusion bodies are essentially areas of heavy virus reproduction that are actually visible and unique in appearance. The presence of herpes inclusion bodies confirms the diagnosis.


Herpes is only a danger to the puppies when the mother is infected during pregnancy. Once the mother has been infected, subsequent pregnancies should be unaffected as she will have made enough antibodies to keep the virus in check.

[Pruett]

Originally Posted by TeahsPet

WHAT TO DO WHEN ONE OF THE PUPPIES DIES SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH:

The necropsy (autopsy) is the only realistic means to finding out what happened. If you want to find out if the other litter members are at risk or if the mother dog can safely be bred again, the dead puppy should be examined.

Place the remains in a zip-loc plastic bag and refrigerate until you can notify your veterinarian. If the placenta is available, it should be included.

Herpes is only a danger to the puppies when the mother is infected during pregnancy. Once the mother has been infected, subsequent pregnancies should be unaffected as she will have made enough antibodies to keep the virus in check.

This is great advice and I wish more people would follow it when they have a puppy die. A person could also get the info from their Vet on where they send the puppy for necropsy and if the situation ever arose, they could send it off themselves. Keep an insulated box around for emergencies.

Would the time of conception be consider getting infected during pregnancy?