My first case of the year. Poodle, Male, 3 months.
Bought 7 days ago. Past 3 days, cough as if choked. Some
runny nose with clear discharge. Excellent appetite. Had
2 vaccinations. 1 free vaccination voucher from a vet
for 3rd vaccination and therefore I don't expect the
father to see me for the 3rd vaccination.
The father had phoned for check up and the time. He came
in the morning before 12 noon and I was on duty.
As regards toilet training, I was surprised that the
puppy was so intelligent as he would wait for treats by
peeing a little bit first. There was one other case of a
"manipulative" puppy reported to me during my over 600
case studies of house-breaking in puppies. One
particular puppy I remember well is that this puppy
would pick up all the toys and put them in a box when
retiring to sleep at night.
"How's the puppy toilet trained?" I asked. The puppy was
confined closely for grate training (plastic grate on
one half, on top of grated floor, according to the
father). He was very kind as to e-mail me 3 pictures of
the most handsome "Bichon" I have ever seen and I share
them with my readers. The Seller said it was a
poodle but I said it looked more like a Bichon.
Examination as follows:
1. General exam - mouth and throat palpation - coughed
2. Detailed exam - opened mouth, puppy resisted, shone
white torchlight - no tonsillitis, no ulcers
Auscultation of lungs - no lung sounds
"Overall, the puppy had kennel cough," I said. "It is
not serious and he will recover in 10 days' time
provided no exertion."
QUESTIONS ASKED
1. What causes kennel cough? A virus and bacteria
usually from other dogs inside the breeder's premises.
The breeders in Singapore do not vaccinate against
kennel cough and so the kennel cough germs persist in
the kennels. However they vaccinate the puppies against
parvovirus as they have had suffered heavy losses for
not doing it. So, most puppies sold in Singapore are
immune to parvoviral infections causing severe diarrhoea
and vomiting. And deaths."
2. "But the puppy had no cough when we brought her home
for the first 3 days," the daughter said. "Many breeders
gave the puppy cough mixtures and medication and so the
cough was suppressed for the first 3 days," I said. "If
the breeder said that the puppy for sale has coughing,
the owner will not buy him. So, it is difficult for him
to be honest. In your case, the puppy is 3 months old
and is stronger and so the kennel cough should not be a
big problem. Those puppies at 2 months old suffer more
as their immune system may be poorer. Some of them die
from pneumonia!"
"The breeder is also selling smaller puppies," the
father said. "Size may not be correlated with age," I
said.
3. "When should I send my puppy for the 3rd
vaccination?" the father had e-mailed me later.
This depends on how fast the puppy recovers. As a
guideline, 7-14 days after the puppy has stopped
coughing.
I was surprised to
meet a busy multinational company employee father and
his daughter in junior college and her cousin. Singapore
is too small for international corporations to survive
if they focus on Singapore for business. Previously,
Caucasian expats were employed for regional positions
but now are replaced by locals. Which means a lot of
travelling and less time for the family. However,
children need money if they study overseas and a
salaried employee working in Singapore mainly may not be
able to afford overseas education for their children. I
am always happy to see a busy father bringing the
daughter and puppy to see the vet as the Singapore
fathers are usually very busy and delegate the duty to
the mother!
TOA
PAYOH VETS
