Dog has bordatella - please advise to save our piggies

Post Reply
bethinak

Post   » Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:05 am


Our corgi has come down with bordatella after being at the vet for xrays for a few hours last week. He seems fine so I wasnt' too worried until my friend shared that guinea pigs are susceptible and often die from bordatella.

The guinea pigs belong to my three year old (officially - they are all of ours of course) and he's already lost a beloved dog in his short life so we are really desperate not to lose our little girls as well.

What can we do to ensure they do not get bordatella? I have prevented the dogs from going near the cage and I have not taken the guinea pigs out to run in Bens room since the bordatella was diagnosed.

What else can I do? For how long do they need to be isolated?

Thanks in advance for any help. we are very worried.


User avatar
Bigmomma2

Post   » Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:22 am


Remember that bordatella is like tuberculosis! It's the wet coughs that spread it.Strict quarintine procedures on the dog and piggies! No contact!

bethinak

Post   » Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:51 pm


I wanted to update this thread after talking to TWO Veterinarians so not to panic other piggie owners who have dogs with kennel cough.

It is VERY unlikely (according to BOTH vets) that the kennel cough is infectious from dog to GP. Its possible but unlikely. It is wise to move the piggies where they can't be barked at or coughed on by the dogs just in case, but again, both vets stressed that cross species contamination from dog to GP would be a very uncommon event.

And while handwashing is generally a good practice before and after handling animals, its apparently touch is not a very good transport for airborne diseases -so "taking a shower" (as suggested by a poster in one of the above links) before interacting with the piggies is ridiculous.

So, for anyone looking for information about kennel cough - please dont' allow the prior posts on this to get you hysterical that your guinea pigs are all going to die because your dog got bordatella. Our guinea pigs, who were likely exposed for a couple of days before I realized what was wrong with the dog, ARE FINE.

User avatar
rshevin

Post   » Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:22 pm


Why'd you ask if you didn't want our advice anyway? Let me tell you this. It may be difficult to pass the disease from dog to guinea pigs, but if the guinea pigs contract bordatella they will most likely die. So I guess you can take your chances if you care that much.

User avatar
Jennicat

Post   » Tue Dec 30, 2008 7:05 pm


I have to agree with rshevin. My pig, Gizmo, came home from Petsmart with bordetella, and it was a harrowing experience to deal with and he had recurring infections for months afterwards. I believe we ended up running through 4 differing antibiotics over a period of 4-5 months to finally get him cleared up.

Even if it is "very difficult" to transmit, it's such a virulent, fast moving disease in guinea pigs, and they are so much more susceptible to respiratory issues that I wouldn't just shrug off any advice given to try and keep them separate.

Ounce of prevention, pound of cure, and all that.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Tue Dec 30, 2008 8:05 pm


Bethinak,

It is wonderful that your guinea pigs are doing well.

There have been members here that have experienced the devastating experience of losing one or more of their beloved guinea pigs from bordetella.

As others have mentioned, it is always wise to take every precaution that you can when dealing with any potentially deadly disease.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:41 pm


I've had more than one vet tell me essentially what your vet did; that direct transmission from dog to guinea pig was possible but unlikely ... with the additional information that, especially in a shelter environment where bordetella is endemic, regardless of cleanliness, that the disease can jump from dog to rabbit relatively easily -- and then very easily from rabbit to guinea pig. Shelters housing many different species in all-too-often too limited space see this more often than they would like.

Many of our members have rabbits, cats, chinchillas, rats and many other animals in addition to guinea pigs. Imagine the cross-contamination issues prevalent in distributors and brokers that ship mill-bred animals to pet stores.

Bordetella is too dangerous and fast-moving a disease to take chances with when dealing with small prey herbivores that hide illnesses. I'd rather be paranoid and take ridiculous, hysterical precautions than have a handful of dead guinea pigs in 36 hours or less.

Post Reply