Cotrimoxazole

Hi Doc
I have this female labrador, I had her for stud service and 2 days after she got diarrhea and my brother  took her to the vet. The vet prescribed cotrimoxazole and my brother told the vet the possibility of pregnancy and the vet replied that it was ok, and continued the 7 day therapy. My brother told me about this, and Im a medical student and I know that sulfonamides ( cotrimoxazole) is contraindicated for pregnancy and Im worried about my dog and the pups, if my dog is pregnant. can I give her folic acid, to at least help? thanks doc!

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Co-trimoxazole is a category C drug and is contraindicated in pregnancy.   It does not mean that it will definitely cause birth defects; your dog could have normal puppies if luck holds.  Categories A and  B drugs are safe in pregnancy, and Category C is just the next category up.  The truly dangerous categories for pregnancy are categories D and X.

A single mating session does not guarantee mating,  so pregnancy is just a possibility at this time.  You can give your dog human prenatal vitamins and an extra dose of extra folic acid daily for the entire pregnancy.  Your dog is large enough to use a 1/2 to 1 dose of human prenatal vitamins once per day (if the dose is twice per day for a human).

I wish your dog and the puppies good luck!