Usually puppies are free of rabies virus because rabies virus cannot be transmitted from mother to fetus or through the placenta. However, if a puppy is bitten by a dog with rabies virus, it is likely to be infected with rabies virus, causing illness and death.

The mortality rate of puppies infected with rabies virus is 100%, and puppies can also infect humans after biting people. Therefore, it is recommended that owners vaccinate their dogs with rabies virus vaccine when they are 3 months old.

Because the rabies virus does not spread vertically, newborn puppies will never carry the virus. The incubation period of rabies in dogs is generally about 15 days, up to 6 months, so puppies can get rabies. The chance of rabies is very small, close to zero.