Line Breeding – inherited problems

Line Breeding – inherited problems
I have a 2 year old male boxer and i am thinking of possibly breeding from him in the future. He has had the condition where there is excess skin and his eyelashes irritate his eye and he has had to have an operation to fix it. I was just wondering if this condition would be inherited and passed onto his puppies? I have looked at his five generation pedigree certificate and it is very clear that there has been many generations of line breeding, would this have been the possible cause?

Thank you
Megan

• This topic was modified 1 year, 11 months ago by  John.

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[ttaylor7Participant]

Entropion (where the eyerim turns in and the lashes rub the eye — which can blindness if not surgically corrected) is usually inherited. If you want to be a responsible breeder, you have to ask yourself if you want to produce puppies that have physical defects that require them to have surgery in order to have a normal life. An ethical breeder should breed only healthy, sound dogs.

Novice folks or people who just think it might be fun to produce puppies often forget the responsibility they are undertaking. They are going to produce animals that will live 8-15 years. When people buy dogs, they should pick ethical, experienced breeders who will talk to them about whether or not they might want to consider breeding in the future.

Laws are being passed that restrict dog breeding because so many people are abusing the rights they have; those rights (to breed a dog) come with responsibilities — just like the right to have a drink of alcohol when you are of age. You still have to be responsible — for your actions, to other people – and in this case to the animal you own and the ones you might produce.

Do not breed without a mentor. The person you buy your puppy from should be able to mentor you — if not, you have bought a dog from an unqualified breeder. Good breeders offer lifetime support for you and your dog — they are experienced and helpful. You pay for that service IMO when you buy your dog — these breeders will also NOT sell a dog to someone who appears irresponsible but who has the $$$.

Just my opinion after breeding Turkish native dog breeds for 20+ years.

[lizz1Participant]

I am looking to buy my first new puppy, is a golden retriever crossed with a Labrador going to be a good mix or will a lot of health problems from both breeds likely show in the puppy? Any advice will help me.

Thank you
Lizz

[dogsruleParticipant]

If you are considering getting a puppy, have you thought about the pound? They are microchipped and fixed and up to date on all their shots. Could be a good option for you since you aren’t too concerned about a specific breed.

One thing I will say is even if you buy a pure bred puppy, you have the same odds of getting health problems. The only precaution you can take is to make sure the parents of your potential puppy have been tested and cleared for breeding.

Good luck!

[ttaylor7Participant]

You are asking good questions. Unfortunately, a cross bred dog is a big question mark — he could have any traits from either breed. Breeds developed for a reason — most folks who want a dog want certain traits — humans tend to like predictability. Even people getting a “heinz 57” from a rescue group work hard to say what breed/s it PROBABLY is. That is futile — the genetics of a cross bred may not AT ALL be reflected in appearances. Nonetheless, there are books written on trying to ID mixed breed dogs backgrounds!!!

If you feel you can’t afford a dog from a reliable breeder and you get the crossbred pup, just remain open to all the possibilities. It could just be a great fun dog or one that has inherited problems that were not evident in either parent.

Good luck on your decision.

[BluebellParticipant]

Don’t breed a dog that had Entropion eye lashes fixed. You know that he had a problem which had to be fixed by surgery. It is inheirted. Sometimes it takes a couple eye surgries. It can easily cost $1000. Puppy buyers could sue you for the price of the surgery, if they figured out you knew your dog had that condition. Plus the owner of a male dog gets blamed for anything that would happen. If you went ahead & bred the dog anyway, make sure you notify the owner of the dam. The litter owner should have all eyes fixed on the pups prior to sale.

[Author]

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