Should you?

[puppydog]

Hi all, my friend has a male Labby that she shows. While he is a gorgeous dog with a lovely temprement and has done well in the shows (I do not show so I don't know the jargon) I do not think she should breed him. He has a severe wheat allergy that makes him itch and lose fur in localised patches.

She wants to breed once he is finnished. I completely disagree with that. Is that not a fault? Surely if a person is breeding they should choose 100% fit stock. Jason is a great dog who has a perfect hip score along with all his other health tests but this allergy makes her life and his a bit of a chore. He has to be watched all the time in case he gets into wheat and has to be rushed to the vet for shots to prevent such massive fur loss.

I was just wondering if it is indeed ethical to breed a dog with an allergy so severe?

 

[LizzieCollie]

I think a wheat free food would solve all of his problems. Does the dog intentionally eat wheat? I dont see how this could cause a problem, many dogs have food related allergies.

Kind of forces people to feed a good food

 

[Tinjz]

No, it is not ehicial at all. I don't get people that just has to have puppies on their dogs, no matter what. Doesn't your friend care about the future puppy buyers? Does she want them to have the same problem she has now?

 

[LizzieCollie]

No, it is not ehicial at all. I don't get people that just has to have puppies on their dogs, no matter what. Doesn't your friend care about the future puppy buyers? Does she want them to have the same problem she has now?

Honestly, allergies are sort of a gamble. You can breed two dogs without allergies and produce a pup that is allergic to everything under the sun. You can breed this stud and it does not mean that the pups will carry this allergy.

The owner of the stud would have to pick and choose the girls a bit more extensively but I think it shouldnt be such a huge deal.

"He has to be watched all the time in case he gets into wheat and has to be rushed to the vet for shots to prevent such massive fur loss."

I think thats a bit exaggerated. Does the dog have a mean obsession with wheat where he tries to eat anything that even slightly resembles wheat? Just a bit of grain free kibble and the problem is solved.

 

[Tinjz]

What is the point of gambling with allergies? It's not like there isn't enough Labradors breeding material

 

[puppydog]

Well lets see. You walk your dog in the park, he runs off a little ways and manages to gobble up a piece of bread. What then. It is a Lab, they are known to be food obsessed.

Allergies are heriditary, you should not breed a dog with any heriditary problems. That is my opinion.

 

[casablanca1]

Skin allergies suck. After lucking out with my first dog, I've had two dogs who both have rather nasty reactions to flea bites, and although it is now easy enough to prevent - just give them the anti-flea/tick medication on time each month - it is a pain and if they were owned by people who couldn't or wouldn't pay for the medication, their lives would be miserable.

I think the owner of a dog with a strong allergy should research the probability of their dog's allergy being passed on, then decide whether they should limit the breedings to minimize it or forgo breeding at all. I don't see that it's any different from a structural flaw that would prevent the dog from winning a breed championship - if the breeder's honest, he/she has to acknowledge that the allergy is the same as say, an improperly straight leg - it's a weakness that impedes the dog from working. The standards were set to maximize the ability of breeds to do specialized work (controversies about the AKC's honor aside) and a retriever who suddenly loses his coat isn't going to be much good hunting.

 

[puppydog]

I agree totally. As a person who has owned dogs with skin problems I know how horrible it is for dog and owner. I think it is a flaw and the dog should not be bred. To me it is no difference from say, having hip displaysia in the genes, while not as devistating to the animal is is also heriditary and should not be propogated.

 

[bubbatd]

Agree --- not breedable .

 

[squirtsmom]

Shouldn't b reed.

 

[stevinski]

No, it is not ehicial at all. I don't get people that just has to have puppies on their dogs, no matter what. Doesn't your friend care about the future puppy buyers? Does she want them to have the same problem she has now?

i really dont see a problem with it personally,

summers riot has many allergies if i remember

 

[showpug]

I think it depends. Dogs aren't really designed to eat wheat in the first place, so I don't find it strange that this dog is allergic.

Chances are, if he was fed a diet appropriate for a canine then he wouldn't have allergies at all. So, do you blame the dog or do you blame the fact that a lot of people don't feed their dogs what dogs should eat and therefor they get allergies.

In a way, it's like feeding Kibbles and Bits and then saying the dog isn't breeding material when they have an allergy to it. All the while, the dog could not have allergies at all on a better diet.

I personally would not breed a dog with severe environmental allergies. BUT, food allergies are different in my opinion. Not all dogs do well on certain ingredients.

 

[Delisay]

I think it depends. Dogs aren't really designed to eat wheat in the first place, so I don't find it strange that this dog is allergic.

I agree completely. This by itself is not a sign of an unfit dog. His immune system is reacting strongly to something that is harmful, so I'm inclined to view that as equally likely to be a good sign as a bad one. (There is an insane amount of gluten in modern wheat varieties - we shouldn't be eating it either, never mind our carnivores.)

Allergies are mostly environmentally and medically induced - by feeding inappropriate foods and over-vaccinating - and these things can be largely avoided. (However, there is good reason to believe that these things can actually damage the animal genetically as well, and therefore that can be passed on. It's complicated...)

I wouldn't be overly concerned about breeding from it, but I would certainly feed it better and be medically conservative, and get it fully back into shape several months before breeding.

Del.

 

[Bahamutt99]

I wouldn't breed a dog with severe allergies. Yes, you run the risk of getting allergies out of any breeding. But I don't think that is a good arguement in favor of breeding a dog with that kind of condition. That's kind of like saying you can breed to OFA Good dogs and get dysplasia, so why not breed the dysplastic dog and just take your chances? Of course, since Labs aren't my breed, I wouldn't know the chances of finding a completely healthy dog for breeding, but I'm sure there are some out there.

 

[Cassiepeia]

Hmmm....I don't see a problem with breeding the dog if it has a wheat allergy. Like others have said, you shouldn't really be feeding dogs food with grain in it anyway so as long as the dog is given a good premium diet (and the owners of pups are briefed on feeding a correct and healthy diet) there shouldn't be a big problem.
If it were something else triggering the allergy that would be different, but food is easily controlled.

Cass.

 

[Brattina88]

idk a "severe" allergy? I could see breeding a dog with a typical food allergy (mild, whu) but I don't think I'd risk it with a severe allergy. There are plenty of labs in shelters who don't have allergies anyway

 

[chinchow]

The allergy isn't stopping the dog from doing what it was bred to do, which obviously it was bred to be shown. If it's close to being finished, then it's proved itself to the person if that is in their standard for breeding material.

I have a dog with the same allergy to wheat you described. But no, he does not seek out wheat like a maddog, and he does not eat things he finds on the ground, because I don't leave food on the ground, and we don't go to dog parks, and he is always on a leash, not allowed to run off.

My male with allergies has been bred, and his offspring did not have any problems. It's not to say "this dog has allergies, his puppies will too". His parents did not have allergies, nor did his grandparents, or any of his littermates.
It is possible that this person's Labrador developed his allergy to wheat. It doesn't mean it was passed onto him, or that it can be passed onto puppies. If he just loses hair in spots, depending on the amount of wheat given to him when this happens, it's probably not a severe allergy. If he gets on a better food, and isn't allowed to run around eating whatever he finds, this won't be a problem.

 

[dogsarebetter]

i dont see a problem with it.

 

[RD]

Honestly, maybe I am too picky but I do see a problem with it.

This is a labrador we're talking about. If someone drops a bread crust on the floor, do they honestly believe that dog won't be on it in a split second? Oops, he ate something off the floor, time to go poke him with a dozen needles so his hair doesn't fall out!

I don't see this kind of severe allergy any differently than I see a joint problem or other heritable issue. They are a nuisance, potentially life-threatening or extremely painful if left untreated, and they make the care of the dog in question more difficult. It's not something that I personally would want to pass on in my lines, but that's just me. I would want to make sure the dogs I breed are squeaky clean as far as health goes.

It's possible that the dog developed this allergy, in which case I'm on the fence about it. What causes allergies to develop? Is it a weak or overzealous immune system? Surely there is an inconsistency somewhere that causes these problems.

I know very little about the heritability of allergies, but I would imagine genetics have something to do with it. Does anyone know if a study has been done regarding allergies in dogs, and how/if they are passed on or developed?

 

[Cassiepeia]

Surely if the dog is winning in the ring his allergy couldn't be affecting him too much?

Cass.