Would allergies stop you breeding from the dog?

[2nd Chance]

My DDB seems to be allergic to grains.
Having joined this forum, it seems a LOT of DDB are also.

I am NOT a breeder, and would never breed any of my dogs. (disclaimer)
But i wonder, would these allergies stop folks breeding from them.

It is a issue. Manageable sure, but expensively so. Were i to of paid a large sum for him, i would not want to purchase a pup with allergies in the parents.

 

[cinnamon roll]

Most mastiffs are known to have allergies to chicken and grains.

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

I'm not so sure it has anything to do with parentage or breeding of a certain pair as much as it is a common denominator of the mastiff as a whole. I wouldn't consider it a negative or fault of say the Akita if they couldn't commonly eat beef. And if this was a common trait throughout the Spitz breeds should it be a good enough reason to not breed Akita s or other Spitz breeds? Of course not.

 

[Smokeycat]

I think it would depend on the severity of the allergy. I probably wouldn't use a dog that had a serious skin reaction but might use one that gets diarrhea. IMO if the entire body has a reaction it is far worse than if it remains in the digestive tract. I have no idea of the genetics but I wouldn't feel right since the possibility of the puppies having a systemic reaction could be higher if a parent has one.

 

[angelbears]

No, no, no!!!

 

[fdchampion]

I did not know this...I had both of my babies on Diamond brand chicken and rice until my vet told me Titan had allergies and to switch him to grain free so i started him on Science Diet Grain Free and he seems to be doing better. I have occasionally fed them boiled chicken strips but had no idea he could be allergic to chicken!! I've had to take him to the vet numerous times because of his eye issues. The vet said he has entropion but no where near bad enough to do surgery and if he did the surgery it could cause it to get worse. it seems like every few months i'm taking him back for his eye problems. He scratches so much it make it bleed around the outside. They both stay outside most of the day when i have to work. Any advice on what else could be causing this to keep coming back? any certain plants or maybe just dirt and dust? Vet bills are getting expensive...last visit was 198.00...antibiotics and such.

Most mastiffs are known to have allergies to chicken and grains.

 

[DennasMom]

fdchampion - check out the nutrition forum here for some recommendations on dog foods for mastiffs. You can also check dogfoodadvisor.com for some information on different ingredients. Most Science Diet foods don't get very high ratings due to lots of fillers. It could also still have chicken products in it (chicken fat is often used as a preservative), which, depending on the severity of allergy, could be enough to cause a reaction.

AB... so you WOULD breed a champion winning dog, even if they did have severe allergies? (no, you wouldn't let it stop you?)

Looking at the growing number of allergy issues in the world across all species, I think it's more than just genetics at work... so if the allergies were manageable, I wouldn't think much of it... but if I had a choice of a puppy from parents without allergies, I'd pay extra for for the possibility of avoiding a genetic predisposition (if one exists).

 

[Smokeycat]

No, no, no!!!

So what your saying is that you would breed an animal with allergies.
OR is that an emphatic don't of it?

 

[fdchampion]

Ok thank you I will do that...I just wish there was an easier way to pin point exactly what was causing his reactions. I hate to see his little face bleeding from scratching so much!!

fdchampion - check out the nutrition forum here for some recommendations on dog foods for mastiffs. You can also check dogfoodadvisor.com for some information on different ingredients. Most Science Diet foods don't get very high ratings due to lots of fillers. It could also still have chicken products in it (chicken fat is often used as a preservative), which, depending on the severity of allergy, could be enough to cause a reaction.

AB... so you WOULD breed a champion winning dog, even if they did have severe allergies? (no, you wouldn't let it stop you?)

Looking at the growing number of allergy issues in the world across all species, I think it's more than just genetics at work... so if the allergies were manageable, I wouldn't think much of it... but if I had a choice of a puppy from parents without allergies, I'd pay extra for for the possibility of avoiding a genetic predisposition (if one exists).

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Ideally no for obvious reasons but genetics can be tricky with weird outcomes. Environmental allergies,food,etc. If a dog is scratching himself raw that would be an absolute no IMO.

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Agree that you have to consider all points before deciding.

 

[ruthcatrin]

THere's a ton of factors involved....but:

If the "allergy" is that he has softer than ideal poop when he eats grains then I'd not consider it a problem

If the "allergy" is that he breaks out into a rash, or even gets swollen, then absolutely positively NO! no matter how otherwise steller the dog was.