Is it a good idea to breed dogs that are related? Like the dad with the daughter?

Question

I'm not asking because I want to do this but I know people who have and I was just curious to know if it was a good idea. Me personally, I don't think it is because it just seems wrong to me. I mean people shouldn't do it so why is it okay with animals. Isn't there a higher chance of the puppies coming out with problems? Some people say no.

I know dogs don't have the same moral values but I just don't agree with it at all. At least not with breeding the parents with their young.

AND NO I'M NOT RUNNING A PUPPY MILL!

Thanks for all of your answers. I agree with almost all of you.

Answer 1

Wow, people do did not read your question and details entirely and are assuming you are running a puppy mill. ughhh.

anway, yes it is never a good idea to interbreed...........

the people that say its ok, are puppy mills and are irresponsible period.

i am a victim of a puppy mill breeder who interbred.

Answer 2

I'd consider Sire-Daughter too close. That is considered inbreeding, which is different than line breeding.

Line breeding is acceptable when breeding dogs -- it is, after all, how breeds are developed and traits are concentrated. Line breeding involves breeding two dogs who are somehow related, although perhaps not closely (i.e. breeding a female to a male with a common grandsire, which might make only 1/4 of their pedigrees similar).

No, line breeding is not a "euphamism for inbreeding". Inbreeding is breeding close relatives, line breeding is breeding on a similar set of lines. And I have never seen evidence that line breeding produces smaller dogs -- unless the lines you're breeding back on are known for producing smaller dogs. That's something else entirely.

Yes, if you concentrate the genes too much (i.e. through inbreeding) there is a chance of passing on genetic problems, just as there is a chance of strengthening whatever trait you're looking for in the line. This is especially true if you have no idea what is in the pedigree behind these dogs.

Only experienced, knowledgeable breeders should attempt line breeding. Average Joe Backyard Breeder will inbreed out of convenience, and that is where the majority of the health problems come from.

Why is it okay with animals and not people? Because animals don't have the social hangups associated with breeding that humans do.

Answer 3

Inbreeding is what you are referring to when mating a father/daughter or mother/son. This should only be done by very experienced breeders who know the history of the dogs bloodlines. (lot's more to it but I won't get into it now) A great majority of the top show dogs in the country are a combination of line breeding and inbreeding. It is the foundation of success in any serious breeding program. Your chances of having deformed or defective puppies are less when inbreeding/line breeding (again, only if the history on bloodlines is well established) than by out crossing (meaning two totally unrelated dogs). The gene pool in out crossing is enormous and anything can happen. With inbreeding and line breeding the gene pool has been greatly reduced. I have done line and inbreeding with great success. In all the years I have been breeding I have only had two pups (from two different litters) that had deformities...these were from parents that were totally unrelated! You have a LOT to learn before undertaking the responsibility of breeding dogs. You are definitely not even remotely ready to begin breeding at this time, so please have your dog's neutered/spayed before you end up with a disaster.

Answer 4

It's a BAD idea.

You're quite right that it's bad for people and therefore no different with animals. The reason people are repulsed by human incest is a result of the remains of our natural instinct to avoid behaviours which are bad for our species survival. Interbreeding any species narrows the 'gene pool' to such an extent that the risk of congenital abnormalities is greatly increased.

The closer the relation between two breeding animals, the higher the chance of a problem - parent and offspring is bad, second only perhaps to siblings breeding.

Parents bred with offspring wouldn't necessarily give birth to obviously deformed young, but the offspring would likely have abnormalites that would become apparent within a few years, for instance organ failures. I've seen this before, and it's very sad.

All this is the reason no vaguely responsible and moral person would allow related individuals to breed from each other. It used to be a common practice - any individuals showing desirable characteristics would be mated, even if they happened to be father and daughter - unfortunately, along with the matching of those desirable characteristics comes the matching of UNdesirable characteristics - this is how we ended up with hip dysplasia in labradors, congestive heart failure in cavvies, anal furunculosis in GSDs... the list goes on.

There is a rumour that breeding father and daughter is OK - not true, basically. A rumour started and propagated by unscrupulous breeders.

Chalice

Answer 5

It is inbreeding which while the bad might not appear right away it can have very bad effects down the road. Inbred dogs have a higher percentage of health issues than normal ones and problems in certain breeds will definitely pop up faster. Those people are obviously not being responsible breeders and to me should not be breeding anything let alone dogs that may end up with a poor quality of life.

Answer 6

Sorry to disagree with other answers, but this is an accepted practise for some show animals. This is called a "line breed". Breeding of animals from the same bloodline/family tree. Usually sire to daughter/damn to son. Hardly ever siblings. Alot of "uncle to niece/nephew to aunt" breedings. I use these designations only as clarifying terms.
I don't personally agree with the practise as the animals involved must be totally free of genetic defects or it will reinforce the problems. What creature does not have a harmful genetic recessive.
I know of several breed champions that have come from line breeding.

Answer 7

The puppies get half of their genes from their father (sperm) and half from their mother (egg). If the father and mother are related, they already share some of the same genes, so there would be less variability in their offspring. This would be good when developing a dog breed, because you could select puppies with your desired traits (e.g., no tail) to establish a breeding colony. However, undesirable traits (e.g., hip displaysia) would also be more likely to be passed on to each generation, again because of the limited variability in the gene pool.

Answer 8

It is not a good idea at all to inter breed. No way, because the dogs turn out with problems. A very long time ago I had a German Sheperd that was interbred, and that dog was absolutely the worst dog I ever had, and finally got rid of him and gave him back to the owner. I would never deal with that again. Mixed breeds, purebreds, they are excellent dogs, but not one that has been interbred.

Answer 9

Hey girl! It's good to see ya back on here!

I'm with you. I don't think a daddy dog should be mating with his daughter...they are too closely related and although the puppies may be okay, there's still that higher chance of something going wrong....

That aside, like you said...it just doesn't seem right.

Answer 10

I always heard it was called "inbreeding". And that when you do that the dog can have mental and physical disabilities. Not a good idea at all. Puppy mills do this, they could care less about what quality of pup they produce they just want the money.

Answer 11

There is a recipe for line breeding to bring out specific characteristics. Line breeding tends to make dogs smaller so a lot of small dog breeders use this recipe for breeding. It is done over several generations to obtain specific traits.

It is not adviseable for the average joe to use this method cause of their ignorance of genetics. It is for the professional who know exactly what they are doing.