Yes. I have followed 4 puppies that I have bred (not from the same litter either), and all 4 of them had cellulitis(strangles) as a pup and severe allergies as adults. There is a relation between cellulitis and allergies based upon my experience and communication with other breeders.
On the other hand, I had a litter of 8 that had strangles, and NONE of them had any allergies as adults. Nor do any of their relatives. I think the allergies are totally unrelated to the strangles. But the allergies probably ARE inheritable.
Be wary of making irreversable decisions on anecdotal evidence.
I've had one girl with one litter in my years of breeding that had strangles and she is now almost 3 with no allergies so I don't think the two are related at all. I will be breeding her soon as I was told by a very good vet it is NOT heriditary.
Aloha,
Jackie
I do think there is a correlation and therefore genetic link between strangles and other immune related conditions. In my opinion when strangles hit an older puppy of 8 - 18 months they have a higher risk of developing immuno-suppressed conditions such as allergies. Of course it's not absolute meaning a puppy with strangles can go on to be a normal adult.
Just like any other heritable disorder it's important to keep in mind the whole picture and never throw the baby out with the bath water.
I had a young bitch and her brother come down with strangles at 7 weeks. The brother went on to have severe allergies and always would come down with odd infectious diseases and the really bad news is the bitch died before she was 2 due to a severe autoimmune response in her body.
I believe it is hereditary and not as benign as many believe.
Over the years I have had three cases of strangles. Two from litters I bred and one in a purchased puppy. This was easily treated with the right medications. I was able to track the dogs all their life, they were healthy and normal. I would agree that seeing this condition in an older puppy or adult would be concerning, but in very young puppies with the stress their immune systems are under, I would be much more conservative in linking strangles and inherited auto immune conditions. An immature immune system is just that, immature, it is more susceptible to all kinds of bacteria or viral infections, I think that is fairly normal. It is interesting, that my pups all got the infection after vaccinations. Could it be the vaccine or could it be I didn’t clean the site well enough. Like a previous poster said, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
