One of my pups in my last litter had Strangles. I want to breed the same dog to the bitch's littersister. I had a long time breeder tell me that I was rolling the dice with this breeding since obviously there was an immune system problem with the first breeding. Looking for advice here. Would you or wouldn't you roll the dice?

A risk has to be really really really worth if for me to justify messing up a dogs life. When I do a riskier breeding I keep the whole litter until I am sure what the consequences to each puppy is.

This subject has so little scientific information that it's pretty much a matter of using common sense as best you can.

Strangles is a result of an immature immune system. It also happens to be in an immature animal (a puppy.) An immature immune system in an immature animal doesn't ring like a problem to me.

In addition, strangles is easily treated if you know what you are looking at.

So I wouldn't think twice about strangles in my breeding program. On the other hand, if any puppies showed any other signs of autoimmune disease in the couple of years before they might be bred, I would certainly not breed them at all.

One of my bitches first litters the pups had strangles. I kept one of the pups cause her face was so scared at the time..... Well I still have her!! She is a beautiful girl who is 4 now, never a health problem and you could never tell that she had that as a puppy. As for her mom she had had 4 litters now and only the first time the pups had strangles.

many autoimmune problems are the result of over vaccinating , steroids, antibiotics...etc....your 1st mom might have had a weak immune system due to something environmental...might not have anything to do with her sister's immune system.

I just had a puppy with strangles. The 2 vets and I had a long discussion about it. Both vets were of the opinion that it is a heritable condition. If you look at strangles, it primarily affects only a few breeds of dogs...one being the labrador retriever. In fact, one of the vets had only seen strangles in labrador pups. That, in itself, they said was enough evidence for them that it was a genetic condition even though in some litters only one pup has it.
In my case, one pup was affected and the only symptom it exhibited was blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids). However, the worry that more would come down with it or that the symptoms would become more severe was awful and I will not repeat the breeding. The dogs just did not match up well.

I can tell you my experience. I had a breeding with a strangles puppy. I had given the boosters at 7 weeks. After much discussion with my vet, research etc... I actually did the SAME breeding again. This time, I did not release the pups until after 8 weeks, and I gave the booster at 8 weeks. NO PROBLEM. The information is correct on having to do with the immune system, can be booster related, can be environmental, not much scientific data. I just found my experience interesting and I learned. Good Luck!!

Whether or not it's inheritable, if it's easily treated and causes no long term ill effects, I won't think twice about it.

Wow. 4 litters for a 4 year old. Do the math.

My strangles pup developed the symptoms before vaccinations.

"Wow. 4 litters for a 4 year old. Do the math"

Read posts carefully before making such remarks please. It lends to keeping the peace on this forum.

She is referring to the dam of her 4 year old.

"As for her mom she had had 4 litters now and only the first time the pups had strangles."

I have experienced strangles twice. Once in a puppy from a litter of 10, only one affected. Dam had 3 litters and only the one ever had a problem. Second case of strangles was in a bit** that was brought in to our rescue program pregnant. She was about 8 months old herself and emaciated. She whelped the day she arrived and one puppy out of 10 had strangles.
Both times we had not done vaccines yet.

I think the above poster meant that the puppy (who had strangles from the 1st litter) is 4 years old, not the bitch being bred.

Tari in the three litters that the dam had was the same sire used with each litter?

no but I had used the sire before on a unrelated girl and everything was okay.