My dog had puppies with her brother. Will they have health issues?

Thanks for the question. Interbreeding of a mother to an offspring does carry a high risk of genetic problems. It is possible that the pups will have problems, or that they will be born normal. Since she appears to be far along in her pregnancy, I wouldn't advise terminating the pregnancy at this point. I hope all goes well, and I recommend spaying/neutering, or keeping offspring separated once they are over 5 months of age to prevent future pregnancies.

I would not expect any health issues from this in-breeding. The crazy stuff in the movies would only be expected after many generations of in-breeding. However, if both parents have health issues, then the puppy may also develop those health issues much like a puppy born to unrelated parents with the same health issues.

Well it certainly sounds like Jazmyne is pregnant after mating with her brother. You are correct that inbreeding can lead to the expression of recessive genes and potential defects, but you won't know for sure until the puppies are born. You do have some options in this case. First off, I'd recommend taking her into the vet to confirm that she is pregnant. If she is, your options are to spay her now and terminate the pregnancy, or have her give birth to the puppies and spay her afterwards. I do recommend spaying her so that she doesn't get pregnant again accidentally. When you take her into the vet, they can discuss these options with you. Ultimately it's your choice whether or not to continue the pregnancy. I hope this helps.

Hi Lou! Yes, you are correct that there is a concern about getting a puppy from parents who are siblings, even half siblings. This increasing the risk of the dog having recessive genes expressed which can adversely affect their health. Siblings should never be bred to each other, and a responsible breeder would never allow that to happen. In my opinion, I would not get a puppy from this litter, and instead find a breeder who does not allow siblings to be bred to each other. Also make sure the breeder does health tests on the sire and dam to make sure that genetic diseases which are common in this breed of dog are not present, thus making the puppies as healthy as possible. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Normally this should not be a problem unless the parents have hereditary diseases. If they do, then these could be expressed in the puppies. But if both parents are healthy, then it is ok to get a puppy.

Yes, unfortunately a lot of people do not get their pets fixed and pets go into their heat cycles before you know it and accidents happen. Dogs do not know the concept so they mate regardless. It can lead to developmental problems and medical problems along with undesirable characteristics in a breed

Yes, it is possible for 2 dogs from the same litter to mate and have puppies. However, this is greatly discouraged because the pups have a strong likelihood of having one or multiple birth defects. I would strongly recommend against mating siblings. If they are both intact you may need to keep them separated while the female is in heat to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.