Answer

Hi XXXXXXXX,

What you are talking about is called inbreeding. Experienced breeders sometimes inbreed to fix an exceptional dog's breed traits in the subsequent puppies. However, while fixing desirable traits you also have a higher chance of having undesirable traits and health problems crop up as a result. This is due to having less of a genetic diversity and having a higher chance of getting a recessive gene for an undesirable trait from both the mom and the dad who were closely related.

If the sire's you refer to are champions, that is probably why it was done so they could "fix" his traits into the line. Breeding half brother and sisters is at least better than some that breed full brother and sister or father to daughter, etc.

Hopefully your breeder was responsible and has monitored the bloodline to try and cut down on any health problems or faults due to the close breeding pairs.

If they were responsible you may not have any more problems than might normally be expected.

I know that isn't a straight forward answer, but there really isn't one because it depends on the quality and health of the dogs being bred and the genes they might carry.

Hope it helped you though and if I can clarify it, let me know.

Expert:	Jane Lefler
Pos. Feedback:	99.7 %
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Answered:	11/2/2006

Breeder Behaviorist, See Qual.

Rottweiler Breeder 15+ years Dog trainer / behaviorist, Former Vol.Vet Asst.