Hi, I had a wonderfully conformed akita bitch out of top bloodlines. When she was about 7 months old, i treated her for ticks with a product call taktic as well as a topical application called betecol and she shortly after stopped eating and lost her coat. She remained energetic and happy but it took months for her to start eating again i mean like 8 months, but she started again, and regained weight. At the time it was my belief that Betecol was responsible for her reaction so when i treated her again, i only used taktic. The same thing happened again. I later descovered that another bitch having the same father had the same reaction to the tactick. She is now approaching 2 years old and i am planning to have a complete health workup done on her to determine her if she has any genetic problems yet to manifest themselves. At the next season after her 2nd birthday i am thinking that i'd like to breed her. I am wondering if my vet tells me she has no genetic illnesses if i should still breed her inspite of the fact that she has failed to mature into the potential we saw in her.

Taktic is NOT labelled for use in dogs, and therefore could well of produced serious reactions in ANY dog that used it and is nothing to do with the dogs breeding.

I have found many references to reactions in mammals, I would think this more likely to be your dogs problem.  However if she were mine, would I breed from her?  probably not given what she has been through and the length of time it has taken her to recover, it seems most of her life she has been ill.

Good luck with her.
Dawn.

Taktic 5% is registered for use on dogs in some countries, but there are differences between a product licensed for dogs and those licensed for cattle etc.  These products it seems can cause SERIOUS side effects :(

Unfortunately many dogs who show promise at 7 months do not mature into good enough adults to breed.You do not know for certain that she would have been 'breeding material' even if she hadn't had the reation so ,no, IMO you should not breed from her
Archer

Hi Kenyatta

I also have an Akita and skin problems are quite common with this breed, there is a forum that deals in just akitas i will PM you with the addy there is a topic running at the moment about skin problems, i hope it is just a reaction to the taktic and not a real problem but on that note i use frontline which also kills ticks and have had no problems with reactions but pls have a look at this site before you decide to breed

This young bitch was treated with a product which affected her so badly that she stopped eating for 8 months and lost her coat, this has happened twice in her young life - maybe I'm reading this wrong but I would call this a real problem.  How real does it have to get?  

You don't know how the product has affected her internally, after all she was developing at the time.  Personally I'd forget about breeding this bitch - she's been through enough already.

Also do not some things that happen to the parent have an affect on future offsping.  I am thinking of purported effects on the children of people working in Nuclear fule plants, and those of Gulf War Veterans who were treated with cocktails of drugs against chemical warfare???

Apart from eveything else I don't think the bitch is up to the inevitable drains of pregnancy and motherhood after all she has been through.

I would go back to the drawing board and go back to ehr breeder for another good bitch pup.

Hi Dill

Let me through a bit more light on my post for ya, when I say real problems im talking auto immune problems which affect the Akita for life, im am assuming that  Kenyatta would of took the dog to the vets when she lost her coat and stopped eating and been checked for other problems that could arise from the reaction rather then Kenyatta just making a guess as to what's happened to her akita, but like I said am assuming and I should of asked first, also the akita is a fragile dog when it comes feelings and have been known to stop eating over the slightest thing i.e. Change in routine, upset, and doing what it wants to do, I went away for the day leaving mine with my mother it took me weeks to get him back on his eating routine, and again when my other dog passed away it took my over a year it doesn't take much to upset an akita and her loosing her coat would be a big deal for her, I have also sent a PM with an address of a akita welfare forum where they are top breeders and experts alike which could give more advice than I could ever dream to know

First let me say I do not have akitas, so wouldn't know any breed specific problems.

I have found that even within a breed, some dogs react badly to treatments which don't bother others. I used the frontline treatment which you squeeze onto the skin, and within 24 hours my dog was very sick and was throwing up and off colour. The vet couldn't find anything wrong. We never imagined it was the tick & flea treatment. When his next treatment came up we did the same again and again he was ill. After that I changed to a spray version of tick and flea treatment, and he was fine! My new youngster is from the same lines but has no side effects at all.

If as another poster has said TacTick is not for dogs then I would be wondering if this was the root of her problems. You say your bitch is 2 years, so perhaps if you don't use any flea or tick treatments such as TacTick she might recover then you could think about whether she is fit enough for a litter of puppies, in a years time. (In my breed 3 years is not unusual for a first litter, and many breeders will recommend it). That decision will be yours, as nobody would condone breeding from a sick dog.

Nettie if the Bitch is fragile (your word) enough to stop eating if she's upset at losing her coat then she is way too fragile to carry a litter and care for it.  The mating alone might prove too much for her, and the stress of pregnancy (hormonal upheaval) and littering then caring for the litter would not be in her best interests.  Sadly not all dogs and bitches are suitable for breeding - regardless of pedigree, conformation and Championship status and at the end of the day the welfare of the particular animal and any offspring must come before any ambitions of the breeder.

You obviously have doubts, or you would not have posted in the first place, so in my opinion, if you are not sure, dont do it. You would never forgive yourself if anything happened to your girl and/or her babies.