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Is buying a German Shepherd puppy from inbred parents risky?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Female

I am looking to adopt/purchase a GS from a litter that both parents are offspring from same Sire. Is this as risky as I believe? Lou Cannatti

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 17th, 2017

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!

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