mange and breeding

Question
Hi Jen- I have a 7 month old male boxer and he had mange (Demo) and is clear of it for the last two months after treatment. Should he e neutered or can he be bred? Thanks

Answer
It depends on the extent of the mange and how well he overcame it (which you won't know for a while yet).  If he had generalized mange - over a large area of the body - he should not be bred.  If the mange recurs, especially after his immune system has matured at about 12-14 months of age, he should not be bred.  These are signs of a compromised immune system, which can be passed on to his puppies.

If he only had localized mange - hair loss on a few small spots - and it doesn't come back, he could potentially be bred.  Unfortunately many vets tend to aggressively treat localized mange, rather than letting it self-resolve (as it usually does) - which would give a better indication of the dog's immune status.  If he wasn't treated aggressively, however, and the mange self-resolved, that's a good indicator that his immune system is functioning properly.

Of course there are numerous other considerations before deciding whether a dog should be bred; a quick article to get you started researching is here:
http://www.newcastleboxers.com/wannastud.shtml