Zena Blog

After taking time to do lots of research and with the help of people who have years of experience and information based on FACTS , myself and Juliet Trent decided to go ahead with a breeding we had been thinking about for the last 2 years or more between

Articmoons Ali X Tay Marrs Bugaboo

All six progeny have been gonioscopied and all six have been tested clear .

There has been a debate over the last few years or so regarding eye testing especially the gonioscopy as it is a subjective discipline. There are sometimes discrepancies and it is these discrepancies that we feel need to be addressed. It is not the dogs who pass with a totally clear result with NO SIGNS of eye disease nor is it the dogs who fail with out any doubt on the results but it is the dogs who fail /pass or even pass then fail at a later date after all this a once in a lifetime test.  Yes , you can say opinions differ and the interpretation of and certification on gonioscopic findings is subjective.  Even opthamologist are human so how do you make this test more consistant ? Do you ask a panel to decide if there are disrepancies between opthamologist,s opinions ??

In the UK there is an Eye Panel appeals system which aims to give a fair hearing if results are in dispute but is this a fair way as Chief Panelist will already know the dog has failed.

If the dog then is passed under the appeal system what would this indicate in regards to the first opthamologist's  interpretation of the gonioscopy findings?. Maybe a panel of three opthamologist could look at the eyes, this way any interpretation of the gonioscopy test would have been looked at in greater detail and the panel would have to all agree that in their combined opinion the dog has failed or passed.

Another misconception is that all dogs who have failed will go on to develop glaucoma this is not true. A  link has been identified based on limited studies between between pre-dispostion and glaucoma incidences. But have studies been done on how pre-dispostion is carried , do dogs who have progeny or littermates that are affected (pre-disposed ) carry this disease, even though they have themselves been tested clear? How many dogs tested and diagnosed as affected actually go on to develop glaucoma?  Studies have shown there is a link within families,but how is it carried what is it linked to ,the questions are infinate.

Should borderline dogs be dismissed based on this one test, should all other qualities be ignored?

Glaucoma or anything related seems to be a taboo subject.Breeding ONLY clear dogs to other clear dogs does not guarantee the progeny will all be clear .Why is this ? Can the gene/genes for eye disease be carried by dogs that have been tested as clear ? There may never be any answers, but doing more research, looking at other ways of using eye testing as a guide and how to recorded the results could be an option. It may not be everyones option but at least people should be given the choice .

As with everything there are flaws in the present eye testing scheme, but eye testing is essential and is nessessary in order to give us some indication of what is happening within the breed.Stopping eye testing is not recommended and may even be detremental to the breed.But looking into the present eye testing system and putting together some kind of evaluation on the results already collected would be a move forward.