The importance of eye testing

[Phil]

Hi,

My first post. It's good to know there's a place for all my questions.

We're in the process of looking for a puppy. We're going to look at some tonight. When we asked the breeder over the phone about eye tests, they said that most small breeders don't bother with them and that there's no history of eye defects in the pedegree so its not a problem. Is this true?

Thanks for any help.

Phil                    

[stueymac]

Welcome to CockersOnline Phil.

I don't think that is the case Phil, currently it is recommended that ALL breeders annually eye test their breeding stock. I've pasted a link below to the Cocker Club's website for further info.
http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/health.htm

Regards
Stuart                    

[Jane S]

Stuart is absolutely correct Phil. Eye testing is voluntary at the moment & its true to say that many breeders do not bother with it, often out of ignorance or in the case of commercial breeders, because they could not care less. Many of the reputable breeders who do eye test are small, hobby breeders - it seems to be the case that the bigger the kennel, the less likely they are to test their stock so its certainly not right to say that small breeders don't eye test! No breeder can ever say for sure that there are no eye problems in their pedigrees/lines - this is at best over confidence on the part of the breeder. As it only costs around £25 to test a Cocker under the BVA/KC scheme, no breeder can argue that it is too expensive either :wink:                    

[Phil]

Thanks for the replies,

I'll confirm this tonight when we see the puppies, but I'll be wary.

This ia a very useful forum and one I suspect we'll be posting to alot.

Phil                    

[stueymac]

How did you get on at the Breeders Phil?                    

[Phil]

The people we saw were really nice people and had a genuine enthusiam for cocker spaniels. They knew the pedigree and sat down and explained it to us. The puppies "mum" was so friendly as well. However, they didn't do the eye test, mainly associating it with cataracts, and thought that alot of breeders only did it to charge more for puppies. We were so close to agreeing to one but went away to think about it. The eye test was a big doubt in our mind so we went to a vet to check. They recommended that the eye test should be done, so we've decided to leave it. A very hard decision, especially as the people were so nice. Still, the search goes on, (with alot of help from Jane). I guess its the wrong time of year though, understandably.                    

[Gilly]

I'm glad that your waiting although I'm sure these people were lovely, personally I think your doing the right thing....and don't worry you'll find your new puppy soon I'm sure  :wink:                    

[Magic Star]

Good luck in your new search Phil!!  Whilst I do believe in the screening tests, I would like to just point out that it doesn't necessarily mean that the pups of eye-tested parents are going to have trouble free eyes :?  Its is like everything there are always exceptions to the rule  

Although I am glad you are looking for parents that are both screened  You are obvioulsey doing your homework, which is a great thing!!  Educated decsions are the best policy   Indie came from a first time breeder who was guided by the owner of the sire, her dad was eye tested but her mum was not, as I was told that her mum is from the same line as her dad (something like that anyway) and it wasn't necessary, had I have looked into this properly I would have realised that it does matter :?  But I only asked the question to Jane after I had fallen head over heels with Indie and as I had promised Indie she was coming to live with me when she was old enough, there was no going back :wink:   It does worry me at times about the eye problems BUT I guess there are other problems that may run in lines that unfortunately cannot be tested for :?   Hope you can understand what I am trying to say in a wafflie kinda way :roll:

Let us know how you get on Phil

Emma and Indie                    

[Jane S]

:Whilst I do believe in the screening tests, I would like to just point out that it doesn't necessarily mean that the pups of eye-tested parents are going to have trouble free eyes :?  

No that's right Emma, dogs eye-tested clear can still be carriers of the disease but eye-testing does at least show the breeder has done their homework & has done what they can to breed Cockers without PRA. There is now a DNA test for PRA available in the US which does establish whether a Cocker is affected, a carrier or totally clear of the disease but unfortunately this test is quite expensive. We have DNA tested our Arran using this test so can say with 99% degree certainty that he is clear & will never produce puppies with PRA but the expense of the test will probably deter most other breeders in the UK from doing the same thing                    

[Phil]

Thanks chaps for the support.

We kind of had to do our homework as we're new to this cocker spaniel lark! We've had dogs before, I had a beagle when I was a kid, and my girlfriend's family have a corgi jack russell cross which is probably the nicest dog I know. But each breed is different so you've got to learn the quirks. I suspect just choosing a puppy is just the start of cocker spaniel quirks though!

Thanks again for your words of encouragement. Nice to know we've got a place to turn to.

I'll let you know how we get on.

Phil.