Work with the Irish Setter breeders improved diagnostic
techniques and by the 1960s a new veterinary speciality in
ophthalmology had been established allowing the British Veterinary
Association [BVA] in association with The Kennel Club [KC] and the International Sheep Dog Society [ISDS] to introduce a testing scheme whereby a certificated veterinary ophthalmologist would examine the eyes of subjects from know susceptible breeds, reporting the results back to a specially instituted council representing the three sponsoring organisations in addition to the owner.

Currently the BVA/KC Eye Scheme tests for a total of eleven different known Eye abnormalities, divided into those present at birth (Congenital) and those which develop during the animal’s lifespan (Non-Congenital), these being:

The BVA/KC Eye Scheme is now open to all breeds with the results of Kennel Club registered individuals recorded with their registration details and published quarterly in the Breed Record Supplement. Since 2002 the Kennel Club has also recognised and published the results of animals registered by them but tested under either the Animal Health Trust’s [AHT] own eye screening scheme, or that controlled by the European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists [ECVO].

It is now known that many eye conditions affect the canine race, several closely related to similar conditions in our own species, and most are thought to be genetic in origin, although trauma or injury can cause problems to individual animals, and not all eye abnormalities directly impair sight.

It was during the 1940s that Irish Setter breeders first made the discovery that Night Blindness in their breed was an inherited condition, and they were fortunate in that it could be detected at an early age. With the encouragement of the Irish Setter Association’s secretary, Mr W. J. Rasbridge, who was also a member of The Kennel Club, breeders of the day instituted a programme of test mating in an effort to eradicating the condition. The almost total absence of Night Blindness or PRA in today’s Irish Setter is a lasting tribute to the dedication
of breeders who were prepared to put the breed’s
long term well being ahead of their own
short term material gain.

Test mating, the pairing of an affected with
an unaffected animal, is both costly and
heartbreaking in that whole litters,
which could contain a high proportion
of affected whelps and no genetically
clear offspring, had to be reared until
they reached an age where signs of
the condition could be detected. That
affected animals require culling, a
practice that would be frowned upon
today, and not all breeds, known to suffer
with this debilitating eye condition, show
clinical signs at a young age make such drastic
action inappropriate for the majority of breeders.

Collie Eye Anomaly

Multifocal Retinal Dysplasia

Total Retinal Dysplasia

Cataract

Persistent Hyper plastic Primary Vitreous

Persistant Pupillary Membrane

Goniodysgenesis

Generalised Progressive Retinal Atrophy

Central Progressive Retinal Atrophy

Hereditary Cataract

Primary Lens Luxation

Of the known hereditary eye conditions the Rough Collie is only thought to be susceptible to the three detailed on the Discover Collie Eyes page.

Good as these schemes undoubtedly are, and they have allowed breeders
to reduce the instance and severity of debilitating eye abnormalities, the
future must be in the early detection of those subjects who carry hidden
genes for these conditions, and scientific advances in DNA testing have,
for a number of years, been seen as the way forward. Progress in this
direction is however proving to be much slower than was originally
anticipated as the mutations which cause these eye abnormalities
tend to be breed specific therefore research has also to be breed
specific with each requiring a different DNA test before it is
possible to diagnose the genetic status of any animal.

Although slow, and at times deplorably slow for breeders who look
forward to a time when they will know with certainty the genetic make
up of their kennel, progress has been made. The Kennel Club currently
records the results of several breed specific genetic eye tests publishing
the results quarterly in its Breed Record Supplement.

DNA forms the bases of all living organisms — seen here is a large scale model of simple DNA