I am getting mixed feelings from other breeders on this subject. Breeding a Opt A female to an Opt B male. Any problems or opinions on the subject?
Thanks

In theory you would get half Opt A and half Opt B, so no affected. I don't see a problem with it. The advantages of having the test results.

Not much of a difference than going A to a C.

this is the power of an accurate test.


the crazy part - i have a "c" bitch - 9 yrs old = eyes like a hawk. Go figure.

To answer your question its fine to breed an A to a B. Some pups will be A and some will be B.

"the crazy part - i have a "c" bitch - 9 yrs old = eyes like a hawk. Go figure."

Did you re-test her when the test improved? I know a former "C" who, thankfully, turned out to be an "A" after all in the same scenario. I think it should be free. I don't remember details, if Optigen automatically re-ran the test or if the owner had to request it. Turned out to be quite a foundation for her breeder, and a good thing, since she had grown pups when the first test came back. I advised the owner to just wait and see, as the test was new then, and what we were seeing in the relatives didn't necessarily mean PRA. She was that nice. Not that you would be breeding your girl now. . . On the other hand, some really late onsets I know don't start having vision problems until about 10 yrs old although ERG early on had kept them from being bred. Wish that "C" boy had frozen assets now, although he's been gone for years. Hindsight!

'Tis the whole point of the optigen test. So we can all use the "B" and "C" dogs with our "A" bitches.
If anyone breeding Labradors doesn't really understand this , I guess I wonder why they are giving you advice.

As someone who has bred an A bitch to a B stud dog (and been happy with the pups produced), the only problem is that you can wind up with limitations to your breeding program once you introduce the carrier status. If your pick bitch pup from your A/B litter winds up being a B, all stud dogs you choose for her must be A. This can be especially frustrating if you have a very small breeding program (like I do).Since I introduced the B gene into my breeding plan, none of my pick pups have been A's.

Right now I have one bitch pup that hasn't yet been tested and I have my fingers crossed that she's clear. I'd like the latitude to breed to some of the nice B boys out there that would compliment her pedigree-- but then I wonder if I should risk repeating the same pattern of breeding and keeping B's. It's a Catch 22 in some respects...

I want to repeat that I was very happy with what I got from my A/B breedings overall; the B gene, however, does add a new wrinkle. That said, there are lots of other "wrinkles" breeders must take into consideration when chosing a stud dog too. Optigen status is just one of many hurdles to jump in the process. It's never easy -- at least not for me!

Your CONUNDRUM is not that bad. At some point you needed to make a decision to choose an Optigen A stud dog for your bitch - now or later.

So what is the catch 22? it really is a pay me now or pay me later situation.