I brought my stud dog in today to get CERF'd as it had been 15 months since the last one, and several people had expressed interest in using him. That last CERF exam showed anterior punctate cataracts. These were marked as "significance unknown" and the opthalmologist said he was not concerned about these, and that he would CERF, which he did, with option "E" applicable, that is, breeder option.
Today imagine my surprise when the ophthalmologist told me there were NO punctate cataracts, and that he was completely normal.
I asked in amazement, "What happened to the punctate cataracts?" and he replied, "They went away!"
"Will they come back?" He said, "They might."
When I asked what caused them originally, he said, "I don't know." And on to the next case....!
So, there we have it! If anybody has any more information on this, please share? I thought I would share the experience of not knowing anything but being happy my boy is normal!!

A co-owned bitch of mine CERFed clear at 8 weeks, 6 months, 18 months, and at 30 months the same ACVO that had seen her at every other exam said she had one punctate cataract in one eye. The co-owner freaked out, and alas, at 42 months... it was gone!!

Not sure what causes these pinprick opacities, but I'm not worried about it!

I have had the SAME experience.
AVCO said it can be caused by protein deposits????

Is a punctate cataract the same as triangulars?

I had it happen before also. He had punctates one year (his first CERF), and they were gone the next year. The vet suggested they could have been caused by an injury.

While my boys have yet to totally go away, they have gotten significantly smaller. To the point that they are about the size of the (.) period on the screen. My ACVO said he was not at all concerned about them.

My girl passed her CERF at 8 weeks, then at her 1 yr. CERF one p. catract showed up in one eye. At 18 months, both eyes normal, clean CERF.
I almost made a HUGE mistake and placed this girl. She is a repeat breeding of my multiple Specialty WB and overall I think better than her well-known sister (expect for her slight overbite so she can't be shown).
I would never rush and place a quality dog again because of this. However, this may explain why we may be seeing more punctate cataracts in our younger dogs. Stud dogs who, years ago would have been removed from a breeding program, now remain as they eventually clear CERF. Bitch owners only see the CERF never realizing that there is a prior history with punctate cataracts.
So are we doing our breed justice?

Punctate caterats are non heriditary