I have a lovely girl and she has passed all of her clearances.
Her Optigen test came back as a "C".
Would this be a reason to put her in a pet home?

Not in my book. Obviously if you breed her to a clear you would know all her puppies would be carriers but unaffected. We can breed around PRA - the test is there as a tool to be able to avoid affecteds in the future. Good luck with your girl - I would have no reason allowing you to use one of my PRA - clear boys with all other appropriate clearances.

Yes!
You would take one of your girls offspring and breed to another Optigen Clear dog,in that litter there will be some carriers and some clears on average, so you test the litter, keeping a clear that way if possible, or keep a carrier and continue to breed to only clears.

Maybe it's just me that it bothers. But why are breeders still using antiquated and inaccurate terms for PRA-prcd. Optigen is a company, not a genetic disease. Optigen provides at least three tests for Labrador retriever: PRA-prcd, RD/OSD, and Narcolepsy. Would it not be best to name the genetic disease tested for and like all other genetic diseases, and say clear, carrier, or affected? I imagine this is confusing for pet buyers, who if they did some homework, do hopefully understand what clear, carrier, and affected means and can Google genetic diseases. But what do they get when they google Optigen?- A laboratory.

But to the OP's question. If the bitch has other great qualities, being PRA affected can be bred around so not to produce any more affected dogs. So breed her to males tested clear for PRA. Just make absolutely sure the stud you use is clear, if clear by parentage, I'd want to see his parents test results.

I completely agree on the terms!

What is the average age of onset of blindness that is seen in affected dogs? I'm not sure I'd feel great about selling puppies out of a bitch that was actually having vision issues.

The ones that I have seen have started to lose sight at about 4-5 years of age.

The show of onset varies, but is typically later in life. I know of one that was 8 years old and had been bred many times already and had always had normal CERFs. At his re-CERF, at age 8 he was diagnosed with PRA and the vet told the owner not to breed him- he said he had already been bred multiple times. So glad there is now a genetic test.

Do you mean Optigen Affected or Optigen Carrier? They done away with Optigen A (Clear), Optigen B (Carrier) and Optigen C (Affected) many years ago. I know people still use the terms of A,B and C on their websites but the reports no longer read that way. It was the letter before the actually gene test was developed. They would use the A,B,C results on the marker test way back in the 1999's and early 2000's.

I have a nine year old. With PRA, take her every year to a canine Opthamologist. No problems at this point no night blindness, or peripheral problems.

My boy was 5 when we noticed his vision going. He was completely blind by 7 years old. His breeder was not as responsible as she might have been...and I wasn't educated, YET!!! :^(

Having purchased an affected girl years ago, I would not breed her. The eye Dr. said don't breed her. Do you really want a blind mother dog walking around ? Night blindness first, then completely blind by 6 yrs in our case. We part with alot of dogs to keep the best for breeding, why not try again with another female ? You talk about it like it is nothing. Live with a blind one for years. I would have thought with all the testing we would have been away from affectives by now.

All dogs are affected differently. 21 years ago my first bitch that I purchased was having issues with marking retrieves at night(yes I threw bumpers at midnight after work) starting at about 1 1/2 years old, but she never went completely blind. I still managed to finish her JH, a CD and continued to train for Senior with her,just not at night ;)
Another bitch that we bought as a puppy a few years later but never bred didn't have any vision changes until she was 11, we never noticed any problems with her eyesight and that included 2 moves to new homes during her lifetime. Neither bitch was bred as the first was while the testing was being developed,though I was asked to donate her to Dr Aguirre for his research,and the latter washed out for other reasons. If the test was available to me back with my first girl I would have loved to have bred her,but it wasn't,if the same situation presented itself to me today I would based on my bitch's limited degree of affected vision.

My girl is not affected she is only a
carrier and will never lose her sight.
According to up Optigen
if I breed her it should be only to clear males.
I would NOT think of breeding her if she was affected!!!

Go their FAQ page:
http://www.optigen.com/opt11_faq.taf?category=4#faq19

9. Does a result of "Carrier" or "Affected" mean that I can never breed my dog?
NO! OptiGen test results are meant to be used in a responsible breeding program. This does not mean that carrier or affected dogs should never be bred. It does mean that carrier and affected dogs with other desirable traits can be bred, but only to a certified, genetically “Normal/Clear" dog in order to prevent the genetic disease.

20. We were in the process of getting our dog's championship with the idea of future breeding. She has tested Affected. Do you recommend terminating this course of action?
We can't make specific recommendations about how people should handle their dogs. But health-wise and breeding-wise, there's absolutely no reason to change your plan. She may not be affected significantly with PRA before getting her championship, and she will bear that honor for life; And, she will never produce a PRA-affected pup if bred only to Normal dogs--but she could produce a champion.

and


24. How do you sum up the value of this test?
Many beautiful animals over the years developed prcd-PRA and were removed from breeding programs never to be bred again. Now these animals can be used without the fear of producing more blind dogs. The OptiGen prcd-PRA test allows breeders to present their "Carrier"s and "Affected"s with pride for all their other prize qualities.

So you are out breeding, do not know what Optigen terms means and come here for the okay to breed more. A WAS a clear B WAS a carrier the C you said was what your female was, would have been affected. So glad you feel better you wasted others time. and yes, I sound like the troll. But goodness, do some updated homework.

Would you do the same with an otherwise healthy affected bitch?