I have a bitch from my fourth generation, Ch/CD, wonderful mother with all clearances who just this past weekend at age 4.5 has bilateral corneal dystrophy upon eye exam. I noticed the cloudiness a couple months ago as pinpoints and they have not changed and the vet thought they might never get larger but said it was a 'breeder option' in the CERF book but didn't know what OFA would do with it. Her oldest get are 18 months and she also has 5 month old puppies (she had no signs of corneal dystrophy prior to this week).
From what I can tell, heritability is unknown in the Labrador. I planned to breed her one last time in a year or so, assuming her get are healthy and continue to do well in conformation and performance venues.
Has anyone had corneal dystrophy pop up like this who would be willing to share your experience with heritability? None of the 7 littermates' owners report any cloudiness (I called them all over the last week). And the bitchs dam at age 10 had no signs last weekend either. Needless to say, I was surprised that she didn't clear, but I suppose things like this are the reason breeders check eyes each year.
I have a bitch and a dog half siblings with it, both are very mild,difficult to notice, they are also closely related on their sires,(foundation dam,their mother, didn't have it and she was 16 when she died her other offspring did not have it ) CERF was Breeder Option , they both did not show any signs until they were older about 7-8 years ,by then already being bred . They have not produced it themselves that I am aware of nor their get,etc. Based on how it has occured within those lines I'm working with and not another I think there is a heritable component to it,and yet combining similar pedigrees doesn't produce it when I've bred the dogs that have it so not especially helpful,coupled with the late onset unless there is yet another "genetic test" for it I don't see breeding it out.
I just bred one of the bitch's daughters to a dog that has it because that dog suited my girl the best ,if it comes up so be it, it doesn't affect their vision ,since OFA is just a listing site I don't think it's going to change anything, CERF is still going to give it a Breeder Option, what you have to decide is whether it is an issue for you.
Thanks, Lipids. That's what I was looking for. I would like to breed her to a line that I know a lot about and has no history known to the breeder (my mentor).
