CERF Exam for Chinese Cresteds

Hello everyone...thought I would spread some knowledge about eye diseases in dogs in case you all are interested.

Chinese Cresteds (as well as MANY other breeds of dogs) can carry or can be affected by a genetic eye condition called PRA or Progressive Retinal Atrophy. If dogs are affected, it can cause them to go blind at a young or old age, depending on the type of PRA. Often, it usually starts with the loss of night vision.

Chinese Cresteds that are being shown, and/or used for breeding should have a CERF exam prior to breeding or yearly. This will detect any "active" forms of PRA or other eye conditions that you'd want to avoid passing on to offspring. In addition, Optigen has come out with a test for prcd-PRA. This form of PRA, caused by the prcd gene, can be tested for by taking a blood sample or cheek swab from a dog. Dogs can be normal/clear, carriers, or affected individuals. Dogs that are carriers or affected must only be bred to clear individuals to avoid producing offspring that will develop PRA. Personally, I wouldn't breed an "affected" dog.

Litters can be normal by default if both parents test clear for prcd-PRA. Optigen will test a dog with a PRA diagnosis for free, just to gather research data! This is wonderful and will help develop further tests for additional types of PRA. If you know of or have a dog that has been diagnosed with this condition, consider sending a sample to Optigen to help research! The test for chinese cresteds is normally $195/dog--but worth every penny to a good reputable breeder.

Jude recently had her CERF exam and passed clear/normal--that means there is nothing funky about her eyes now when a veterinary opthamalogist looks at them. She will be tested for the genetic prcd-PRA in the next couple of months. Let's hope for a clear/normal result on that one too!