toy dog Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) further to the discussion we had on the 7pm project thread a week ago or more, which was very interesting, i have since been asking breeders if they've come across any eye problems in the breed. i said for myself in 26 years of owning, showing and breeding chis that i haven't come across eye problems in my own bloodlines also heart problems - i do get my dogs regularly checked for heart problems but have found none and i've also bred and shown other bloodlines along the way and i've never seen any eye problems there either and also heart as well, i've inherited quite a few dogs from other breeders when dogs have been 4-5-7 years old. one knowledgable person who has been with the breed for a very long time has said that they know of one case they have come across and its one too many as far as they are concerned. also has heard of some chihuahuas going blind in their older age and because it is not tested for in the breed we have no idea how wide spread the eye problem actually is in Australia. i agree with this breeder. they are right. im guessing its not wide spread enough to actually list it in a data base thats my personal opinion. just thought i'd update what i said earlier on for clarification. i am still questioning older more experienced breeders who have been with the breed 40,50 years to see what they have come across. one breeder has said that they are working on getting their stock tested for eyes anyway. Edited July 19, 2011 by toy dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) We have seen some with extra eyelashes, not sure about other problems. Will ask at work and get back to you. ETA: PRA is generally not a disease of 'old' dogs - it generally sets in at 4-6 years of age and they are blind well before they are old. Edited July 19, 2011 by Kirty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toy dog Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 yes i know, someone was saying they know of old dogs that have gone blind. but generally we are interested in blindness/eye problems etc. in younger dogs to be able to determine if it is a common ailment amongst our breed. do you work for a vet? i just wish that this study would take into account registered chihuahua populations rather than just the odd subjects that are picked up at vets and might not be a full chihuahua. why don't they do that? contact clubs like ours as there are people that are listening and watching what is going on with this LIDA database. they would get a more accurate picture. although ANKC are saying that they don't hold too much value in this LIDA database until such time that they start testing registered breeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 One of the problems for checking things that may be known as hereditary or suspected as hereditary is that most breeders do not have any info about their dogs & any problems once they have left them & gone to their new homes. Some, like those that are shown or those where the pups go to friends & family may know what the dog is like when it is older but this represents a really small minority considering how many pups are bred overall. Dogs going blind or getting fading sight when they are old is common but it is so hard to track the younger ones unless every breeder checks back for about 6 years & they won't. Info can only be obtained on the data given, which is variable in accuracy & source so often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toy dog Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 yes i agree, ANKC have said its going to take a long time, and they want to eventually log all info on the pedigrees or have a database, how long is that going to take the next 20 years? with us, we don't breed that often, i might have 2-3 sometimes 5 years inbetween litters sometimes and have sold dogs to people that i keep in contact with and see the dogs and also a high percentage we breed we keep ourselves until they die of old age. thats why i can say i've never seen much in the way of eye problems in our dogs. i keep tabs because of also patella luxation i want to know about my line, but some breeders are not interested at all in following the progress of dogs bred or even testing whole bloodlines. so ANKC will have their work cut out for them won't they Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I work at an animal eye specialist clinic. I asked the vets and they said we don't really see many Chi's and the only problems we generally see are extra eyelashes and dry eye. Neither of which are prolific. Hope that helps. Dogs that go blind in old age often just have age-related changes in their lenses, which is different to cataracts. They may also have some age-related iris or retinal degeneration. And this is not PRA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vetrg Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 To answer questions like this we would encourage yearly screening under the ACES (australian canine eye scheme), even in breeds with few eye issues. This allow trends to be monitored and emerging diseases to be identified. Some breed societies use the data generated well, others appear lacklustre in this area. ACES is due to go online soon to allow the data to be more easily used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 The data base lists hereditary diseases that have been reported, not diseases that are common. I find a dozen or more diseases listed for Labradors that neither I, nor any of the Lab breeders I know, have never heard of. The number of diseases listed for a breed may be a better indication of how common the breed is than how much of a genetic burden it carries, on average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toy dog Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 I work at an animal eye specialist clinic. I asked the vets and they said we don't really see many Chi's and the only problems we generally see are extra eyelashes and dry eye. Neither of which are prolific. Hope that helps. Dogs that go blind in old age often just have age-related changes in their lenses, which is different to cataracts. They may also have some age-related iris or retinal degeneration. And this is not PRA. yes that does help alot, with your permission i will copy this and send an email to a club person?? just to clear up a few issues with these other ppl i am talking to and make sure we are on the same page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toy dog Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 To answer questions like this we would encourage yearly screening under the ACES (australian canine eye scheme), even in breeds with few eye issues. This allow trends to be monitored and emerging diseases to be identified. Some breed societies use the data generated well, others appear lacklustre in this area. ACES is due to go online soon to allow the data to be more easily used. oh okay, that sounds good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vetrg Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 The data that I have seen from ACES gives the disease as a percentage of submissions so that should aim to give a prevalance. This may be skewed by who submits dogs for testing, as some breeders are very keen on testing while others are not, so some bloodlines may be over represented but this can only be overcome by a greater take up of the scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 If there is a DNA test for it then you should be able to see straight away if its there and make your decisions for the future. If in fact its not around much you should be able to clear them by parentage and not need to actually test them all but if it shows you know what you have and what you need to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 The data that I have seen from ACES gives the disease as a percentage of submissions so that should aim to give a prevalance. This may be skewed by who submits dogs for testing, as some breeders are very keen on testing while others are not, so some bloodlines may be over represented but this can only be overcome by a greater take up of the scheme. Not everyone wishes to be part of ACES we eye test & don't go through ACES,we have tested our dogs eyes for over 24 yrs & never had an issue. Infact most of the breeders i now who test & there are alot use the same specialist we do & it isn't through the ACES scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Not everyone wishes to be part of ACES we eye test & don't go through ACES,we have tested our dogs eyes for over 24 yrs & never had an issue. Infact most of the breeders i now who test & there are alot use the same specialist we do & it isn't through the ACES scheme Yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vetrg Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Not everyone wishes to be part of ACES we eye test & don't go through ACES,we have tested our dogs eyes for over 24 yrs & never had an issue. Infact most of the breeders i now who test & there are alot use the same specialist we do & it isn't through the ACES scheme Yep. Why don't they want to go via the ACES eye scheme? any testing is good but if the data is not in a nationally collated scheme with some guaranteed level of consistancy applied, then the benefit is limited to the tested dog, not the breed. Just interested in why you don't like the scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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