Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA-prcd)
Potential health status of puppies from all combinations.
This not a full report on this inherited disease, but it is a starting point to help educate those new to the breed.
Basically PRA is a hereditary disease which kills off the pigment cells in the center of the retina. Both eyes are affected and initially the dog cannot perceive stationary objects. As the disease progresses, the dog will experience night blindness and will not want to go outside at night and will start bumping into fixed objects. After a year or two the condition progresses until there is a complete loss of vision. There are two types of PRA – early onset which starts a few weeks after birth and later onset which starts after the dogs first birthday. Cockers fall into the late onset group and symptoms may not develop until 5-7 years of age.
PRA refers to a broad group of inherited retinal diseases which result in the blindness of dogs. Dogs affected with the condition should not be used for breeding.
The late-onset form of the disease is now specifically called Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD) this is the type which effects Cockers Spaniels.
Progressive Retinal Degeneration is also commonly referred to as PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) in NZ and is a retinal diseases that cause blindness. Cocker spaniels, along with most other breeds, can have a slow progressive degeneration of the retinal tissue. This disease is inherited.
As the name PRA implies, it is a slowly progressive disease and the earliest signs may be overlooked. This disease is known to be passed from parents to offspring even though the parents may have normal eyes, because it is a recessive gene. Therefore, identification of breeding animals with PRA is essential to prevent spread of this condition. Cocker Spaniels are specifically affected by rod-cone degeneration and onset is usually between 4 to 7 years of age.
So how do you know if your puppy will go blind?
DNA testing (99.9% accurate) is now available and is becoming part of a good breeders program to test all breeding stock to ensure the disease is not passed on to the next generation. You owe it to your self to ensure that your new puppy or its parents have been tested for this and other commonly occurring health conditions known as concerns in cocker spaniels.
The results will indicate one of the following status's:
Clear - This dog does not carry the gene at all, it will not develop the disease and can be breed from
Carrier - This dog carres 1 half of the gene, and it will not develop the disease, it should be mated with a dog with a Clear status to prevent
the spread to future generations.
Affected - This dog will develop the disease and should not be breed from.
An Ophthalmologist eye examination does not determine whether a dog carries the genes for the disease or whether it will be affected later in life. It can only determine whether a dog is affected by the disease at the the time of the examination And to complicate this, sometimes there are little or no early changes. The eyes of these dogs may appear normal until they are in the later stages of the disease. Progressive retinal degeneration will progress at different rates in different breeds. This variation causes difficulty in determining just how long any particular dog will continue seeing.
My Comments: If you choose a breeder who uses this method of testing, it is wise to ask them about the grandparents and great grand parents of the puppy as well. And I would not be satisfied with a reposnse "that my dogs are fine" or "I've never had it in my lines" Take into consideration the date the last certificate was issued and the age the the dog when is was examined, due to the fact that it is now understood that cockers generally suffer from the late onset form of PRA. And were all the puppies, including those the breeder did not keep, tracked and followed up in later life ? otherwise how would they know ?
There are 2 Ophthalmologist in NZ and even they will tell you that DNA testing prior to mating is the most accurate and responsible thing to do, otherwise they are in effect like "the ambluance at the bottom of the cliff". I was quite shocked when talking to Ophthalmologist Craigh Irvine about the high numbers of dogs in NZ he see's and diagnosis with PRA along with many other eye conditions.
More about Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD)
In the retina, cells called rods are involved with black and white or night vision and cells called cones are involved with color or day vision. Progressive retinal degeneration may effect either the rods alone, the cones alone or both the rods and cones together.
The onset period is divided into three approximate age groups: early, middle, and late. The English Cocker falls into the late-onset group (4-7 years old). This late-onset form of the disease is now called Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD)
Progressive retinal degeneration is not a painful condition so your pet will not have a red eyes or increased blinking or squinting. This is one reason most of us would miss seeing the early stages of the condition. Some people do notice an abnormal shine coming from their pet's eyes. This abnormal shine is because the pupils are dilated and don't respond as quickly to light as pupils of normal dogs.
The earliest signs of PRA include dogs that bump into things or night vision difficulties that in most cases will progress to day blindness. In hind sight people often remember their pet seemed disoriented when going out to the yard at night and they had to leave a light on for them. Night blindness may be manifested by a pet that is afraid to go into a dark room. Occasionally these pets will get lost in their own home after the lights have been turned off.
There is no known treatment for PRA although a number of vitamin therapies have been suggested by various people and some claim that vision is improved. However, none of the vitamin treatments have been proven to be effective scientifically, and any medication should be discussed with your vet prior to treatment.
Reputable breeders are those that are making informed decisions, using the diagnostic tools available to them, in effort to reduce and eventually remove the risk of producing cocker spaniels with inherited diseases.
It's great that this page is very popular , as it means that more cocker lovers are becoming educated about this inheredited disease and therefore able to make informed decision when looking for a new family member. If you have been looking for a puppy
Basically PRA is a hereditary disease which kills off the pigment cells in the center of the retina. Both eyes are affected and initially the dog cannot perceive stationary objects. As the disease progresses, the dog will experience night blindness and will not want to go outside at night and will start bumping into fixed objects. After a year or two the condition progresses until there is a complete loss of vision. There are two types of PRA – early onset which starts a few weeks after birth and later onset which starts after the dogs first birthday. Cockers fall into the late onset group and symptoms may not develop until 5-7 years of age.
PRA refers to a broad group of inherited retinal diseases which result in the blindness of dogs. Dogs affected with the condition should not be used for breeding.
The late-onset form of the disease is now specifically called Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD) this is the type which effects Cockers Spaniels.
Progressive Retinal Degeneration is also commonly referred to as PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) in NZ and is a retinal diseases that cause blindness. Cocker spaniels, along with most other breeds, can have a slow progressive degeneration of the retinal tissue. This disease is inherited.
As the name PRA implies, it is a slowly progressive disease and the earliest signs may be overlooked. This disease is known to be passed from parents to offspring even though the parents may have normal eyes, because it is a recessive gene. Therefore, identification of breeding animals with PRA is essential to prevent spread of this condition. Cocker Spaniels are specifically affected by rod-cone degeneration and onset is usually between 4 to 7 years of age.
So how do you know if your puppy will go blind?
DNA testing (99.9% accurate) is now available and is becoming part of a good breeders program to test all breeding stock to ensure the disease is not passed on to the next generation. You owe it to your self to ensure that your new puppy or its parents have been tested for this and other commonly occurring health conditions known as concerns in cocker spaniels.
The results will indicate one of the following status's:
Clear - This dog does not carry the gene at all, it will not develop the disease and can be breed from
Carrier - This dog carres 1 half of the gene, and it will not develop the disease, it should be mated with a dog with a Clear status to prevent
the spread to future generations.
Affected - This dog will develop the disease and should not be breed from.
An Ophthalmologist eye examination does not determine whether a dog carries the genes for the disease or whether it will be affected later in life. It can only determine whether a dog is affected by the disease at the the time of the examination And to complicate this, sometimes there are little or no early changes. The eyes of these dogs may appear normal until they are in the later stages of the disease. Progressive retinal degeneration will progress at different rates in different breeds. This variation causes difficulty in determining just how long any particular dog will continue seeing.
My Comments: If you choose a breeder who uses this method of testing, it is wise to ask them about the grandparents and great grand parents of the puppy as well. And I would not be satisfied with a reposnse "that my dogs are fine" or "I've never had it in my lines" Take into consideration the date the last certificate was issued and the age the the dog when is was examined, due to the fact that it is now understood that cockers generally suffer from the late onset form of PRA. And were all the puppies, including those the breeder did not keep, tracked and followed up in later life ? otherwise how would they know ?
There are 2 Ophthalmologist in NZ and even they will tell you that DNA testing prior to mating is the most accurate and responsible thing to do, otherwise they are in effect like "the ambluance at the bottom of the cliff". I was quite shocked when talking to Ophthalmologist Craigh Irvine about the high numbers of dogs in NZ he see's and diagnosis with PRA along with many other eye conditions.
More about Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD)
In the retina, cells called rods are involved with black and white or night vision and cells called cones are involved with color or day vision. Progressive retinal degeneration may effect either the rods alone, the cones alone or both the rods and cones together.
The onset period is divided into three approximate age groups: early, middle, and late. The English Cocker falls into the late-onset group (4-7 years old). This late-onset form of the disease is now called Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD)
Progressive retinal degeneration is not a painful condition so your pet will not have a red eyes or increased blinking or squinting. This is one reason most of us would miss seeing the early stages of the condition. Some people do notice an abnormal shine coming from their pet's eyes. This abnormal shine is because the pupils are dilated and don't respond as quickly to light as pupils of normal dogs.
The earliest signs of PRA include dogs that bump into things or night vision difficulties that in most cases will progress to day blindness. In hind sight people often remember their pet seemed disoriented when going out to the yard at night and they had to leave a light on for them. Night blindness may be manifested by a pet that is afraid to go into a dark room. Occasionally these pets will get lost in their own home after the lights have been turned off.
There is no known treatment for PRA although a number of vitamin therapies have been suggested by various people and some claim that vision is improved. However, none of the vitamin treatments have been proven to be effective scientifically, and any medication should be discussed with your vet prior to treatment.
Reputable breeders are those that are making informed decisions, using the diagnostic tools available to them, in effort to reduce and eventually remove the risk of producing cocker spaniels with inherited diseases.
It's great that this page is very popular , as it means that more cocker lovers are becoming educated about this inheredited disease and therefore able to make informed decision when looking for a new family member. If you have been looking for a puppy
