Does anyone know of any group eye testing session please, I have been told its £65 at an eye surgery for one dog, we used to pay £21 at group sessions, mine need up dating 4 of them, if anyone knows of anywhere please let me or the group know. I don't have the dog papers, I understand it can be advertised in there. many thanks

It's £35 at group sessions now but there doesn't seem to be any around these areas at the moment, I had to get mine done at LKA this weekend because of it. (At LKA they said price at vets is £72.) There is a Facebook group for dates etc but there is absolutely nothing listed for January or February for these areas. You can also look at the BVA page: http://www.bva.co.uk/Canine-Health-Schemes/Eye-scheme/ but they don't have any group sessions listed beyond December yet and those left for this month are all down south.

They had them at LKA over the weekend and will be at Manchester championship show in January if your entering.  £38 I beleive.

good grief, makes me wish I had gone to the poole test I used to use in nov past. we had pups so it would of been out of the question. Why do the vets think they can charge so much, it take all of two mins to do, a bit of paper work, no wonder so many rogue breeders do not do the testing now. I must say I am appalled at how much vets in the north charge, why do they think there work is any better than the south, and they are all nearly groups, and the waiting rooms need major makeovers too. Talk about rundown. if that is their shop window, one wonders at the quality of workmanship. Wait for the can to open

Why do the vets think they can charge so much, it take all of two mins to do, a bit of paper work,

It isn't the individual vets, it is the BVA charges. A single dog examined is £52 to the BVA so if they charge £72 all they add is a consultation fee really -without it they would not make a penny. To get the group session charges there must be at least 25 dogs examined at the same time.

Actually I thought they are only supposed to charge the set charge, at least I have never been charged more when I have gone to a BVA panellist for an individual test

Vets can charge a consult fee and for the plates when they x-ray for hip- and elbow-scoring, with the BVA fee separate. I'd assume they could do the same for their time when doing eye tests.

I've never done eye testing other than at group sessions, but it seems entirely fair to me to add £20 on top for the vet's time etc. You are seeing a specialist, after all.

Never been charged more than the normal fee by Dr Burden at Chppenham

Well I am surprised, it cost me £19 a dog in nov 2013 at a group testing,in dorset, so how can the fee to the panel get paid from that

There is a scale of fees, depending on numbe4rs currently is:

Description

                                                                               Cost ex VAT per dog     Cost inc VAT

Routine eye examination 

1st dog                                                                            £43.33                    £52
Extra dogs in same ownership                                        £38.33                    £46
Group testing (25 or more)                                             £30                         £36
Examination of dogs over 8 years                                   £25.83                   £31
Gonioscopy per dog - no discount for more than one     £43.33                   £52
Gonioscopy at time of routine examination                      £38.33                  £46
Litter screening (5 to 12 weeks) 
1 to 3 puppies                                                                   £25.83                  £31 per litter
Per puppy for litters with more than 3 puppies                  £8.75                    £10.50 per puppy
Duplicate copy of certificate                                               £25.83                 £31

Thank you for this info, I just went to check my cheque stub, It was at the poole group testing with
Mr I Mason I last went in 2013

Can I just check something in terms of eye testing...

I know with hip/elbow scoring, people 'in the know' go to great lengths to see a vet who is experienced in taking the x-rays and positioning the dog - and I've always taken mine to Marilyn in Southampton or Portsmouth (can't remember!).

I now have a breed which also needs BVA eye testing, and this side of things is new to me:  Does it matter who you get to do it, as long as they are on the BVA panel?  Are there some vets it is better to travel distances to see (like hip scoring), or is it fine just to see whoever is closest and most convenient?

Thanks

With hip scoring the vets ability to get a good x-ray to score, is the issue, which then goes to the panellists for scoring.

With eye testing your already seeing the panellist, no middle man.

So unless you find one vet more personable, seems t deal with the dogs better etc, take your pick on what is convenient.

The ones who happily do bulk sessions obviously are pretty good at handling dogs.

Gonioscopy per dog - no discount for more than one     £43.33                   £52

Ye Gods - much as it was some years ago now, small wonder a certain well-known eye specialise was on the phone to me re a litter I had after there was a huge scare going on with another litter, both sired by a visiting American Champion.   At the time I said 'hang on, I'm by no means ready to get this done'.   He backed right off and I never heard from him again.  I kept 2 of the 4 survivors of that litter (C.Section disaster - on the part of the vet, we sued) who were fully sighted to the end of their days, and as far as I know, the two I sold, who later went overseas, were the same as were their offspring.    Turned out that the 'fault' could be found coming through the dam's line with the other litter!!   The sire, who had gone back to the States, was tested and found to be unaffected.   Not that this test isn't a certainty for glaucoma.  It just suggests there is a 'predisposition' there.   There have been a lot of failures who have now been lost to the breed, and I know of many who have gone to their grave fully sighted.

I can't help suggesting 'a nice little earner', much as anything to prevent glaucoma has to be welcomed but again, I'd test if I saw some indication I had a problem going on, which at the time I had that litter on the ground, was NOT the case.   And same goes for successive generations.

I can't help suggesting 'a nice little earner'

But again you are paying the BVA, not the vet.

Your paying the vet actually I don't know how much of that the Vet pays the BVA as I assume he pays for the pad of certificates and the cost of their production and recording the results on database, as it is the vet who makes the judgement, unlike with hips where it is the panel in session doing it so the fee goes to BVA to pay them to sit.