I am interested in using a superb specimen dog on my bitch this year, he hasn't been shown ever as there was a clause saying he couldn't be shown -something about his brother being shown at the same time & that this dog had been pick of litter so was sold to a member of the public as a pet but the breeder didn't put bans on him being used for breeding as they have used him themselves.
He is 5 years old & has only been eye tested once in his lifetime at 14 months old-now problem is should i use him on my bitch without a current clear eye certificate?
Would anyone else take this risk if the dog was siring winning puppies in the ring? & had never had any health problems in his life.
cheers
Jacki coles

What breed are you talking about here Jackie?

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Pam n the boys

The problem is Jackie, that several eye conditions can occur at any point in the life of the dog. A classic example is Hereditory Cataracts which can occur in some breeds at anything up to 8 or even 10 years old! This is the reason for the yearly test. Tests for Glaucoma is a once only test because you are testing to see the state of the drain which will not change throughout the life of the dog. (The test is not to see if the dog has glaucoma, only to see if the drain is such as to give a risk of it if you follow what I mean.)

Regards, John

Some tests are more specific to some breeds than others, I might have missed it but I didn't notice the breed type. As John has stated the eyes should be tested annually as various conditions can appear and in the case of retinal folds can disappear in a puppy only to become evident later. Depending on the breed other test should be carried out, hip score and kidney function etc., it may be worth contacting the breed club to see what their recommendations are, it may help,