I am looking for a puppy and obviously want to make sure of its health.  The breed suffers from CEA and PRA.  If a litter has been tested would I get a certificate to say the pups eyes are unaffected  , or would it be the breeder had a certificate for me to view.  How do you know that a certain pup is unaffected if another pup in the litter is affected.  If two same colour same sex pups have different results, how can I be sure I am getting the unaffected one.  Sorry this sounds like I dont trust people, its not that its just that I want to know what to expect and what to look out for. 

Hi
    What breed of puppy are you talking about ? Surely the breeder of any puppy who tests would tell you the truth ?Some eye vets do test with out paper work others want all details of the litter Also if you are not sure if your puppy is clear then you could take the puppy to a eye vet yourselve With cea as long as it is mild we think its no big problem  clear is much  better Now with P R A thats an other story Good luck with your chosen breed are you showing it ?Paige

Hi Guest

When litters of pups are tested (prior to 12 weeks) the breeder gets one sheet listing them all, there is nothing put on the pups individual registration certificates (although these should be presented to the examiner).

I tend to put down their collar colours or if they are microchipped by testing time use their chip numbers on the form.  Some people just put male or female and their colour if it differs from others.

I would hope that if a pup is affected then the examiner would try to fond something that distinguishes it and put that on the form but I don't know.

I think a lot will depend upon how much you trust your breeder and you can always get the pup re-tested if you wish to be sure.

The litter testing is all recorded on one sheet. What I would watch for is the breeder who tests half the litter and not the other half. There is a well known breeder in a breed I know who does just that. She selects the most likely show potential pups and eye tests them. The rest she does not test, but always advises her buyers that she only breeds from tested stock therefore it would not be likely for any puppy to have an eye problem.
When you go to see the breeder, you could ask for a contract of sale for the puppy, in which the breeder must state whether or not your puppy has been tested and what the result is. The breeder I have mentioned above is the only one I know who does not use the testing scheme properly, but from many years of experience with breeders who test regularly I have found that they are an honest bunch who are really trying to do the best for their breeding stock and the puppies they are breeding.
A responsible and good breeder will show you a copy of the litter screening test certificate and may even have a photocopy you can keep. Eye testing a litter can be done as soon as the pups are big enough. In some breeds this might be as young as 5 weeks, and the eye tests for CEA can be done up to the age of 14 weeks, after which the dog is considered to be too old and can give a normal result although was slightly affected at a younger age. The reason is that the "holes" in the retina which is what CEA basically is can heal over as the dog grows, so the dog is termed a "go normal" in some breeds.
You could always tell the breeder you want to have the puppy checked out yourself, and take it to an eye testing session as soon as you get it. You would need to go to a specialist eye examiner, such as Prof. Peter Bedford for this examination. Specialists often do the examinations at sessions arranged by breeders and clubs, these are advertised in Dog World or Our Dogs news papers. I run three sessions each year in Haddenham Bucks and always advertise in the canine press. (Your Dog magazine got the date wrong this year, instead of printing the 17th they said it was the 14th of Feb!).

Sometimes when a breeder does not test a whole litter it is because some of them have gone to their new homes - this happened to me with my first tested litter (when I first found out I could test a litter and where) and to a friend recently with his so if only some of them are tested check on their age at date of testing.

Christine

What Christine says is very true about only testing half a litter, but the breeder I mentioned it was not the case, as a potential which failed an eye test was unless a particularly good specimen was then sold on breeding terms! How ever I still wonder why the whole litter was not kept by the breeder until testing could be completed. Or perhaps as happens at our sessions some breeders arrange with their buyers that they attend for the testing on the same day.

Hi Polly

In my area we generally get an examiner once a month (which can be four or five weekly) so it depends on when the pups are born and when the examiner is coming (and if they are having a holiday).  Some new owners are that concerned about testing that they would rather have an untested pup than wait another few weeks for a tested one :( :(

I know what you mean about some pup buyers wanting a pup immediately. Another type of buyer I have no sympathy for is the one who wants a pedigree cheaply. My friend had a beautifully bred litter of puppies, which she was holding back until they had their eyes tested. She had an enquiry from some people who wanted one "yesterday", so she invited them round and explained that her pups would go to their new homes as soon as they were tested. The buyers sat all through this and then asked her how much she was charging for the puppies. When she told them and explained that the price reflected the cost of having the parents examined and the puppies, they said how good this was etc.....
They left and she never heard from them again. I did however as they had gone to a breeder who did not test her stock at all. This other breeder told them, "Oh you needn't worry about any of the eye problems in the breed, as I have never had a puppy I bred affected". So they bought one from the other breeder. They told me they had bought this puppy because it was so much cheaper than my friends puppy. I saw them again as they had been sent by their vet to have the puppy eye tested and it failed badly!

What do the breaders do with the puppies that are tested positive for CEA and PRA. 

Most responsible breeders will explain to a potential buyer what any defect is and how it affects a puppy, so the buyer is fully aware of what they are getting. Many breeders will keep puppies born with a defect themselves as they would worry about how the puppy is cared for otherwise. Some problems like Progressive Retinal Atrophy, (PRA), do not show up in a dog until it is older, by which time it would be in it's new home. (For a list of eye conditions and which breeds are affected, look on the KC web site under health schemes). If a defect is so bad it may affect the quality of life of a dog then the breeder might take the decision to have the puppy pts. Many people own collies with Collie Eye Anomaly, (CEA), and never know, other than the breeder told them at the time of purchase. Most blind dogs do manage very well as dogs tend to rely very heavily on smell as a way of moving around their enviroment.