CERF is the Canine Eye Registration Foundation, located
at Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine, in West
Lafayette, Indiana. It was founded by a group of concerned
breeder/owners with the stated goal of "eliminating heritable
eye diseases in purebred dogs through registration, research, and education".
CERF cooperates with the American College of Veterinary
Opthamologists (ACVO), whose members examine dogs in an entierly
non-invasive manner, and accurately diagnose any heritable eye
disease. There is no minimum age for CERF registration, but the
certification number is only valid for a one year period after
examination, and the examination needs to be repeated annnually until
seven years of age for the certification number to remain valid.
In 1992, when well over 100,000 Rottweilers were registered in North
America by the Canadian and American Kennel Clubs, only 383
Rottweilers had their eyes examined and the results submitted to CERF
in regards to heritable eye disease. Of these 383 dogs, 115 or 30%,
showed evidence of one or more heritable eye diseases! Again, as in
hip dysplasia, these results are skewed toward normal, as these are
dogs owned by reputable, conscientious, concerned breeders who have
their dogs eyes examined. Imagine how many other Rottweilers are out
there that have a heritable eye disease and have never been examined,
either through breeder/owner ignorance, fear or just plain stupidity!
I, again, would hazard a guess that our breed's incidence of
heritable eye disease would be in the 40%-50% range.
WE WILL NEVER KNOW UNLESS WE HAVE OUR DOGS CHECKED!!!
The examining opthamologists that I have spoken with at local eye
clinics (Dr. Sue West and Dr. Melanie Williams, both
board certified veterinary opthamologists) have indicated that AT
LEAST one in every 3-4 Rottweilers that they routinely examine is
aflicted with some type of heritable eye disease. The most common
problem seen is retinal atrophy, degeneration or dysplasia. This can
sometimes be recognised as early as 2-3 months of age. It starts with
a degeneration at the top of the light sensitive nerve layer in the
back of the eye, and continues to spread downward, until after 4-6
years vision is lost almost completely. The second most common
problem is cataracts, or opacity of the lens. The normally clear lens
tissue becomes "cloudy" and vision is lost. The two major
lid deformities that are mentioned as disqualifications in our Breed
Standard are also seen with alarming regularity, those being
entropion (in-rolling eyelid) and ectropion (out-rolling eyelid).
Both of these conditions are painful for the affected dog and often
require surgical correction. I am often alarmed when I attend dogs
shows in my area, at the number of dogs (and Specials!) being shown,
that I, as a veterinarian, would classify as having a lid deformity.
Obviously, judges need to be better educated in order to recognize
these defects, because they cannot disqualify a dog for having a
condition they are not able to recognize.
It is very inexpensive to have your dog's eyes examined by a board
certified opthamologist, especailly if you take advantage of the eye
clinics organized by various clubs. My home club organizes an eye
clinic twice yearly and the cost is $25.00 per dog. I have each dog's
eyes checked at approximately 1 year of age, to determine whether
they qualify at this point as "keepers" or
"placers" (similar to OFA prelims). They are checked once
again prior to first breeding, usually between two and three years of
age, and thereafter are checked annually until 7 years of age. Any
and all affected dogs are removed from my gene pool, and decisions
are then made with the help of other knowledgable veterinarians who
specialize in these diseases, as to the fate of close relatives. My
first homebred champion bitch was diagnosed with juvenile cataracts
bilaterally at 2 years of age, just prior to a planned breeding. She
was immediately spayed and placed into a pet home. Unfortunately her
dam had already been rebred at this point. She whelped 10 puppies, 9
of which were spayed/neutered and placed into pet homes. I kept the
other bitch for myself, not knowing where the cataracts had come
from, since the dam had continued to CERF clear up until this time
(she was now 5 years old). However, upon finding out that a male from
the first litter also had cataracts, and a sister to the dam had
produced at least one dog with cataracts, I decided that genetically,
these problems were a little too close for comfort! The remaining
bitch, and the dam of these two litters were both spayed and retired
into pet homes (none of my relatives will even answer the phone when
I call...I'm always trying to find homes for less then perfect
dogs!!). That was my first five years in Rottweilers...LIVE AND LEARN!
Dr. Cathy Priddle, DVM
