The Special Health Bulletin that just went out generated a flood of questions. Because these are great questions, I am going to share them and not make the names of the people who are asking the questions public.  

It would be wonderful if this group would begin talking about some of this in this forum so that we can work together and hear each other's answers...learn together.

In the mean time…

Q: Are cataracts a big problem in our ISD population?

Great question.

We don't know. People are just starting to come forward. We know of 8 positive identified carriers in the United States and of offspring from those being used. We can backtrack and find other carriers or potential carriers, but more people need to start testing puppies. It's not a perfect system, but testing pups and sending in the reports to CERF so that the information is public is the best tool we have at present.

The problem is that we don't know what we don't know. Because our population is so connected, a tiny piece of information, if shared, can help a lot of people. Conversely, a tiny piece of information hidden can hurt many.

We are doing a huge tracking project right now. It is a big puzzle, but very interesting and we are learning a great deal. Breeders are coming forward, sharing information and asking questions. We are in the first stages of this learning process.

I don't believe we have a big problem at this point. However, if we don't act now, we certainly may. Iceland is sharing information with us and the other countries are helping too (some), so I have a lot of hope.

Q: Will submitting my dog’s blood to CHIC tell us if s/he is a carrier?  If s/he is only to be used a few more times, is it a mute point?

A: No, it won’t tell us if s/he is a carrier. However, the blood you submit may be key to finding the test that would determine his or her carrier status in the future.

Q: If a puppy turns up with cataracts, what are my responsibilities as a breeder?

A: Everyone will handle this in a different way. That is up to you. I know of a breeder that was just told and has not offered any help. I know of one that paid for the surgery. So, each person handles it differently. I know of one breeder that offers a two year contract that says if the dog has a disease that is identified by a qualified vet, including cataracts and HD, that breeder will replace the puppy or return the price of the puppy. There is another breeder who asks for two concurring vet opinions before considering a refund. As you can see, there are many ways to handle that and you are the only one who can determine what is best for you and your situation. 

Q: How do I choose the best breeding match for my dog?

A: The chart that Peg Johnson added to the Health Bulletin [page 10] is a fantastic tool. It lists ideal breeding, safe breeding, high risk breeding and breeding not recommended categories.

Q: What can I do to decrease the spread of cataracts?

1. Really think hard about the CHIC Program. We can win this thing if everyone does their little part. We need blood from carriers, non-carriers and affected dogs stored in the CHIC Blood Repository before we can start the research.

2. CERF test Every Litter, Every Puppy, Every Time and report the results to CERF. Maggy Pease and Shellie Greyhavens are compiling an eye data base and we will make it public very soon. Breeders cannot make good decisions without information.

3. If your dog is an identified carrier or affected, share that with the BOD and allow us to include it in the eye database so the information can be made public.

Q: If I want to share the information, do I have to do it in the chat room?

No. But please allow us to add it quietly to the public eye database so that breeders and others can utilize that information for research.