New Announcement from the AHT concerning PRA in the Irish Setter

[Gillian Kennedy-Sloane]

Please see www.seisc.co.uk for the latest announcment from the AHT regarding PRA-rcd-4  on Tuesday July 19th 2011.

[Susan Stone]

full text attached as file

[Jean Lippett]

Am I alone in finding this alarming and slightly puzzling? I may have been lucky but I've rarely come across a visually disabled irish setter, though I had a litter brother to one of the named dogs and our dogs have lived to a good age in most cases. However the report says Our research has demonstrated that the frequency of the rcd4 mutation in Irish Setters is high and approximately 30-40% of dogs might be carriers. The mutation is recessive which means that all dogs can be bred from safely but carriers and genetically affected dogs should only be bred to DNA tested, clear dogs.

And that there is also a third type of PRA for which there is no DNA test available yet.

Although they say carriers could be bred from as long as they are mated to clear dogs, presumably the declaration in the pedigree that one of the parents is a carrier would make the puppies hard to sell. So effectively it will rule out a third of the breeding stock, won't it? How awful if that third is clear of some of the more obvious inherited problems we have.

[Margaret Sierakowski]

Why would the puppies be hard to sell? If you breed carrier to clear, none of the offspring will be affected by blindness. Some of them will be carriers, they will carry the gene but not be affected, the rest will be clear. You simply DNA test all your puppies. Any that are carriers you can sell to pet homes, knowing they will have normal healthy lives. or if one of the carriers is an outstanding puppy, keep it for the breeding stock, knowing tha tif you breed this one to a clear later on, you will again not produce affected dogs who will go blind. The important thing is to test, and to breed knowing the clear or carrier status of your dogs. This way, you do not lose part of your gene pool, but gradually you will cut down the incidence of the rcd4 gene

[lyn hathaway]

margaret i completely disagree with you on your quote "Any that are carriers you can sell to pet homes, knowing they will have normal healthy lives." 

im sure if i were to be told on purchasing a dog that it was a carrier of some disease then 

i would not buy  one  but maybe this is me been over cautious we bought an hereditry clear dog for a pet and shes turned out blind . wouldnt change her for the world and shes adapted to been blind but there as and is many tears and pain that our lovely dog had this disability at such a young age 

 

[Margaret Sierakowski]

How could you know she was clear by heredity when there was no DNA test available? Now there is a DNA test available, you know that if you breed clear to carrier, you will not produce affected dogs, only clears or carriers, none of whom will go blind, at least not caused by the rcd4 mutation. Of course they could still have blindness due to something else

[lyn hathaway]

sorry i meant clear of the  rcd1 strain (must be specific now theres 4 different types)

[lyn hathaway]

hi jean i must agree with you i too find their comments puzzling re the comments on an affected dog been bred from even if its with a clear mate .

i have an blind girl and would not dream of her ever having puppies because i would not want people to go through the pain we went through at been told your beautiful baby is going to be blind.

im sure responsible breeders will do whatever they have to do  and have the available tests  so good healthy dogs are produced .

[Ossian]

Irish Setters owners and breeders you need to get this into perspective!!! this is LATE ONSET PRA and as yet there is no definition of when late onset begins.  the Gordon testing asked for dogs of ten and over in the first tranche. Dogs will be affected and may have lost depth and perspective by 8/9 but this is attributable in a "clear" dog to his old age.

I am disappointed - and angry - to note that already in Gordon circles we have emotive calls for "only breed clear to clear we dont want blind puppies" which is absolute rot and I suspect being peddled by a minority fortunate enough to own a "clear" stud dog.

Get a far reachihg discussion going NOW about the way forward. Your DNA test allows you to test puppies and given that the age of late onset has not been defined but I can vouch that it is not until at least 8 (I have one of the orginal Gordons tested and he is 13) fight for the right to breed carriers if they are otherwise great representations of the breed!

[lyn hathaway]

ossian  in my case  my dog was 2 1/2  years old when she was diagnosed with lopra  and probably had it some 18 months before ( she has been dna for the rcd 1 and is clear from this mutation ) .there are some new cases where dogs are 3 and 4 years of age that have been diagnosed with it so its not just when dogs are 8/9 when this disease is affecting irish setters.

 

[Pat Aldridge]

quote:>>>>Our research has demonstrated that the frequency of the rcd4 mutation in Irish Setters is high and approximately 30-40% of dogs might be carriers. The mutation is recessive which means that all dogs can be bred from safely but carriers and genetically affected dogs should only be bred to DNA tested, clear dogs.>>>endquote

 

If your dog/bitch is DNA'd a carrier/affected you CAN still breed from such a dog but MUST use a DNA'd CLEAR mate.  Of course all puppies from such matings MUST be DNA'd to determine their PRA-rcd4 status.

This will ensure that the breeding lines are NOT thrown out with baby & bathwater, breeders will not face the heartache of having to start again, & MOST IMPORTANTLY the gene pool will not be diminished beyond a breed-viable point.

 

You in the UK/Continent are VERY VERY LUCKY - down here in the Antipodes we will be faced with considerable expense in having our dogs tested, & as I very much doubt that all breeders here will bother, it means the search for suitable Clear mates will become even more fraught, expensive, & time consuming.

 

I envy you all - so don't "bleat" about it - get testing & show the dog world (& Jemima Harrison of PDE infamy LOL!) that health is of paramount importance to Irish Setter breeders.

 

We do not have the required DNA testing facilities in NZ so will be forced to do our testing at AHT - pray God they don't decide that a blood test is ever required or we are lost!!

[graham edwards]

Hello Pat,

I just read the article on PRA and found it quite scary and confusing. then read your reply which I have to agree with you whole heartedly. Having come back to the setter scene after such a long break I have got a lot to learn. Entropian and hip dysplasia were the only things we had to be concerned about then. England seem to be very lucking with their testing facilaties but I feel in Australia it will be like NZ. few testing labs and very expensive. I found it hard enough before trying to track a suitable companion for the girl we are getting but now it is looking even harder.

Take care and all the best,

Graham

[Ossian]

Lynn the eye specialists can "diagnose" a puppy. They always could and this means that the condition is present but it certainly does not mean that the dog is experiencing sight problems, it is an indicator that it will. At 2 and a half or four or even 8 the disease will be present but it may or may not have had any detrimental affect. I think a lot of people misunderstand!