I have all my litters eye screened for CEA, at about seven weeks of age. I usually arrange for this eye examination to be conducted by Veterinary Ophthalmologist, Mrs Beverley Cottrell (Animal Eye Ltd) at the Cambridge University Vet School. CEA cannot be seen by the naked eye, and only a few specialist vets are trained to scrutinise the canine eye. The examination is conducted under the BVA/KC (British Veterinary Association/Kennel Club) scheme, which covers Rough and Smooth Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs and Border Collies. CEA is a genetic fault in the retina of the eye, which means that your puppy may not have 100% perfect vision and, if it were human, would possibly require corrective lenses! The importance of screening young puppies is to ascertain their eye status before they go to their new homes. As CEA is not progressive, your puppy’s vision will not deteriorate and it will not go blind, neither will it suffer any pain. Indeed, there are many working dogs with CEA and, for the most part, owners are unaware that their dog has this condition. The Kennel Club leaves it to individual breeders to decide if they want to routinely test their puppies. Responsible breeders regularly test their stock but, unfortunately, there are many others who do not and, as a result, many hundreds of dogs carry this defective eye gene. To prevent in-breeding, a breeder must sometimes introduce new blood into his or her breeding stock and sometimes the new dog or bitch will carry the defective CEA gene as a hidden or recessive gene, and so produce puppies with CEA. The BVA/KC eye examination can only determine whether an animal is clear or affected, but is unable to tell us if a clear dog is genetically clear or a ‘carrier’ ie carrying a hidden recessive or mutant gene. Genetically clear dogs will only produce genetically clear puppies, but a carrier animal can produce both carriers and affected. Until recently we have only had access to the BVA/KC's ophthalmic examination scheme, the results of which can sometimes be inaccurate. But now, in addition, we have access to an American DNA test (Optigen) which provides accurate information on the genetic status of the Collie’s eyes. The only way to eradicate CEA is for all breeders to routinely test all their stock, using only genetically ‘clear-eyed’ dogs in their breeding programmes, but that scenario is still many years away! However, should your Collie puppy have slight CEA I can assure you he/she will still live a full and happy life, but if you would like more information and how it may affect your Collie, please contact your vet or one of the organisations below. Prof. Peter Bedford, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield 01797 662255 Mrs Beverley Cottrell, Animal Eye Ltd, 109 North End, Meldreth, Royston, Herts. 01763 261674, email bevocula@aol.com | 
