Retinal Dysplasia
Helga Lopatin
Past President
Dear Owners and Breeders, March l999
I had the opportunity this summer to see and speak again with Dr. Grauwels, DVM, MS, Dipl.ECVO, a highly respected and well known Ophthalmologist not only in Belgium but also in different countries. To my knowledge she is the first one of her field in Belgium to have examined our beloved breed the Coton de Tulear.
She told me that by August l998, she had seen a total of 82 Cotons of various ages in Belgium only and of those 82 dogs, eight of them showed active signs of Retinal Dysplasia; that is, 10% of these dogs were actively affected! And in her words, "this is only the tip of the iceberg," since not all dogs are being examined and dogs have either died or many have been sold outside the country.
She had also examined eleven puppies at the age of 6 to 8 weeks and no fundus anomalies were noted at that moment. Of these eleven puppies, one puppy had been reexamined at the age of 6 months and presented signs of Retinal Dysplasia. None of the other 10 puppies have been reexamined by her.
Three of the 9 dogs with RD were diagnosed at the age of seven months. So another question comes to mind now. At what age does Retinal Dysplasia really start? It seems to indicate that dogs are not necessarily born with active RD. It seems that RD can show up at a later age. But again, when? Could it be between ten weeks and two months, or fifteen weeks and five months or twelve weeks and six months? Who knows? This is an area in which Dr. Grauwels wants to focus also.
So why am I writing about Retinal Dysplasia? I feel that we need to acknowledge the fact that RD is here and cases will augment as time goes on here as well as abroad. In August 88 five cases of active RD were diagnosed and are dispersed in the USA. It is still a small amount but our breed is the most popular of the companion dogs and is being bred with a dismaying briskness.
We need to realize that no matter which lineage(s) or cross-lineage(s) we carry and breed with we have the potential to be affected by it. And because the breed is still young, we can and must try to "nip" it in the bud.
Being a recessive gene, Retinal Dysplasia can show up anytime in any litter. Once actively present, genetic abnormalities are always passed on in the genetic material (DNA). If the genetic abnormality is the result of a "recessive" gene - and such is the case in Retinal Dysplasia - the abnormality will actively express itself only on a random basis when the gene is present in egg and/or sperm at the time of mating. There is no such thing as a "genetically free of something" dog.
Whether we are established breeders or are occasional breeders it behooves all of us to have all of our breeding stock and all their puppies checked for RD. And as long as we are not informed of the known common denominator, the root of the problem, we can't win them all. Even a "clinically free" of eye disorder dog can still be a carrier.
Does this mean we should not breed anymore? After speaking with many different veterinarians the consensus was no, but, we should start to be honest enough amongst all of us, with ourselves and in our disclosure with prospective buyers. We need to alert them to this problem, especially when selling a reproducible animal or standing a dog at stud. Active carriers should not be used for reproducing purposes, spay/neuter contracts for pet quality remain a must and as mentioned above testing all dogs and their progeny for Retinal Dysplasia.
We cannot and should not point fingers for breeding results prior to our knowledge of Retinal Dysplasia. But now that we are aware of the problem we must all honestly acknowledge and accept the beginning of its presence. The code of silence does not apply to the future of our beloved breed or to any breed for that matter. We must work diligently together for the betterment of our beloved companions in this field as well as in other health fields, such as Hip Dysplasia, Patellar Luxation and Elbow Dysplasia to name a few. United we can make a difference!