PRA Through The Glen of Imaal Terriers Eyes

Breeding Glens can be very difficult. The selection of dogs to breed is very limited, because the gene pool is very small. All animals as well as humans carry genes that cause different diseases. If there is only one disease gene in the dog he is a carrier. At the same time he has no symptoms. But if you breed a dog and a bitch that are both carriers than you have problems. Some of the offspring have the disease and some will be carriers of the disease.

Pra is a heredity eye disease. Some PRA in Glens can be seen as early as 16 months of age. Unfortunately some dogs do not showing signs of the disease until the age of 9. By than the dog or bitch may have been used for breeding. If a dog or bitch is found to be affected at an early or late age, all of the offspring will at the very least be carriers. If the affected dog or bitch was bred to a carrier than there will be some offspring that are carriers and some that are affected. The offspring may have also been used for breeding and the PRA gene is passed on to the next generation. That is how PRA has been spread throughout the breed. That is why it is very important to have eye exams with 1-2 year intervals also for those 7-9 year old dogs or bitches that were used in breeding. They will help fill in the pieces of the PRA puzzle. Responsible breeders have their Glens eyes examined using Vet’s accredited by the Finnish kennel Club Association.

The purpose of eye exams is to eliminate dogs or bitches from breeding programs and stop the disease from spreading. Because PRA is detected mostly in adult dogs, dogs used for breeding have to be examined more often. Our policy for the EFG is that eye exams results on dogs used for breeding cannot be older than 10 months. ALL other dogs are examined at least every 18 months until they are 9 years old. This way we are minimizing the use of dogs or bitches having the actual disease in breeding

The eye exam itself is quick and totally painless. A liquid to dilate the pupils is placed into the dog’s eyes and after 15 minutes the dog’s eyes are examined.

PRA

PRA comes from the word Progressive Retinal Atrophy. The light sensitive cells in the retina slowly atrophy or decay. The speed of the atrophy varies by the dog. So far the youngest confirmed dog with PRA has been 16 months and the oldest 8 years. Due to the slow pace of the disease it is very difficult for owners to notice any change in their dogs. The dogs are adapting to the change as the disease progresses with his other senses. There is no treatment. The process of going totally blind takes so long that the dog has adapted along the way and gets along with everyday life very well. PRA is like a thief that steals a dogs sight piece by piece.

The first symptoms are a slight deterioration in night vision and vision when the lights are dim such as dusk. If an owner is seeing that there is something wrong with the dog’s ability to see properly in low light conditions, most likely there is a problem with the vision of the dog. The ability to see in dim light can be tested by placing objects like a chair in the middle of a dimly light room and see if the dog can avoid colliding with the objects. Dogs having PRA can see moving objects easier than stationary objects. Often dogs seem to be afraid of the dark
or may hesitate going down stairs they once had no problem with.

As time goes by the dogs eyesight becomes worse and than they are finally totally blind. The speed of the dog becoming blind varies from dog to dog. In most cases the younger the dog is diagnosed the faster it goes blind. Wide pupils is also something to look for, because the pupils are dilating to try to be able to see.

At the moment owners of all our adopted Glens sign a agreement to bring their dog to get their eye exam and I as the breeder gather up all the results and remind the owners when a new eye exam is necessary. Eye exam clinics are in the spring and fall. Results are than combined and sent to a contact person who is gathering results for the International PRA
Data Base. All exams are public information

Part of this text is from Juha Pärnänens article:
What, Why, When.