HopeShelties
Forums Enthusiast
Within the last two years, a test for CEA has been released. Up until recently, I was ignorant to their being a test for CEA. I knew CERF would pick up a dog who truly had it, but it can not test for carriers. I only recently began to read more into the CEA testing, as a friend's Sheltie has a sibling that has now tested as a CEA carrier. Only 26 Shelties listed on the OFFA's website have been tested to date. This makes me somewhat uneasy, and makes me wonder just how many of our dogs are unknowingly CEA carriers.
I have a few questions for you guys:
1 So, I'm wanting to find out how many of the breeders here plan to start testing for CEA. Why, or why not?
2 Do you think the problem is very prevalent within the breed?
3 Will you plan to start asking stud owners/bitch owners prior to breeding if their stud/bitch has been tested?
4 Would you breed to a known CEA carrier, even if your bitch is clear? (CEA carriers bred to noncarriers can produce carriers and noncarriers)
5 Are there yet clinics available (say, at dog shows, or club hosted) to test for CEA? I know, given the small number of shelties tested that there probably aren't yet at sheltie events, however, perhaps there are at the Collies?
I would really hate to see us go the way of the Collies. The OFFA website estimates that 66% of Collies carry CEA.
Though it is a fairly expensive test, I plan to test each of mine gradually (as I don't have a couple thousand dollars laying around). Each will be tested before they are next bred. I am uncomfortable doing another breeding without first knowing that the dogs I am breeding are not CEA carriers.
I just thought this would be an interesting topic, and perhaps informative for some breeders who, like me, didn't realize we could/should now test for CEA. It really brought it home for me upon learning of my friends dogs sibling is a carrier, and that cerfing a dogs eyes does not give you a real answer on CEA unless the dog is actually afflicted.
For more information on CEA, you can click here to read:
http://www.optigen.com/opt9_test_cea_ch.html
I have a few questions for you guys:
1 So, I'm wanting to find out how many of the breeders here plan to start testing for CEA. Why, or why not?
2 Do you think the problem is very prevalent within the breed?
3 Will you plan to start asking stud owners/bitch owners prior to breeding if their stud/bitch has been tested?
4 Would you breed to a known CEA carrier, even if your bitch is clear? (CEA carriers bred to noncarriers can produce carriers and noncarriers)
5 Are there yet clinics available (say, at dog shows, or club hosted) to test for CEA? I know, given the small number of shelties tested that there probably aren't yet at sheltie events, however, perhaps there are at the Collies?
I would really hate to see us go the way of the Collies. The OFFA website estimates that 66% of Collies carry CEA.
Though it is a fairly expensive test, I plan to test each of mine gradually (as I don't have a couple thousand dollars laying around). Each will be tested before they are next bred. I am uncomfortable doing another breeding without first knowing that the dogs I am breeding are not CEA carriers.
I just thought this would be an interesting topic, and perhaps informative for some breeders who, like me, didn't realize we could/should now test for CEA. It really brought it home for me upon learning of my friends dogs sibling is a carrier, and that cerfing a dogs eyes does not give you a real answer on CEA unless the dog is actually afflicted.
For more information on CEA, you can click here to read:
http://www.optigen.com/opt9_test_cea_ch.html
