For a few months now, I've been hearing way too much about Pigmentary Uveitis (PU) in goldens. Typically this shows up in older dogs... dogs past breeding age. Providing a problem...because by that point, there may be offspring. And this definitely is not environmental.
But if your dogs who have been in the past are no longer being checked for various health clearances. How would you know if this came up? You wouldn't. Unless your dog began exhibiting clinical signs as a senior. And by then....there could be grand-puppies.
After seeing the way some very responsible, reputable, smart, smart, smart golden breeders are talking about this... they're terrified! The situation is so big and so unknown and there's a horrible feeling that the breeders and public and enthusiasts have no idea how big this problem is or will be. And seeing how sad these people are, and as I'm a 'big picture' person... I'm very sad too.
While there has been one study on PU and more work is being done, it's not moving fast enough for many. And while we know this type of problem is only impacting goldens. We don't know if it impacts golden mixes... so I'll be taking all three of mine in. And every year. Theoretically if it's caught early, there can be treatment to slow down the progression. But we don't even know if that's actually true.
And now... back to the regularly scheduled training discussion.
Will these dogs be impacted by PU? We'll only know with time and yearly eye exams.
2 comments:
I do love genetics... but I don't love it for the fact it causes stress to responsible breeders who already do so much.
Yearly eye exams are good for every dog, I wish more clinics were being held so more dogs could provide statistical data (see, there's the nerdy genetics brain taking hold).
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