Retinal disease in the NZ working dog

Authors: Joyce GF, Hughes PL
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 29, Issue 12, pp 241, Dec 1981
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Companion animal, Dog
Subject Terms: Diagnostic procedures, Eye/opthalmology, Clinical examination
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: It may be of interest to some rural practitioners, having an upsurge in requests for opthalmoscopic examinations of working dogs, to know that at present this practice is engaged in examinations at the National dog trials. Retinal disease is an increasing problem in both Huntaways and Heading dogs in this country. This is probably a result of the extensive use of selected strains and the tendency for the breeds to become more uniform with farmers keeping fewer better-bred dogs. Work on this complex condition is however in its infancy, and a great deal is yet to be resolved. At this stage histological sectioning suggests an inflammatory component, but computer pedigree analysis suggests a heretibility of 0.33-0.40. In the main the condition is not analogous to central P.R.A. present in the British Border Collie, despite its ancestral contribution particularly to the Heading dog. The characteristic opthalmoscopic feature of the condition is the presence of large areas of hyperreflectivity in the tapetal fundus, often associated with dark pigment spots…

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