BVA/KC/ ISDS Eye Scheme
Eye testing is a requirement for all dogs that are being bred from under the Breed Club’s Code of Ethics and the KC’s Assured Breeder Scheme
The eye scheme involves a simple eye examination to check for the presence of both inherited and non inherited eye conditions in dogs. The Finnish Lapphund is by no mean unusual in the incidence of eye conditions in the breed, and the annual eye test enables conditions to be identified and breeders can be reassured that the dogs they are breeding from have healthy eyes.
Whilst the breed Clubs insist that dogs being bred must have up to date eye tests, where the wider population is tested it can help identify problems as they emerge and give a clear picture of the incidence of conditions in the whole population, so it is useful for as many individuals as possible to be tested especially over the age of 8 years..
The eye testing for the BVA scheme must be carried out by a scheme panellist – a special occular veterinary surgeon, who will be able to check for a range of eye conditions. All dogs tested will receive a certificate – and any conditions which relate to known inherited conditions (KIOD) will be recorded on the KC’s Health Test finder. Note: not all conditions are seen as inherited by the KC/BVA so whilst these are shown on the eye test certificates they are not publicly reported. Such conditions were previously known as Schedule B conditions and as they are not regarded by the KC/ISDS/BVA as being inherited these results will not be reported on the Health test Results finder. The panelists’ observations on conditions not known to be inherited will be noted on the eye test certificate and returned to the BVA,to be used to bring together information to monitor frequency of a condition.
The Finnish Lapphund is one of the breeds where a number of conditions are still under investigation, it is therefore advisable to ask to see copies of the latest eye test results from parents of a planned litter so you can check for any other conditions, as these may not be publicly available, and the KC health test finder could imply the tests were clear.
As not all eye testing results are publicly available – where the Breed Clubs have been notified or the information has previously been made public we will record additional results on this site and they can be found on the Health results search option.
Eye testing can also be carried out under European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ECVO)
- Testing litters allows congenital conditions to be monitored – Eye test certificates can be requested by puppy buyers from the breeder of their puppy
- Annual eye tests help to identify those conditions which are late onset
- Eye testing in older dogs – enables an accurate picture to be built up of the general problems affecting the breed
Find out more about the Eye scheme
Including:
- Details of eye panelists
- Cost of testing
- Conditions covered