HEALTH in 2020
All stock used for breeding is Xrayed to determine the hip score, the average score for the breed with the BVA/HD scheme is 7/7: total 14 I personally endeavour to use low scoring dogs and bitches, the family history of hip scores are shown on the pedigrees.
The UK Kennel Club also require DNA testing of dogs used in a breeding programme to be checked for their PRArcd4 status. Plus a current clear annual eye test certificate.
Progressive Retinal Atrophy or PRA
During 2008 it became apparent to me that one of my dogs eyesight was not as it should have been, he was only 8 years old so I took medical advice. I was devastated to discover that Wilbur had PRA and would eventually totally loose all vision. I made a decision to research the disease which was not at that point recognised as being a problem in Gordon Setters. The breed are now at a point where there now is a DNA gene test available so that over time with responsible breeding PRA rcd4 can be eradicated from this breed. It is important to remember that carriers will never develop the disease themselves.
On 4th February 2011 the Animal Health Trust UK (AHT) announced that the research into the gene for late onset PRA in the Gordon Setter had been identified, this is the announcement.
Identification of Mutation for Progressive Retinal Atrophy in the Gordon Setter
A mutation responsible for the development of Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) in the Gordon Setter has been identified by geneticists working in the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust.
PRA is a well-recognised inherited condition that many breeds of dog are predisposed to. The condition is characterised by bilateral degeneration of the retina which causes progressive vision loss that culminates in total blindness. There is no treatment for PRA.Owners report that their affected dogs develop night blindness in the first instance, which is indicative of a rod-cone degeneration, so we have termed this mutation rcd4 (for rod-cone degeneration 4) to distinguish it from other, previously described, forms of rod-cone degeneration.
The mutation is recessive and 19 out of the 21 Gordon Setters in our study that had clinical signs of PRA were homozygous (carried two copies) for this mutation, indicating it is the major cause of PRA in the breed. Two dogs in our study had PRA but did not carry the rcd4 mutation, indicating there might be another, genetically distinct, rarer form of PRA segregating in this breed.
The Animal Health Trust has developed a DNA test for the rcd4 mutation that will be available from Monday 14th March, 2011. DNA test kits will be available to order online, via our website (www.aht.org.uk) from March 14th. The price of the test will be £48 per sample, which includes VAT.
The research that led to identification of the rcd4 mutation was funded by many different organisations, including the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, the British Gordon Setter Club, the Gordon Setter Field Trial Society, the Gordon Setter Association, the Gordon Setter Club of Scotland and the LUPA project (www.eurolupa.org.uk) as well as several individuals who have also contributed significantly. The AHT would like to thank sincerely all the organisations and individuals who donated funds to help support the research as well as all the owners who contributed DNA and information from their dogs.
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Now that the DNA test is available, all Gordon Setters used in a breeding programme will be DNA tested to identify their status as either, CLEAR, CARRIER or AFFECTED with PRA rcd4. It is forbidden to mate a CARRIER or an AFFECTED animal to anything other than a CLEAR, thus avoiding the possibility of offspring developing PRA rcd4. Over the course of the next few generations the aim will be to eradicate PRA rcd4 from Gordon Setters.
The illustration will help to explain the inheritance pattern