Why is it important for me to annually CERF test my dog?
CERF stands for Canine Eye Registration FoundationFor all information - see the CERF website at www.vmdb.org
CERF was started by a group of owners and breeders who were concerned about the loss of quality in the lives of their dogs due to heritable eye diseases. Working in conjunction with cooperating Veterinary Opthamologists, CERF was established with the goal of eliminating heritable eye disease in dogs.
CERF maintains a registry for dogs tested by certified ACVO (American College of Veterinary Opthamologists) opthamologists for major heritable eye disease. Its mission is two-fold. It offers immediate and thorough feedback on the condition of the eyes of any particular dog, which is valuable for breeding information. It also accumulates data, all the results are compiled and used by researchers to study possible trends.
CERF tests for a large variety of conditions and diseases -
Category A
Eyelids:
Entropion
Ectropion
Distichiasis
Ectopic cilia
Eury/Macroblepharon
Category B
Third Eyelid:
Cartilage anomaly/eversion
Prolapsed gland
Category C
Cornea:
Corneal dystrophy-epithelial/stromal
Corneal dystrophy-endothelial
Inherited/Pannus
Exposure/Pigmentary Keratitis
Category D
Iris:
Iris/Ciliary Body Cyst
Iris Coloboma
Persistent pupillary membrane iris to iris
Persistent pupillary membrane all others
Iris Hypoplasia
Category E
Lens:
Punctate cataract*significance unknown
Category F
Vitreous:
Persistant hyloid artery
Vitreous degeneration syneresis
Vitreous degeneration ant chamber
Category G
Fundus:
Retinal dysplasia-folds
Choroidal hypoplasia
Staphyloma/Coloboma
Retinal hemorrhage
Micropapilla
Information above is from the CERF website at www.vmdb.org
CERF tests are annual tests that helps breeders, it provides a wealth of information about their dogs.