CERF to include Biewers in database

[3CrazyYorkies]

CERF – Canine Eye Registration Foundation


BBCI is pleased to announce that it has petitioned CERF to include the Biewer in its registry database. CERF agreed to our request and will now issue certificates to Biewers who pass their eye exams.

Biewer owner/breeders are urged to include this testing in their programs to ensure their dog's are certified free of heritable eye disease before breeding. This is one more crucial step to protect our beautiful breed.

Certificates are good for a period of one year. Eye exams are done annually by board certified Canine Ophthalmologists. Many dog show venues, including AKC sanctioned shows, offer clinics for the eye exams. Check with your local kennel clubs to see if they have schedules listed for clinics in your area. For more information and CERF’s schedules, go to http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html

[qraven]

Thank you Helen for sharing this important news. It is great that they have accepted the Biewer !

[scrapindee]

It is good to hear that the Biewers can now be added to CERF's database.

It is my understanding that there are no strains of Biewers or Yorkies with genetic eye problems; this is an additional test that can be done on the breeds.

[livingdustmops]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_Terrier

Health
Health issues often seen in the Yorkshire Terrier include bronchitis, lymphangiectasia, hepatic lipidosis, cataracts and keratitis sicca.[6] Additionally, injection reactions (inflammation or hair loss at the site of an injection) are common.[21] Another common health condition in Yorkies are their sensitive skin. The most common type of skin conditions Yorkies face are brought on by allergic reactions to seasonal pollen, pollution, food, and sometimes the air itself. Their coats may get very dry due to scratching and biting and eventually leading to massive hair loss. Yorkies often have a delicate digestive system, with vomiting or diarrhea resulting from consumption of foods outside of a regular diet. They are usually picky with which foods they eat. They usually will not eat what they don't like, it will be left aside. Trying to mix foods is not a good idea because they tend not to enjoy it.[22] The relatively small size of the Yorkshire Terrier means that it usually has a poor tolerance for anesthesia. Additionally, a toy dog such as the Yorkie is more likely to be injured by falls, other dogs and owner clumsiness.[22] Due to their small size, Yorkies may be endangered if kept in the house with an undiscerning or abusive person, especially a child. Many breeders and rescue organizations will not allow their Yorkies to go to families with young children, because of the risk it poses to the dog.
The life span of a healthy Yorkie is 12-15 years.[22] Under-sized Yorkies (3 pounds or less) generally have a shorter life span, as they are especially prone to health problems such as chronic diarrhea and vomiting, are even more sensitive to anesthesia, and are more easily injured.[22]
Yorkie Showbreeder and an AKC Judge
http://www.rievaulx.org/health.html
CATARACTS
The lens of the eye is clear and is located behind the pupil.
The job of the lens is to focus light into the retina. When the
lens becomes unhealthy, it turns white or opaque. Cataracts
are generally considered a common old age change, but a
juvenile form also occurs. Juvenile cataracts are inherited
and are not usually present at birth, although this condition
can present itself at any age- months to years. Juvenile cataracts
affect different areas of the lens depending upon the breed of
dog. They do not always result in the lens becoming completely
opaque. Complete cataracts result in blindness that can only be
corrected by cataract surgery. Yearly CERF examinations are an
important tool in diagnosing this condition. Proper treatment
can be hastened by early diagnosis.
DRY EYE (ACTUAL NAME: KERATOCONJUNCTIVITIS
SICCA (KCS))
KCS or "dryeye" is an eye disease caused by abnormal tear
production. The lacrimal glands produce the watery secretions
that make up the bulk of the tears. A deficiency in this secretion
causes KCS in small animals.
.
Normal tears are essential for the health and transparency of the
cornea (the surface of the eye). Tears cleanse and lubricate the
cornea, carry nutrients, and play a role in the control of infection
and in healing. Deficient tear production as in KCS causes
chronic irritation of the cornea and conjunctiva. Corneal
ulcers and eventually corneal scarring occur, and blindness
can result.
.
There is a predisposition to this condition in some breeds as
listed below. KCS can also occur in any breed as a result of
viral infection, inflammation, drug-related toxicity, or
immune-mediated disease. Congenital KCS (ie. the dog is born
with the condition) is rare. It may be one-sided and has been
seen in toy breeds such as the Yorkshire terrier, pug, Pekingese,
and Chihuahua. These dogs have very small or absent tear-
producing (lacrimal) glands.
PROGRESSIVE RETINAL ATROPHY
While not yet common in Yorkies, Progressive Retinal Atrophy
(PRA), is an incurable hereditary eye disease which, as the name
implies, progressively attacks and destroys the retina of the eye,
causing blindness. The retina is essential to eyesight, for it is here
that a visual image is formed before being transmitted via the
optic nerve to the brain. A defect in an enzyme causes a chemical
compound to form that kills the cells in the retina.
RETINAL DYSPLASIA
The retina is the light sensitive portion of the eye (like the film
in a camera), and dysplasia is an abnormality of development.
Sounds pretty simple, and in the extreme case, it is. If the retina
fails to develop properly in its entirety the dog is blind at birth,
will never see, is easily diagnosed, and decisions can be taken
rationally and early. With the other major inherited ocular
diseases - progressive retinal atrophy and cataract - the decisions
are much more clear and the outcomes much more predictable.
Not necessarily so with retinal dysplasia, in which the diagnosis
may be less certain, the visual outcome much more variable,
and the variations of the disease much more numerous.
http://www.cababstractsplus.org/goog...No=20053164643
YTCA’s Foundation Statement
http://yorkiefoundation.org/health_survey.html
http://yorkiefoundation.org/

[scrapindee]

This is good information for all small dog breeds. At what age can cataracts be identified as a potential problem in small breeds??

[livingdustmops]

Originally Posted by scrapindee

This is good information for all small dog breeds. At what age can cataracts be identified as a potential problem in small breeds??

While it is true about small breeds in this case I just used Yorkie websites. One was the YTCA Foundation and one is a Yorkshire Showbreeder who is now an AKC judge. Read the articles.

Cataracts
are generally considered a common old age change, but a
juvenile form also occurs. Juvenile cataracts are inherited
and are not usually present at birth, although this condition
can present itself at any age- months to years. Juvenile cataracts
affect different areas of the lens depending upon the breed of
dog. They do not always result in the lens becoming completely
opaque. Complete cataracts result in blindness that can only be
corrected by cataract surgery. Yearly CERF examinations are an
important tool in diagnosing this condition. Proper treatment
can be hastened by early diagnosis.