The term "progressive retinal atrophy" (more commonly referred to as "p.r.a."), describes an inherited eye condition found in a number of breeds of dogs, including poodles. This disease causes the retina to degenerate; it also causes the blood vessels leading to this area of the eye to shrink. The first symptom is night blindness. Complete blindness can eventually occur. There is no treatment for p.r.a., and no cure. Usually, symptoms don't become evident until a dog is 6-8 years old. The most common type of PRA in toy and miniature poodles is called "prcd-PRA".

A veterinarian with specialized training and equipment will be able to diagnose p.r.a. In later stages, p.r.a. cannot be distinguished from other retinal degenerative occurances. The specialist I have taken my dogs to will check a dog as early as 8 months of age, but the optimal age is three years. Waiting until a dog is eight years old and bumping into things at night is not a good plan. A physical p.r.a. screening is not expensive, nor is it time consuming. The trick is to find a qualified specialist within driving distance. The vet will dialate the pupils with eye drops, wait 20 minutes, and then look into the eyes (especially the edges) with special equipment. A normal/clear result from the examination can be submitted to CERF ($12. fee) for a certificate and addition to their registry for that year. Generally, people whose dogs do have p.r.a. don't bother to notify CERF, even though there is no charge for them.

A company called Optigen has developed a d.n.a. test to determine if a poodle has the most common form of p.r.a. It is a blood test, and involves your vet taking a sample, packaging it properly, and mailing it to Optigen. I have yet to find a veterinarian willing to participate in this process. The last time I checked their website, the fee for the test is $195. From the Optigen website, it is my understanding that they can identify a clear (normal/non-affected) dog with a high degree of accuracy, but some identified as carriers might actually be clear. It is their contention that even affected (blind) dogs can be safely bred, as long as they're bred to a dog from Group A (normal/non-affected.)

In terms of genetics, two dogs which do not carry the p.r.a. gene will not produce offspring with p.r.a. A dog can carry the gene, but show no clinical signs of the disease. This dog, when bred to another carrier, can produce an affected puppy, a non-affected puppy, and/or a puppy who appears fine but is a carrier of the gene. In a litter of four, one will be affected, two will be carriers, and one will be genetically clear. When breeding an affected dog, all of his or her offspring will have one p.r.a. gene. Whether these puppies will be affected or carriers depends on the status of the other parent.

* Thanks to Carole of In-Memory-of-Pets.com for her excellent article on the subject of p.r.a. Her article, which can be read here, along with Dr. Ben Rawls (Daytona Beach, FL) were my sources of information for this subject.