A Simple Guide to coping with the DNA CEA Rules

1. Before pups can be registered, ALL breeding dogs have to pass a BVA (or ECVO or equivalent) eye examination. The DNA CEA Rules have not changed this at all (but see rule 6 below for dogs under two years).
2. DNA CEA testing is largely voluntary. As a breeder, you can choose to continue to operate under the ophthalmic rules only. Even if you want to DNA CEA test a dog, you do not have to tell the Society.
3. If, however, as a breeder you go down the DNA CEA testing and reporting route there are benefits in that you will know the CEA status of your pups, and so will purchasers. You can now breed using a Carrier and know the outcome. There should be no more nasty surprises and we will start to remove CEA from our Border Collie population. However, there is no point dithering around by DNA testing one parent and not the other – you either do it for both or none. The main impact is that the Society insists that you microchip all the pups before registration – this is so that when those dogs come to breed their identity can be reasonably assured. Although you have to microchip them, the pups will not need their own DNA CEA test unless one of the parents was a Carrier – and the test will only be needed if they come to breed.
4. Breeding from DNA CEA tested parents, where one is Normal and the other Normal or Carrier, will give pup Certificates with declared parent status. Pups with both parents Normal can go on to breed and effectively ‘pass on’ their Normal status to progeny, without the expense of another test. Note that the ophthalmic examination is still needed.
5. Breeding from two DNA CEA Carriers is prohibited. Breeding from a DNA CEA Affected and Normal pairing is not permitted except by appeal to the Stud Book Committee.
6. Normally, parents under two years must still have the CEA part of a BVA ophthalmic pass and the pups will be issued with ‘T’ cream coloured certificates. Now, if you have DNA CEA Normal results, and one or both parents is/are under two years old, the ophthalmic test is waived.
7. If dogs have to be permanently identified it must be by microchip; tattooing is not sufficient.
8. If progeny fail the ophthalmic test for CEA (i.e. are Affected) then both sire and dam are barred from further progeny registration. To continue to breed they will need a suitable DNA CEA test result.
9. You can ‘mix and match’. If one of the parents is DNA CEA tested and Normal, and the other is not DNA tested, then the DNA result will be ignored and it is the ophthalmic only rules that apply.
10. Note that if parents are not DNA CEA tested, and you wish to litter test (examination of pups at 5-12 weeks for CEA), it is strongly advised that you register the pups before testing. If, however, any unregistered pups fail, we will still register the litter but only if they are all microchipped.
11. If a dog is entered for a Registration On Merit it does not matter what the parent eye situation is – all that matters is that the dog has an ophthalmic pass and a DNA CEA Normal or Carrier certificate.