We are grateful to Dr. Fredrika Ronquist (of the Swedish Lagotto Club) for notifying the LRCGB that several cataracts have been diagnosed in Swedish born Lagotto.  The cataract diagnosed is total cataract in one eye, posterior cortical cataract in the other.  Cataract is opacity of the lens or lens capsule and it may affect all or part of the lens and one or both eyes. Cataracts may be primary (where the condition is probably inherited) or secondary e.g. the cataract occurs as a result of inflammation; metabolic disease; congenital anomalies; trauma.  Some cataracts may be detected at an early age; others develop later, may occur in different part of the lens and may progress at different rates. The first Swedish Lagotto diagnosed was a four year old male champion and was already blind in one eye. This was very sad for his owner and breeder but also had implications for the Lagotto world internationally as his two Italian grandfathers are hugely influential.   It certainly acted as a “wake up call” to us in the UK.  The information published by the Italian Lagotto Club in 1993 stated that no inherited eye conditions had been found in Lagotto even so Ann and I have been occasionally screening some of our Lagotto.  Now the LRCGB have decided that along with hip scoring, it is a requirement of breeding that dogs are screened regularly under a recognized Eye Scheme.   

The most widely used scheme in the UK is the British Veterinary Association/Kennel Club/International Sheepdog Society Eye Scheme. Screening is carried out by an appointed specialist eye panellist and the examination usually takes about five minutes.  Most dogs are tested at a special eye testing clinics and the cost is usually about twenty pounds per test.   Schedule 1 lists eye conditions where there is enough evidence to suggest that the conditions are inherited by the breeds listed.  Schedule 3 lists eye conditions where the possibility of the condition being inherited by the breeds listed is currently being investigated. Breeds such as Lagotto where no known eye diseases exist are not listed on either schedule so results of their screening examinations are not published in the Kennel Gazette, neither do results appear on their offspring’s registration documents. Instead owners are given a copy of the screening results at the time of the examination.  Records are kept by the BVA & KC and the status of breeds are regularly reviewed.  For example Spanish Water Dogs have just been moved to Schedule 3 for Glaucoma.   As results are not published it is difficult to compile an accurate list of the Lagotto which have been screened by the BVA/KC. Before you buy a puppy ask about the eye status of both parents. Breeders should be able to supply a copy of the screening results for both parents.

So far one Lagotto in the UK has been found with a cataract but not the same type identified in Sweden. Our Lagotto was found to have a very rare type of unilateral (one eye only) cataract only found to date in American Cocker Spaniels. No other ocular anomalies have been found in Lagotto screened in the UK.