How was CEA determined to be a problem for the Toller?
Early this year a Toller owner took their young dog to a CERF clinic where it was diagnosed with Collie Eye Anomaly or CEA. After seeking a second opinion since this disorder is not commonly known in Tollers, the second eye vet agreed with the first — that the Toller indeed had Coloboma and Choroidal Hypoplasia (CH) — both eye conditions seen with CEA. In a short time, two other related Tollers were also diagnosed with either CH or Coloboma as a result of breeders and owners communicating with each other. Next, prominent researcher Dr. Greg Acland and his research team and OptiGen scientists began several studies to see if indeed a new genetic eye problem existed in Tollers. Until now CEA has only been found in traditional herding/collie breeds such as the Australian Shepherd, Border Collie, Rough and Smooth Collie and Shetland Sheepdog. A CEA mutation test was made available to these breeds in 2005 by OptiGen. The collie OptiGen CEA genetic test was done on these few suspect Tollers
