Inherited eye diseases cause progressive blindness in many dog breeds, representing preventable suffering that responsible breeding can substantially reduce.
Dogs with progressive retinal atrophy experience gradual loss of vision over months to years, typically beginning with night blindness before progressing to complete blindness. During this progression, dogs may become anxious in low light, startled easily, and hesitant in unfamiliar environments. Complete blindness, while not painful, significantly restricts dogs' quality of life and increases anxiety in novel situations. The preventable nature of many inherited eye conditions - through responsible breeding using DNA testing - makes each affected dog's suffering a consequence of breeding decisions that could have gone otherwise.