Genetic problem

Arooo rooo rooo!!

Not a great deal to report of late, things have been a bit quiet because of the weather mum says. I am not sure what she is on about, because the weather always seems to be the same. A few hours of lovely warm sunshine and then lots and lots of water pouring from the sky. There have also been a few flashes bangs and crashes accompanying the water too. Nalle gets very upset by the noise, but I am not at all bothered.

I just LOVE swimming, and all the extra water means there are plenty of places for me to play dash and splash. I will get mum to take a video of me doing this. It is great fun.

Just over a week ago, mum took me to Rugby agility show, where I watched my friend Molly racing around the course. We should have been at Empingham agility show this weekend, but it was cancelled due to all the water which came down on Friday. Tallulah was very disappointed, as she had been training very hard for the Olympia qualifier. We all ended up going to the woods for a good run instead. Mum tells me that all this rain is very unusual, but I have never experienced anything different. To me, it is all perfectly normal.

Genetic problems:
Earlier in this diary of my life, I mentioned that my eyes were sticky. Mum took me to the vet, who thought I had an eye infection. Mum mentioned the word "entropion" to the vet, but she shook her head and said "no, no entropion". However, the eye problem continued, and then mum noticed that my bottom eyelids were starting to turn inwards. Sure enough, the entropion started to show itself just after my 6 month birthday, so back I went to the vet, who confirmed what mum had suspected.

Entropion is a genetic disorder which affects many breeds of dogs. The annoying thing is that this condition could be selectively bred out, but very few breeders test for it. In fact, there are some people in the show world, who have their dogs surgically altered, and then continue showing and then breeding from them. Mum has decided that I am not going to be bred from, as she doesn't like the idea that another puppy will have to live until adulthood with very sore and sticky eyes. The vet said that I will have to have my eyes operated on when I am older. I am not looking forward to that, but mum says that I will feel much better once it has been done.

Look at my right eye. Can you see the problem? My left eye is also slightly turned in too.

Some dogs can develop behavioural problems as a result of this condition, as their eyes become so sore. At the moment, mum is able to help me manage the condition, so I am not too upset by what is going on. I have to see the eye specialist before long though, so that he can decide the best course of action. I will let you know how I get on after he has examined me.