Inc. All Rights reserved The AMSC s Contributions to Miniature Schnauzer Health Research Miniature Schnauzers are hardy dogs. Fortunately, they suffer from fewer genetic disorders than do many other breeds. Nonetheless, Miniature Schnauzer breeders have long been in the forefront in supporting research on genetic disorders. In the late 1950s, a veterinary student of Dr. Lionel Rubin at the University of Pennsylvania identified a form of congenital cataracts in Miniature Schnauzers. The cataracts are present in fetuses and can also be seen with a relatively simple and inexpensive slit-lamp examination in very young puppies as soon as the eyes are open.
Congenital cataracts are bilateral, i.e. , present in both eyes.
They can be seen with the naked eye in some dogs as young as 1-2 years of age, but in many cases are not visible to the naked eye until the dog is older. In time, affected animals become blind in both eyes. The AMSC s effort to eliminate congenital cataracts began in the 1960s with a series of articles alerting breeders to the problem and providing them with such information as was known. The AMSC and its members then supported research by Dr. Richard Donovan, a veterinary ophthalmologist in Boston, to determine the mode of inheritance of cc in Miniature Schnauzers. In 1973, once it had been learned that cc were caused by a simple autosomal recessive gene, the AMSC Board adopted a voluntary pledge by AMSC members to have dogs used for breeding, and all puppies, examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist and to retire from breeding any animals affected by cc or who had produced any affected puppies.