Breeder Option Findings on Eye Certification Reports: What They Actually Mean

The first time one of my Collies came back with a Breeder Option result, I had no idea what to do with it. The dog was not failed. She was not cleared without comment. The ophthalmologist had found something, noted it on the form, marked it Breeder Option, and sent us on our way. I spent three days calling other breeders and re-reading the OFA certification guidelines before I understood what I actually had in my hands.

If you have received a Breeder Option result on an eye certification and are trying to figure out what it means for your breeding program, this guide is written for you. Breeder Option is one of the most misunderstood designations in canine eye health certification, and the uncertainty it creates causes breeders to either dismiss results they should take seriously or panic about findings that require only careful monitoring.

How Breeder Option Differs From a Clear Certification

A clear OFA eye certification — formally designated Normal — means the examining ACVO diplomate found no evidence of heritable eye disease. That is a clean result. Every breeder wants Normal results across the board.

Breeder Option appears when the examiner identifies a condition that falls outside the Normal category but does not rise to the level of a formal failure. The distinction matters because the OFA Eye Certification program was specifically designed with Breeder Option as a middle ground for findings that are common, minor, or of uncertain hereditary significance. The program acknowledges that not every abnormal finding warrants the same response from a breeding standpoint.

Understanding the difference between Normal, Breeder Option, and Fail requires familiarity with how eye certification codes work. On the OFA certificate, Breeder Option is indicated alongside the specific finding, so you will know exactly what was observed. A certificate that says Breeder Option but does not specify the condition is incomplete — that detail matters enormously for deciding what to do next.

Common Conditions That Receive Breeder Option Designations

Iris-to-Iris Persistent Pupillary Membranes (PPM)

Persistent Pupillary Membranes are remnants of the fetal membrane that covered the pupil during development. In most dogs, these regress completely. In some dogs, strands remain. When those strands connect only iris to iris — floating across the pupil without attaching to the cornea or lens — they are typically considered non-significant. The visual impact is negligible, and the hereditary basis of iris-to-iris strands is less clear than for PPM that attach to other structures.

Iris-to-iris PPM is one of the most frequently seen Breeder Option conditions. Whether to use dogs with this finding in a breeding program depends partly on your breed and partly on the severity of the finding. In Basenjis, where PPM has been a known issue for generations, breed club guidelines are specific and strict. In many other breeds, isolated iris-to-iris strands without corneal or lens involvement are considered a minor incidental finding by most breeders and breed health committees.

Distichiasis Without Corneal Involvement

Distichiasis refers to extra eyelashes arising from abnormal follicles in the eyelid margin. Many dogs with distichiasis have no clinical symptoms and the extra lashes cause no corneal irritation. When the finding is incidental and the cornea is clear, distichiasis is commonly designated Breeder Option.

Dogs with distichiasis that causes corneal ulceration, significant irritation, or ongoing damage to the eye surface are treated differently — that level of clinical impact typically warrants a different response. Breeder Option designation generally applies when the examiner determines the finding is present but the dog shows no current signs of discomfort or corneal compromise.

Corneal Dystrophy, Epithelial-Stromal Type

Certain forms of corneal dystrophy, particularly mild epithelial or stromal dystrophies that do not affect vision or cause pain, may be designated Breeder Option in breeds where the condition is very common or where the hereditary pattern is well understood and manageable. This is breed-dependent. In Siberian Huskies, where corneal dystrophy is extremely prevalent, breed clubs have extensive guidance on what findings warrant breeding restrictions versus Breeder Option management. In other breeds, similar findings might be treated differently.

Vitreal Degeneration, Minor

Mild vitreous changes in older dogs sometimes receive Breeder Option designations when the examiner believes the changes represent age-related degeneration rather than a hereditary process. Context and breed history both matter in these determinations.

What Breeder Option Does Not Mean

A common misunderstanding is that Breeder Option is equivalent to a minor inconvenience that can be safely ignored. That interpretation creates real problems in breeding programs. Breeder Option means the condition is present. It means the ophthalmologist was transparent enough to note it on the certificate rather than simply passing the dog. It means you now have information that carries responsibility.

Another misunderstanding is that Breeder Option means the dog should immediately be removed from the breeding program. That overcorrection also causes problems, particularly in breeds with small gene pools where eliminating every dog with any Breeder Option finding would severely narrow genetic diversity without meaningfully improving health outcomes. The designation was created precisely because reality is more nuanced than a binary pass/fail system can capture.

The phrase Breeder Option is not a regulatory judgment. It is a transfer of responsibility. The ACVO examiner is saying: this is real, it matters, and you are the one who has to decide what to do with it given your breed, your lines, and the dog before you.

How to Investigate a Breeder Option Finding

Start With Your Ophthalmologist

The best next step after receiving a Breeder Option result is a direct conversation with the ophthalmologist who performed the exam. They can explain specifically what they found, how pronounced it is, and whether they have seen similar findings in other dogs of your breed. Some findings that technically qualify for Breeder Option are so minor that the examiner considers them essentially irrelevant for the breeding decision. Others at the Breeder Option threshold represent something worth taking seriously. Only the examiner can give you that nuance in the context of your specific dog.

Do not hesitate to schedule a follow-up appointment specifically to discuss the findings. Most ophthalmologists are willing to talk through results and are used to breeders asking these questions. If your dog was examined at a clinic event at a dog show, you may need to follow up with a private appointment to have more time for this conversation.

Consult Your Breed Health Committee

Your breed's national club health committee is an essential resource for Breeder Option decisions. Breed clubs with active health programs often have specific guidelines about which Breeder Option findings are considered significant within the breed and which are typically considered non-restrictive. These guidelines are developed from data on the breed's actual health experience and reflect a level of breed-specific knowledge that general certification guidance cannot provide.

If your breed club does not have published guidelines on Breeder Option findings, contact the health committee chair directly. Experienced breeders within the breed have usually encountered the common Breeder Option conditions before and can tell you how the community handles them. This kind of knowledge-sharing is one of the most practical benefits of working within an established breeding community.

Look at the Pedigree Context

A single Breeder Option finding in a dog with a clean three-generation pedigree is different from a Breeder Option finding in a dog whose parent and grandparent both had the same finding. Pedigree context does not change the certification result, but it informs your interpretation. If the same condition appears consistently in a line, that pattern suggests hereditary transmission worth taking seriously. If the finding appears in isolation without any lineage pattern, it may represent a spontaneous occurrence with less breeding significance.

Maintaining records of eye certification results across generations is exactly what the OFA Eye Registry enables. Using the registry for all your breeding dogs creates the multi-generational record that makes pedigree analysis meaningful. The public database allows you to look up not just your own dogs but related dogs that other breeders have certified.

Breeding Decisions With Breeder Option Stock

There is no universal rule for breeding with Breeder Option dogs. The correct approach depends on what the finding is, how severe it is, what your breed club recommends, what the pedigree context shows, and what the specific dog contributes to your program.

One principle that experienced breeders generally follow: if you breed a dog with a Breeder Option finding, disclose that finding to everyone who receives a puppy from that litter and to any co-breeders involved in the pairing. Transparency about known health findings is a foundation of ethical breeding, and Breeder Option does not exempt you from the obligation to share information that others need to make informed decisions about their own programs.

A second principle: avoid pairing two dogs who have the same Breeder Option finding, particularly if that finding has any known or suspected hereditary basis. Even when individual findings are considered minor, stacking them on both sides of a breeding amplifies the probability of producing offspring with more pronounced expression of the same condition.

A third principle: continue annual certification. Breeder Option findings can change over time. A minor PPM finding at three years might remain unchanged at five years or might progress. An annual exam builds the longitudinal record you need to track whether a finding is stable, regressing, or worsening. The guidelines for how often to retest are covered in depth in the retesting schedule guide.

Breeder Option in the Context of Puppy Buyers

When selling puppies, particularly to buyers who plan to breed, you need to decide how to present Breeder Option findings from the parents' certifications. Being forthcoming is not just an ethical obligation — it is also practical protection for your reputation as a breeder. A buyer who discovers a Breeder Option result they were not told about will lose trust in you, even if the finding is genuinely minor.

Explain what Breeder Option means when you disclose it. Most puppy buyers have never heard the term and will not understand what it implies. A brief explanation — that the examiner noted a minor finding, described what it is, and designated it as Breeder Option because it was not severe enough to fail the dog — gives buyers the context they need to make informed decisions. If the finding is on one parent only, note that and explain whether you took it into account when selecting the pairing.

Providing full certification documentation, including the specific findings noted on Breeder Option results, is a mark of a responsible breeder. Buyers who receive this information become partners in responsible breeding rather than unknowing participants in a system they do not understand.

When Breeder Option Results Are Genuinely Ambiguous

Sometimes even after consulting your ophthalmologist and breed health committee, a Breeder Option result remains genuinely uncertain. The finding is real but its significance is unclear. The hereditary basis is poorly characterized. Your breed does not have established guidelines for this particular condition. You are left making a judgment call with incomplete information.

This is the situation the Breeder Option designation was designed for. The response in genuinely ambiguous cases is to be conservative. If you are uncertain, pair that dog with a partner who has a completely clean certification on the relevant finding. Monitor the offspring. Share what you observe with other breeders in the breed. Over time, the accumulated data from breeders who are paying attention and communicating transparently builds the breed-level knowledge that eventually allows for clearer guidelines.

The multi-generational approach to eye health management addresses how individual breeding decisions compound over time and why consistent documentation and transparency contribute to collective breed health improvement in ways that are impossible to achieve when breeders make decisions in isolation.

The Bigger Picture

Breeder Option findings are common. If you breed long enough, you will encounter them. The breeders who handle these results well are not the ones who have never received a Breeder Option designation — they are the ones who know what to do when they get one.

Understanding certification results clearly, consulting the right resources, making decisions based on breed-specific knowledge rather than fear or dismissal, and being transparent with others about what you know: these practices are what separate a program built on genuine health commitment from one that only looks good on paper.

If you are new to interpreting eye certification results, take time to work through the complete guide to certification codes before your next round of exams. Going into an appointment already familiar with the terminology and the range of possible designations makes the post-exam conversation with your ophthalmologist far more productive and ensures that Breeder Option findings do not send you scrambling for information you could have had in advance.