Should I get a pup from a blind sire?

Hello.
I'm getting a Female English Springer Spaniel from a breeder and the pups will be born in January. I met the parents of the pups this weekend and I liked them both very much. My concern is the sire of the litter is 10 years old and he is blind. The breeder said he went blind around age 8 and it was of old age. I didn't think much of it then, but after hearing about Retinal Dysplasia and Progressive Retinal Atrophy being hereditary I started to get worried. Because the Sire of the litter is blind, should I be concerned that this will be passed on to my pup? Also, is should I be concerned about the Age of the sire(breeding at such on old age)?
Thank you.
Sarah

Sarah, I would be very concerned about the cause of the male dog's blindness and how it may affect your puppy. I think to say a dog became blind at 8 years old because of "old age" is flat ignorant. I would not get a puppy from that litter unless it was proven to me the blindness wasn't heritable. There are plenty of good litters out there, find another.

Dr. Mike

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