The inheritance patterns for many of the ocular diseases of the canine eye are known and as such, the development of DNA tests should be straightforward. However, the disease picture is not as clear as it could be and progress in some areas has been difficult. Whilst knowledge of the cause of the rod-cone dysplasia of the Irish Setter has led to the introduction of an accurate test, the possible existence of late onset PRA has muddied the water for breeds like the miniature and toy Poodles and the Labrador Retriever. Doubt over the inheritance pattern for cataract complicates progress for several breeds and in the absence of candidate gene linkage analysis based on erroneous inheritance patterns will be non productive. In this paper the author will discuss the progress that has been made and highlight the difficulties that lie ahead with the control of inherited ocular disease.