IN RECENT YEARS, health testing of pedigree dogs — and particularly those used for breeding — has become standard practice. We have long known that selective breeding for certain traits, such as looks or even hunting ability, runs the risk of reducing an animal’s genetic diversity, making it much more vulnerable to hereditary diseases.
The list of these diseases that have been identified in pedigree dogs, including working gundogs, is a depressingly long one. And until relatively recently, each one required a separate test. A responsible breeder,