To my mind, the DNA tests and the clearances actually free us to do breedings we might otherwise avoid. Twenty years ago I had a long list of PRA carriers that I avoided in pedigrees. Now I could care less. I just test my dogs and avoid breeding carrier to carrier. I can safely use dogs I would not have considered in the past.

The problem is the phenotypic tests (OFA X-rays and heart clearances, for instance). That's where knowledge of pedigrees comes into play. I wish I thought that the current efforts to find genes for epilepsy and for hip dysplasia would turn up a single gene that we could then test for and avoid, but I'm afraid they are polygenic, and we will still be stuck with using phenotypic tests and pedigrees.