Health testing breeding dogs before mating can dramatically reduce the prevalence of inherited conditions causing chronic pain and welfare problems in offspring.
Dog health testing represents one of the most cost-effective welfare interventions in the companion animal sector. Testing breeding dogs for inherited conditions and making responsible breeding decisions based on results directly reduces the prevalence of diseases causing chronic pain in subsequent generations. Hip dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy, exercise-induced collapse, and dozens of other conditions can be dramatically reduced through testing and selective breeding. The challenge is incentivizing testing adoption - voluntary schemes show incomplete uptake, suggesting that regulatory requirements or consumer demand for health-tested puppies are necessary to achieve population-level welfare improvement.