This is a small step forward in changing the culture of dog breeding as breeders will now know what impact a proposed mating will have on the genetic diversity of their breed (although it doesn’t prevent a breeder from breeding closely related dogs if she chooses to do so)
Although welcome, Mate Select does not yet tackle the problem of genetic disease. This can only happen when Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) are available – values based on the degree of risk that a proposed mating will have on the likelihood of genetic disease in the offspring of that mating. It involves the collection of health data on individual dogs within a breed and will depend on the co-operation of breeders in supplying the health data – something that is by no means guaranteed.