Arts & Sciences...
Breeding is an "art" but it is also a "science". No dog is perfect, no living being is "perfect". But, if you care about your pups and the future people who will love them, you plan and calculate risk factors based on science (OFA, DNA results, pedigree research, etc) while looking at the art that makes up that dog (structure, temperament, ability, etc). There is also a lot of "gut" in it for me, basing some decisions on instinct for what I hope to produce-trying to make improvements in each generation. Sometimes things are pretty perfect and sometimes things go horribly wrong. While learning from it, it still feels like a weight on your shoulders, when things don't go as planned for. There is a new DNA test available as of summer 2019 for a form of Early Onset Adult Deafness in Border Collies. This form is not the same as congenital deafness believed to be caused by a lack of pigment on the inner ear, detected by a BAER test prefe