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Dog Pedigrees
Although the worth of a dog or puppy should always be based on love and companionship. If you need to read puppy or dog pedigrees, the following information should help you feel more knowledgeable and comfortable when reading a pedigree.
Just as your family has a lineage, so does your dog. If you are looking to purchase a puppy for sale and a pedigree is offered, you should first learn the about the information provided in the pedigree. Dog pedigrees are something to be proud of. Some dogs can be worth gold to an owner due to their lineage.
How to acquire a pedigree:
- If purchasing from a dog breeder, you should be able to request the records they have in relation to the puppy's pedigree. Again, some breeders do not offer dog pedigrees and you should not perceive this in a negative light.
- You can order a dog pedigree from a pedigree service. Many can be found online and may take up to a month to research and produce a pedigree.
How a pedigree can be useful:
- When starting a breeding program. (Extensive pedigree research should be done before breeding any two dogs to determine how closely they are related and the probability of the breeding to result in puppies that follow the breed standard.)
- Looking for defects in the pedigree is a must before breeding. Any dog health conditions found by cause of death on the pedigree can give you clues to possible defects or health concerns when breeding.
Tips when reading a dog pedigree:
- Males are always listed on the top and the females on the bottom.
- The chart starts with the progeny (puppy/dog of interest).
- Following the branch from the progeny upward you will be looking at the puppies sire (father). If you follow the chart down, your will be looking at the puppies dam (mother). This same procedure is used throughout the chart.
- The chart is always read from left to right.
- Most pedigrees are 5 generations deep, but depending on the amount of information accessible to be obtained, the pedigree may be shorter in detail.
About Registries:
- There are many different registries that can be displayed on one pedigree or on multiple pedigrees.
- A registry is mostly concerned with breed standards and quality.
- In recent times, some registries acknowledge the designer breeds.
- You can look up most registries online and review their guidelines for registration.
- Much like in America, other countries have their own registries.
* Please refer to our information section on dog registries
About Titles:
- Breed clubs can also give titles to dogs belonging to their clubs.
- Titles are recognized only by the individual breed club and are non-competitive titles.
- Titles from the dog breed clubs will appear after the puppy's name.
Here are a few titles and their meanings.
BIS - Best in Show
BISS - Best in Specialty Show
BPIS - Best Puppy in Show
CAN.CH - Canadian Champion
CDX - Companion Dog Excellent
UD - Utility Dog
UDX - Utility Dog Excellent
TD - Tracking Dog
TDX - Tracking Dog Excellent
VST - Variable Surface Tracking
UDTD (UDT) - Utility Dog Tracking Dog
UDTDX - Utility Dog Tracking Dog Excellent
UDXTDX - Utility Dog Excellent Tracking Dog Excellent
UDVST - Utility Dog Variable Surface Tracking
UDXVST - Utility Dog Excellent Variable Surface Tracking
CGC - Canine Good Citizen
Ch. - Conformation Champion
FC - Field Champion
AFC - Amateur Field Champion
NAFC - National Amateur Field Champion
NFC - National Field Champion
OTCH - Obedience Trial Champion
CT - Champion Tracker (TD, TDX, VST)
HC - Herding Champion
DC - Dual Champion (CH & FC)
TC - Triple Champion (CH, FC, & OTCH)
CD - Companion Dog
CQN - Certificate required by some nations prior to Ch. (protection)
FH - Advanced SchH tracking title (protection)
IPO - International successor to SchH (protection)
JH - Junior Hunter
SH - Senior Hunter
MH - Master Hunter
HT - Herding Tested
PT - Pre-Trial Tested
HS - Herding Started
HI - Herding Intermediate
HX - Herding Excellent
JC - Junior Courser
SC - Senior Courser
MC - Master Courser
NA - Novice Agility
OA - Open Agility
AX - Agility Excellent
MX - Master Agility Excellent
JE - Junior Earthdog
SE - Senior Earthdog
ME - Master Earthdog
NC - Nite Champion
GNC - Grand Nite Champion
SGNC - Senior Grand Nite Champion
Kamp. - Champion of record in Holland
KNPV - Dutch Police Dog Association (protection)
OTCh - Obedience Trial Champion
SCH I, II, III - Schutzhund Titles (protection)
Specialty Select - Merit Selection at a Specialty
TDI - Therapy Dog
TT/TC - Temperament Tested/ Temperament Certified
V or VA - Highly ranked German dog
About Health Certifications:
- Symbols are awarded clearing that particular dog of certain hereditary health defects.
- The symbols will be listed in front, behind, or below that dog's name.
- Other distinguishing characteristics or notes about a particular dog might also be shown above, below, or behind a dog's name.
- A dog's health clearance can also be found on the pedigree.
- Clearances are given for hip dysplasia used for determining future possible hip problems, elbow dysplasia, hearing problems and eye diseases.
Here are some clearances you might encounter on your dog\'s pedigree.
OFA - Orthopedic Foundation for Animals
Ex - Excellent evaluation for hips
G - Good evaluation for hips
F - Fair evaluation for hips
HD - Dutch designations for hip radiological status
(HD-) Negative evaluation, totally clear
(HD/Tc) Intermediate evaluation
(HD+/-) Light positive
(HD+) Positive evaluation for dysplasia
CERF - Eyes are normal
BAER - Hearing Test
VWD Negative - Does not have von Willebrand's Disease
If you are still having trouble reading your puppy's pedigree, your breeder or veterinarian should be happy to help you interpret the pedigree so you can fully understand its importance.
The lineage of your new puppy or adult dog is important and can be a fascinating thing to research and discover through dog pedigrees. Although every puppy for sale does not have an impressive pedigree, this should not tell you that the puppy is bad. Determine what is important for you before searching for a new puppy and certainly before buying a puppy for sale.
Little Santana 
