How to Read a Pedigree


 

On the surface, a pedigree is a simple record of any dog's direct ancestors.

For canines, pedigrees follow a universally used format which contains a great deal of information. It may reflect as few as three generations, but more likely will contain the fourth and fifth generations. If you are thinking about eventually breeding your Bouvier, you should be paying particular attention to pedigrees, as they give some of the elemental information on a dog's genetic makeup. The basic format is as follows:

                    Great-GrandSire
                    |
             GrandSire
             |      |
             |      Great-GrandDam
             |
      Puppy's Sire
      |      |
      |      |      Great-GrandSire
      |      |      |
      |      GrandDam
      |             |
      |             Great-GrandDam
      |
YOUR PUPPY
      |
      |             Great-GrandSire
      |             |
      |      GrandSire
      |      |      |
      |      |      Great-GrandDam
      |      |
      Puppy's Dam
             |
             |      Great-GrandSire
             |      |
             GrandDam
                    |
                    Great-GrandDam

 

In official pedigrees issued by the American Kennel Club (AKC), only the AKC titles and official AKC genetic registry information will appear. Generally, most breeders prepare their own pedigrees to give to prospective owners, and these give a more thorough picture of a dog's ancestors, including other country's titles and registries, whelping date, color and other pertinent information. The variety of titles that may accompany a dog's name may look like mumbo-jumbo to the uninformed eye; some of the titles precede the registered name, some of the titles follow the name. Here are what many of the letters mean:

AKC# - registration number with the AKC

CKC# - Canadian registration number

LOSH# - Belgian registration number

NHSB# - Dutch registration number

LOF# - French registration number

Conformation Titles
Ch. - Champion of Record
Kamp. - Champion of record in Holland
BIS - Best in Show
BISS - Best in Specialty Show
BPIS - Best Puppy in Show
Specialty Select - merit selection at a Specialty
 
Obedience Titles
CD - Companion Dog
CDX - Companion Dog Excellent
UD - Utility Dog
UDX - Utility Dog Excellent
OTCh - Obedience Trial Champion
 
Tracking Titles
TD - Tracking Dog (tracking)
TDX - Tracking Dog Excellent (tracking)
 
Herding Titles
PT - Pre-trial
HS - Herding Started
HI - Herding Intermediate
HX - Herding Excellent (herding)

SchH - Schutzhund (grades I - III, protection)

FH - Advanced SchH tracking title (protection)

KNPV - Dutch Police Dog Assoc. (protection)

IPO - International successor to SchH (protection)

CQN - Certificate required by some nations prior to Ch. (protection)

OFA - Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (health)
Ex excellent evaluation for hips
G good evaluation for hips
F fair evaluation for hips
 
HD - Dutch designations for hip radiologic status (health)
HD- negative evaluation, totally clear
HD/Tc intermediate evaluation
HD+/- light positive
HD+ positive evaluation for dysplasia

 

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