What's a pedigree?

What's a pedigree?

The pedigree of a dog will tell you what its ancestry is. It's going to tell you who the dog's mum was, who its dad was. Ideally it's going to go in depth about many things. Behaviourally, what was the dog doing? For example, when I look at a dog I want to know if it showed. Did it show for beauty? Did it show in competition obedience? If the dog's a retriever, maybe it was in retriever trials. Then I'm going to look at the dog's health record, so I'm going to look at the OFA, which is the orthopaedic foundation for hips and elbows. We're going to look at eyes. That's the CERF. These are situations specific to your breed of dog; for example, many retrievers are prone to hip dysplasia, so you want OFA excellent if you can find that. If your dog's parents are OFA excellent on each side, your puppy is less likely to have to have hip dysplasia surgery. That's what you're looking for. You're trying to get a little insight into who this dog is and what it might possibly turn into, although it's not a guarantee.