jpy
09-17-2000, 07:48 PM
Since we have archives now & this topic has come up again lately, thought I'd post this little handout I have to help newcomers use a pedigree to help thm buy a quality-bred pup.
When shopping for a puppy, the subject of pedigrees normally comes us.This handout will help the average buyer use a pedigree to help ascertainthe quality of the dogs in the family of a pup they are considering purchasing.First, briefly--some general info on pedigrees & the AKC. The AKC will register ANY dog with two registered parents of the same breed & all pups have a pedigree, so this in itself is *no* sign of quality. It isn't just "blue-bloods" that have papers. Secondly no dog without papers, by definition, *is* a purebred. Papers signifiy this if nothing else. Thirdly, good show/breed prospects & good potential pet Danes are born in the *same* litters. Don't think that wanting "just a pet" means you can safely buy a pup from an inferior litter. It is very hard to breed a dog with good tempermament, health & proper breed characteristics. It doesn't happen by accident & it's a rare event if it happens at all in casual & commercially bred litters. All AKC Great Danes (GDs) are "Champion bloodlines," no matter how *badly* bred, so this is a meaningless phrase. A pedigree lists all the titles the dog officially received. OFA info as well as DNA cert. info is also on that pedigree. Every pedigree given to you should be color-marked as well. The names of the dogs in it also shouldn't be sorted into "unknown" & "famous" but by families (kennel names) who are usually known for producing a particular set of traits.
A pedigree gives you both the history & philosophy behind the breeding of any dog--if you learn to read the pedigree. Great Dane pedigrees, like the breed itself, are grouped by color families. Fawn/brindle pups from carefully bred litters have pedigrees that are essentially all CH(=Champions). There might be the odd female who isn't a CH; occassionally even a male, but any quality fawn/brindle pet pup, let alone show prospect has a pedigree in which almost EVERY SINGLE RELATIVE in EVERY SINGLE GENERATION is
a CHAMPION. There are about 300 fawn/brindle Danes who achieve their CH every year. Given a breeding age of 2-6 for females that is almost 5000 CH-bred offspring for sale in any year, even if you count the numbers very conservatively. Fawn-brindle pedigrees normally have no color but fawn/brindle in them. Black pedigreess are, these days, pretty much like that of fawn/brindle. In fact good black pedigrees can often have fawn in them. Most are a sea of CH dogs. Black pedigrees can have fawn, or blue in them, but shouldn't have both as a rule. Harls (merles, etc.) shouldn't show up in these black pedigrees.(Harl-bred blacks are dealt with below with the Harl family.) (go on to part two-blues/harls/mantles)
Blues go with black pedigrees. Blues are recessive to black & a bit fewer number so their are less finished (i.e. fewer CHs)every year, but their are also fewer quality litters produced. Blue pedigrees normally have all the males & some of the females as CHs. BLue pedigrees shouldn't have any color but black in them. Harls are a seperate color family as a rule (Mantles are included in "harl pedigrees," as are merle pets.) Harl pedigrees are hard for a newcomer to read & understand. Generalizations are more difficult than with the other colors, but here is a general guide: any harl pedigree should have at least three CHs in the parents & grandparents of the pup. Either BOTH parents and 1-2 grandsires, or the sire & both grandsires are commonly CHs. If you look at the typical "4" generation pedigree (parents, g-parents & g-g-parents of your pup shown), there should be at least 6-7 CHs. (CHs should become more common soon as now we can show the Mantledane.) Harl pedigrees might have other colors in them. "Whites" or white with black (double-merle dogs) are sometimes bred to "blacks" (or black and white) dogs in some pedigrees. These "blacks" are not normally solid black & are usually actually Mantles. There might be the occassional merle in a harl pedigree. There might even be an occassional fawn visible (all harl pedigrees have fawn behind them somewhere). There shouldn't be blues & there shouldn't be many of anything not listed as harl or black/black& white/mantle. There should be even less soon, as the proper harl-black (i.e. Mantle) now can be shown. These other colors such as merle & white are disqualifications under the standard & should not be used with any regularity in a breeding program.
Other things beside the EXPECTED CHs are pluses. Like having OFA in a pedigree. Like having performance titles such as CD,TD & the like. DNA certification will soon be nearly mandatory as any dog producing more than 3 litters a year or 7 in a lifetime must now be DNA registered with the AKC, so this, like "papers" is pretty meaningless already, except on bitches & if on both parents you have proof the offspring is from those two dogs. DNA certification on a dog means he is being used a lot at stud--which is not necessarily a good thing (or a bad thing). Don't be awed by talk of "papered" dogs--ask for & then use the pedigrees to see what you are getting. Beyond the *necessary* titles, ask what the family is "known" for, & who is behind the line, who these people bought *their* dogs from. And as to websites, quality breeders proudly display their pedigrees online as these are part of their guarantee of quality. Oh yes, & the obvious, but often overlooked part--don't buy from ANYONE not showing their own dogs, no matter
how "awesome" they claim their pedigrees are. If they are not showing, they are not likely"connected," not keeping up to date & unless they are practically giving those pups away, they are profit-oriented, as it is the showing/going to seminars, research,travel, stud fees, professional fees, etc, belonging to clubs that makes breeding good pups so expensive. People who sit & home and breed, even if they do some kind of "health checks" to make their puppies more saleable, couldn't be spending more than a few hundred on a litter, so you shouldn't be paying hundreds per pup for dogs *out of this sort of litter--dogs are not supposed to be bred with a profit in mind.
Quality breeders won't boast, but they are hoping you will find them.They hope you'll know how to read them & know how to seperate the sheep from the goats. Teach yourself how to buy a well bred pup!
When shopping for a puppy, the subject of pedigrees normally comes us.This handout will help the average buyer use a pedigree to help ascertainthe quality of the dogs in the family of a pup they are considering purchasing.First, briefly--some general info on pedigrees & the AKC. The AKC will register ANY dog with two registered parents of the same breed & all pups have a pedigree, so this in itself is *no* sign of quality. It isn't just "blue-bloods" that have papers. Secondly no dog without papers, by definition, *is* a purebred. Papers signifiy this if nothing else. Thirdly, good show/breed prospects & good potential pet Danes are born in the *same* litters. Don't think that wanting "just a pet" means you can safely buy a pup from an inferior litter. It is very hard to breed a dog with good tempermament, health & proper breed characteristics. It doesn't happen by accident & it's a rare event if it happens at all in casual & commercially bred litters. All AKC Great Danes (GDs) are "Champion bloodlines," no matter how *badly* bred, so this is a meaningless phrase. A pedigree lists all the titles the dog officially received. OFA info as well as DNA cert. info is also on that pedigree. Every pedigree given to you should be color-marked as well. The names of the dogs in it also shouldn't be sorted into "unknown" & "famous" but by families (kennel names) who are usually known for producing a particular set of traits.
A pedigree gives you both the history & philosophy behind the breeding of any dog--if you learn to read the pedigree. Great Dane pedigrees, like the breed itself, are grouped by color families. Fawn/brindle pups from carefully bred litters have pedigrees that are essentially all CH(=Champions). There might be the odd female who isn't a CH; occassionally even a male, but any quality fawn/brindle pet pup, let alone show prospect has a pedigree in which almost EVERY SINGLE RELATIVE in EVERY SINGLE GENERATION is
a CHAMPION. There are about 300 fawn/brindle Danes who achieve their CH every year. Given a breeding age of 2-6 for females that is almost 5000 CH-bred offspring for sale in any year, even if you count the numbers very conservatively. Fawn-brindle pedigrees normally have no color but fawn/brindle in them. Black pedigreess are, these days, pretty much like that of fawn/brindle. In fact good black pedigrees can often have fawn in them. Most are a sea of CH dogs. Black pedigrees can have fawn, or blue in them, but shouldn't have both as a rule. Harls (merles, etc.) shouldn't show up in these black pedigrees.(Harl-bred blacks are dealt with below with the Harl family.) (go on to part two-blues/harls/mantles)
Blues go with black pedigrees. Blues are recessive to black & a bit fewer number so their are less finished (i.e. fewer CHs)every year, but their are also fewer quality litters produced. Blue pedigrees normally have all the males & some of the females as CHs. BLue pedigrees shouldn't have any color but black in them. Harls are a seperate color family as a rule (Mantles are included in "harl pedigrees," as are merle pets.) Harl pedigrees are hard for a newcomer to read & understand. Generalizations are more difficult than with the other colors, but here is a general guide: any harl pedigree should have at least three CHs in the parents & grandparents of the pup. Either BOTH parents and 1-2 grandsires, or the sire & both grandsires are commonly CHs. If you look at the typical "4" generation pedigree (parents, g-parents & g-g-parents of your pup shown), there should be at least 6-7 CHs. (CHs should become more common soon as now we can show the Mantledane.) Harl pedigrees might have other colors in them. "Whites" or white with black (double-merle dogs) are sometimes bred to "blacks" (or black and white) dogs in some pedigrees. These "blacks" are not normally solid black & are usually actually Mantles. There might be the occassional merle in a harl pedigree. There might even be an occassional fawn visible (all harl pedigrees have fawn behind them somewhere). There shouldn't be blues & there shouldn't be many of anything not listed as harl or black/black& white/mantle. There should be even less soon, as the proper harl-black (i.e. Mantle) now can be shown. These other colors such as merle & white are disqualifications under the standard & should not be used with any regularity in a breeding program.
Other things beside the EXPECTED CHs are pluses. Like having OFA in a pedigree. Like having performance titles such as CD,TD & the like. DNA certification will soon be nearly mandatory as any dog producing more than 3 litters a year or 7 in a lifetime must now be DNA registered with the AKC, so this, like "papers" is pretty meaningless already, except on bitches & if on both parents you have proof the offspring is from those two dogs. DNA certification on a dog means he is being used a lot at stud--which is not necessarily a good thing (or a bad thing). Don't be awed by talk of "papered" dogs--ask for & then use the pedigrees to see what you are getting. Beyond the *necessary* titles, ask what the family is "known" for, & who is behind the line, who these people bought *their* dogs from. And as to websites, quality breeders proudly display their pedigrees online as these are part of their guarantee of quality. Oh yes, & the obvious, but often overlooked part--don't buy from ANYONE not showing their own dogs, no matter
how "awesome" they claim their pedigrees are. If they are not showing, they are not likely"connected," not keeping up to date & unless they are practically giving those pups away, they are profit-oriented, as it is the showing/going to seminars, research,travel, stud fees, professional fees, etc, belonging to clubs that makes breeding good pups so expensive. People who sit & home and breed, even if they do some kind of "health checks" to make their puppies more saleable, couldn't be spending more than a few hundred on a litter, so you shouldn't be paying hundreds per pup for dogs *out of this sort of litter--dogs are not supposed to be bred with a profit in mind.
Quality breeders won't boast, but they are hoping you will find them.They hope you'll know how to read them & know how to seperate the sheep from the goats. Teach yourself how to buy a well bred pup!