How to Read A Pedigree and Understand It.

The basic construction of a pedigree is the same, no matter what the breeding or animal. The first generation is composed of the parents of the individual, the next, or second generation is of the grandparents, the third, the great-grandparents, etc. What makes reading our Gamedogs' pedigrees so interesting is looking for patterns of breeding in a dog's background.

There are three basic patterns of breeding animals: inbreeding, linebreeding and outcrossing. While there are ongoing discussions as to where inbreeding stops and linebreeding begins, for this discussion we will consider inbreeding to be son to mother, father to daughter, brother to sister, and half-brother to half-sister. Linebreeding is the mating of dogs who are closely related to the same ancestor but are generally not related at all through any other ancestor. When you say your dog is "linebred" it usually means they are related through both the sire and the dam to one particular ancestor. An outcrossed pedigree would be one in which an individual has no common ancestors in the first three or four generations. Not much credence is given to the influence of dogs beyond the fourth generation. An ancestor appearing in the fourth generation, in pure mathematics, contributes only 1/256 of the heredity factors in a puppy and therefore seemingly can do little to overcome the influence of any unrelated inferior specimens appearing in the pedigree later.

Before we journey any further into the discussion of reading and understanding pedigrees, I would caution the reader that selection by pedigree alone without considering the physical traits of the animals attached to the pedigree can lead to great disappointments! We are not building "pretty papers" but should always strive to improve upon the dogs that we have. A pedigree is only a guarantee of bloodlines - a record of the ancestors whose genetic contributions have given us the dog we wish to breed in order to continue the line. A complete evaluation of the individuals themselves is essential for any success to be expected. The foundation of breeding purebred animals must begin with the physical character of the animals themselves and not pedigrees alone.

Why linebreed or inbreed? Most all breeders do linebreeding to some extent. This is done to bring about breed improvement by combining animals not only similar in their characteristics, but also by narrowing the pedigree to a few closely related lines of descent from outstanding individuals. Linebreeding thus narrows down to the selection of the individual ancestor one chooses to emulate. A line from a book published in the late 1800's sticks in my mind: "Whatever unit, then, the breeder desires to reproduce, that unit becomes the prototype, and the pedigree terminates with him or her." ("Rational Breeding") In other words, "at the place where a great name is mentioned,or the dog your trying to emulate is, the pedigree should stop."

If your goal is to intensify and preserve the characteristics of your top producing female, you would attempt an inbreeding of mother to son, thus mul