Hi there. I am buying a pup soon but i have had a look at his pedigree and there is nothing special about it. i have seen advertiasements such as "has a good pedigree", but what exactly is a good pedigree? is it just a pedigree with one or two show or working champions on or is there something else? and is it ok to get a pup with no champions on the pedigree for over say, 10 generations?

thanks for anyone who can explain this to me.

When breeding one wishes to improve on what the parents are.  you would expect to have some champions in a five generation pedigree, as you would expect the breeder to use quality dogs.

That said it is pointless using a Champion dog if he does not complement your bitch.  sometimes there are doigs with a good track record that don't quite make their titles.  In the UK it is very hard to make up a champion, and if only they were used there would be no breeding stock.

Also a dog may be used who is very promising and is likely to get it's title with time, and the same for the bitches.

A pedigree that had no title holders at all would make me think that the dogs were just bred for sale wit6hout any thought as to quality of the animals being mated.

I would do a Google search on some of the names in the pedigree, and you should if any of them have won any places at Championship shows, get the details up.

Further to Brainless's reply, it is worth remembering that a dog only gains its Champion title if it is campaigned. If it is never shown/worked it will never get its title. Its genes, however, remain the same.

Good points raised by both. I would remember too it is sometimes useful to remember that a Champion dog will sometimes have a uncrowned litter brother ;)

Karen

It would also may be that the dog in question is a breed with very few in the country so they are uneligible for CC's so in that case they wouldn't become champions would they? Dosen't mean to say they are not a good example of their breed.

Perhaps if you told us the breed somebody here might even know about the dogs in your pups pedigree. If you read my current pups pedigree it does not look like much at all, yet I know the dogs behind his line and they have done well in the show ring and on the working field. At his first championship show he won his class and qualified for Crufts, plus he is training up for working really well. People who own my chosen breed will know his pedigree but outsiders would look and think he was "pet bred" for money.