Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Obtain Your Dog's Genealogical Chart

Where's Bolo?

Some people can trace their dog's ancestry further back than they can trace their own!



 Such is (sadly) the case with our dog and his family tree, and myself and my family tree.


I can tell you only three generations back on both my mother's side and my father's side and for many of my relatives, I can tell you that we are related but we don't know how!  But for our chocolate Labrador Retriever Joey, I can tell you five generations back, with certainty, and then some (such as our Banchory Bolo, in the above photo)!

Now I'm not pushing the idea of humans registering themselves with some type of pedigree agency.

But the fact is that it's really interesting to learn about your dog (if not yourself)! So if you can, do it!

Our chocolate Labrador Retriever is half American and half British.
Thus, we had to go to the AKC (American Kennel Club) to get his mother's side, and to "The Kennel Club UK" to obtain the chart on his father's side.

It's easy to do, and you will get your results quickly.

Let's begin with the Kennel Club of UK. 
Available from their website, they offer a 3-generation chart, a 5-generation chart, and an enhanced 5-generation chart.  We purchased the 5-generation chart.  And we were shocked to see how much we learned about our puppy!

Is your dog American and registered with the AKC? They offer a 3-generation or a 4-generation chart.  What's the difference? The 3-generation chart gives you 14 dogs in your dog's family tree. The 4-generation chart gives you the 30 immediate dogs in your dog's family tree. Seems like it's easy to determine which way to go! We went for the 4-generation, without blinking.

"Why so many dogs?" I first asked myself.  Generation 1 = your 1 dog. Generation 2 = 2 dogs. Generation 3 = 6 dogs. Generation 4 = 8 dogs. Generation 5 = 16 dogs.  Add them up and you have 31 dogs (remember to subtract for your dog), just to make YOUR ONE DARLING canine! Add one more generation going back, and you add another 32 dogs!  Wow! And this is what we got, for our 5-generation pedigree with The Kennel Club.

Is it worth it?  Does your dog wag his tail and jump up and down like he hadn't seen you for six weeks when you come home from work?

Okay, so what if your dog is not a purebred? Or if he's not registered?
Still, many people are getting their dog's DNA tested to find out what breed their dog is.  You can love your dog anyway, without knowing his DNA. But learning your dog's breed helps you to appreciate his breeding, and to understand his nature.  This is also important because it helps to explain his behavior. After all, he cannot tell you that he wants to go kill bunnies, or that he wants to smell his way down the rabbit hole, or that he wants to run for one hour, non-stop. So if you understand what he was bred for, you will know how to manage him and will be better able to understand his behavior. You will be a better pet owner.

Learn more about DNA testing of your dog online.

Want to know about Joey's genealogy and what we learned from his generational charts? Stay tuned!

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